too big of a coincidence.”
“There is such thing in life as a coincidence, darling. That’s what this is. I’m not working for Leo or his family. I take it that would be a bad thing if I were?”
She stared into the distance, resting her arms on her knees. “I’ve already said too much.”
“What’s it going to take for you to trust me?” He peered at her, trying to get a better look at her face in the deep blackness of the forest.
“The only person I can rely on is myself.”
“Your mom is Florence. She loves lilacs, makes the world’s best chicken Parmesan and she has your eyes. Your sister looks more like your dad, who died of cancer five years ago. He was a good man. Quiet, a hard worker and he could build anything out of wood.”
Tears glistened in her eyes. Finally, some of her walls were coming down. He was able to see beyond her facade, and the woman lurking there was broken, scared and alone.
A fierce surge of protectiveness rose in him.
He had to keep pushing. The mention of Leo had caused a reaction in her; it was his best lead. “Your family trusts Leo.”
Suddenly, she straightened. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that Leo has been working with your mom to find you. He seems very concerned.”
She let out a moan and ran a hand over her face. “But Leo didn’t hire you? That’s what you’re saying?”
He shook his head. “No. Your family hired me.”
“Does Leo know where you are?” Fear crackled in her voice.
“No one knows where I am. I update your mom weekly. Last she heard, I was in the DC area. Coming here was a last-minute hunch. I wanted to be certain before I gave her any hope.” If Leo really was the bad guy here, just as Tessa seemed to be claiming, had he used his supposed concern for Tessa as a ruse for following Trent here and locating her himself? It was a possibility he had to consider.
Tessa’s head dropped into her hands, and for the first time since he’d met her, she looked defeated, ready to give up. At least, ready to cry.
He needed to do something to relinquish her defeat. Sitting here wouldn’t help, and he didn’t know her well enough to give her a hug.
Finally, he stood. They couldn’t sit here all night. It wasn’t safe. “Let’s go back to the cabin. Please. We can talk there, make sure you’re okay and figure out what happens next.”
With hesitation, she put her hands into his. It wasn’t a romantic gesture, though she was certainly beautiful enough that the idea could be entertaining. No, it was a matter of survival, of the two of them sticking together in the middle of this bleak wilderness.
He glanced her over, looking for a sign of broken bones, of deep cuts. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, her expression still listless. “Only my ego.”
“Stay close to me. Understand? Next time you might not be so lucky.”
She nodded. Without saying anything else, he led her up the mountain, taking it slow this time. His thoughts turned over what she’d said. Whether she’d meant to or not, she’d given him insight into her past. She’d all but admitted that she really was Theresa Davidson. She did know Leo. Yet, all of that noted, she seemed terrified.
He needed to get to the bottom of her story, but now wasn’t the time to do so. He needed to take her somewhere safe. He hated to see a woman look this frightened, to see someone this shaken. If there’d been a different way to do things, he would have changed his plan of action. If he’d known earlier what he knew now, his approach would have been different. But what was done was done.
As they neared his cabin, he pulled Tessa behind a tree, his muscles tightening as instinct kicked in. That instinct told him that something indiscernible was wrong.
“What it is?” Her eyes were as wide as the full moon overhead.
He put a finger over his lips and nodded toward the distance. “Listen.”
Silence stretched—the only sounds were that of dry leaves clicking together and rustling in the breeze. Occasionally, an owl hooted or a squirrel scampered past.
Then he heard it again. A crackle. He exchanged a glance with Tessa. She’d heard it, also.
A roar sounded. A burst. An explosion.
“What is that?” Tessa whispered.
“That was my cabin. It just went up in flames.”
A shudder rippled through Tessa.
They were here. Those men had found them. Again.
She looked over her shoulder. Their pursuers could be anywhere. They could be within reaching distance. Their guns could be pointed at Tessa and Trent now.
Trent’s hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality.
“What are we going to do?” Her voice sounded as raw as her throat felt.
She’d said we, she realized. Somewhere in the process she’d decided she was in it with Trent. She had little choice in the matter, it seemed. Not if she wanted to stay alive.
“We need to lie low until we know the coast is clear.” He took her arm. “Come on. Let’s start moving.”
She wanted to argue, wanted to give a million reasons why venturing back into the woods was a bad idea. But she didn’t. Almost on autopilot, or perhaps it was the shock—whatever it was kept her moving silently through the woods. She was too scared to stop, too charged with adrenaline to grow weary, too on edge to feel safe. Even the autumn chill didn’t bother her as much as it normally would.
They moved briskly through the woods, putting distance between themselves and the flames. Where would they go? They couldn’t go back to Trent’s Jeep. Besides, the tires were probably melted from the heat of the blazing inferno that used to be Trent’s cabin.
But Trent and Tessa couldn’t meander through these woods all night, either. Trent might be built like a soldier—a very handsome soldier—but he was still human. She couldn’t expect him to work wonders.
“Salem,” she muttered. The older gentleman’s kind eyes fluttered through her memory, solidifying her idea.
Trent looked back at her. “What?”
“We’re going to need help. I bet Salem would let us borrow one of his cars.”
“Who’s Salem?”
“He owns the hardware store in town. He only lives a mile away from my cabin.”
“You sure you can trust him?”
She nodded, not a single doubt in her mind. “Yes, I’m sure. Believe me, people go through a rigorous criteria with me before I’m able to put any faith in them. Experience has taught me it’s better that way.”
Trent nodded. “Okay. We need to figure out how to get to his place.”
“It was west of my cabin, just a little farther down the road.”
Of course, a mile in this terrain was different than a mile of highway. Especially at night. So many things could go wrong.
He froze and put a finger over his lips. Prickles danced across Tessa’s skin and she held her breath. What did he hear?
She scooted closer to him. That was when she heard it, too. A twig snapped in the distance.
Trent grabbed her hand and tugged her closer. Quietly, they moved toward a grove of trees. Trent