Before she’d met him, months ago, she hadn’t believed in love at first sight. Or even lust at first sight. But without knowing it, without having a clue that she dreamed about him every night, he’d taught her that it existed.
The unexplainable.
Oh, she wanted him, but it went deeper than that. She didn’t understand why, and there was no doubt the attraction was one-sided, but she’d always dream about him. It just was. For now, she had to save his life.
She grabbed his arm. He wasn’t understanding the danger here. “Listen to me. Please.” She looked way up to his hard cut face. From the first day, she’d found him to be unreal. His eyes glittered a fierce green against his darker complexion. His bone structure was sharply angled, his eyebrows naturally arched, and his jawline sliced with expert precision. He had jet-black hair that was thick and wavy, and his body was muscled and graceful. He was beautiful in a wild and raw way—too rough to be a model but more stunning than any man she’d ever seen.
He slipped out of his battered leather jacket and set it around her shoulders. “Put your arms in.”
She didn’t have the energy to argue and was freezing, so she did as he’d ordered. His intriguing scent of male with a hint of coffee beans surrounded her. She really did imagine that scent in her dreams. “He’s going to show up. We have to run.”
Raine arched one very dark eyebrow. “I hope he comes back. Or they do. I’m not sedated right now, and you’re safe. Take a deep breath before you hyperventilate.”
Her body flushed cold and then very warm. Oh, he stood to about six and a half feet tall, was muscled, and moved like he could fight. Even so, this kidnapping was obviously planned out, and right now, Raine didn’t have a weapon on him. “You’re a badass, I admit. But even you can’t outrun a bullet.” She wouldn’t feel guilty about the relief filtering through her that she wasn’t alone here. “Let’s run for the trees.”
“No.” He kept the door open but pulled her back. “I can see if anybody comes down that road, and if they do, they’re going to regret it. For now, tell me what’s going on.”
There was a difference between being brave and being an egotistical moron, and Mariana had to get him to see reason. While Raine was tough, the kidnapper had both sedatives and probably weapons, and getting to safety was more important than fighting right now. So she did the only thing she could by ducking her head, bunching her legs, and running full-on into the rain.
Lightning zigged on the field, lighting the entire world and blowing the harsh smell of ozone at her. She screamed and ran faster over the muddy ground, hunching over and beating toward the forest. Rain poured over her, instantly soaking her hair to her head. She blinked water out of her eyes.
Her escape must’ve surprised Raine, because it took him a moment to catch up with her. When he did, it wasn’t to help her into the trees.
He snatched her up in a move so fast she got dizzy and had to close her eyes. He swung them around and ran back into the barn, setting her roughly on a bale of old and prickly hay. “What the holy fuck are you doing?” His eyes blazed an impossible green in his brutal face.
She kicked his shin and tried to jump to her feet.
He planted one solid hand over her entire shoulder and kept her in place. “Knock it off,” he growled.
She stiffened and sucked in several panicked breaths. “What are you doing?”
His jaw firmed, and he just stared at her. When he spoke, he sounded like he’d swallowed sharp stones. “You were the tallest thing away from the forest, and there’s lightning out there. We’re not going anywhere until this storm abates. Period.”
She swallowed. “We have to run. The guy has a plan, Raine.”
“Good. So do I.” He loomed over her, looking more dangerous than any stalker could ever be.
“What’s that?” she snapped, searching for her temper and thankfully finding it.
He leaned toward her, masculine and intense. “We wait out the storm. If it lets up, we walk to the nearest town. If the kidnapper shows up, I rip off his head. That’s the plan.”
* * * *
Raine’s temper was a slow burn, and at the moment, the wick was ignited. He released the female and took a step back to give her some breathing room. If her chest panted any faster, she’d go into a full-on panic attack, and he needed to know what he was dealing with here. Maybe the kidnapping hadn’t been focused on him. In fact, it was looking less likely at the moment. “Okay. Tell me what’s going on.” He tried to keep his tone gentle, but as a demon-vampire hybrid, his voice would always be hoarse.
She wiped rain off her pretty face and pulled her wet hair out of his jacket. “Fine, but if he shows up, I’m running. You’re being a moron.”
Good. Her spunk was back. “I promise I can handle anything coming our way.” Now that he knew something or somebody was coming their way. He’d been embarrassingly unprepared earlier because his mind had been filled with her. The one woman he should stay the hell away from. Plus, his strength had waned being away from her for weeks. “Who do you think kidnapped us?” God, it was embarrassing to even admit he’d lowered his guard enough to be kidnapped.
Her eyes were dark pools of fear and anger. “I don’t know who he is. I’m assuming it’s a man, because statistically most stalkers are male, but I don’t even know that fact for sure. Although my gut tells me it is a man, for some reason.”
Okay. “Is this a recent event?” Who in their small town would be stalking her?
She huddled deeper into his jacket, looking small and defenseless. “No. It started in Dallas, which is one of the reasons I moved to Indiana, besides my adopted aunt leaving me her cottage.”
“What started?” He kept his voice as calm as possible under the circumstances.
She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Greeting cards were sent to my office, then white roses, and then more elaborate gifts, including a diamond bracelet. Then phone calls with hang-ups, and the police eventually tracked those all down to burner phones.”
“What were the messages?” he asked.
She paled and then shrugged. “They were mostly positive about love and the future and destiny. At least at first. The tone of the notes turned darker and angrier as time went on, because whatever I was supposed to do, in this psycho’s fantasy, I wasn’t doing. Although there’s no way to know what I was supposed to do.”
Yeah, sounded like a nut job. A human one. So this might not have anything to do with Raine or his family, although he wasn’t taking that suspicion off the table as of yet. “Did the police have any suspects?”
She shook her head. “No. We went through all of my clients, friends, and acquaintances, and nobody stood out. It’s entirely possible I don’t know this person at all, and we just had some chance encounter they made into much more. I’ve wracked my brain but haven’t come up with anything.” Her mouth turned down, and the sense of fear from her increased.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he said quietly, meaning every word.
A small, rueful smile tilted her peach-colored lips. “That’s sweet, but I already got you drugged and kidnapped.”