She held her breath as she heard the scraping noise edge closer.
Daniel crawled over the rise and raised a hand in greeting.
“Oh my God, you scared me half to death! I thought I’d lost you.”
“I was making sure no one followed us. I also picked up your walking stick.”
“Okay. Thanks then.”
Daniel shrugged and sat next to her, leaning on the tree stump. She could feel his body heat through her jeans and wriggled a few inches away from him, rubbing her knee to cover her action.
“Are you okay? How’s your leg?”
Beth fell back against the tree trunk, lifting her hand to push her tangled hair out of her eyes. Her leg hurt like hell, but there wasn’t much she could do about it right at this moment, so there wasn’t much point in complaining. “Painful, but I can manage,” she lied. “So what do we do now?”
“We get out of here as soon as we can.”
“How do you propose to do that? You may not have noticed, but we’re in the middle of nowhere.”
Daniel pulled a mobile phone from his pocket and punched in a few numbers. “I’ll get someone to pick us up. Then we need to disappear for a while.”
What did he mean disappear? She couldn’t just disappear.
Then again, as she’d realized before, there was no reason why she couldn’t. She’d been alone when her parents had died and she’d gotten through that. She’d get through this. She made herself sit straighter and tried to maintain the distance from Daniel, ignoring the heat that was emanating from his direction. Not that it was working. She wasn’t game to speak in case her voice betrayed the vulnerability that her proximity to him was causing.
Less than fifteen minutes later, the whirring of a helicopter broke the silence. Could it have really been only thirty minutes ago that she had been on the train staring out of the window, trying to conjure up images of the train crash? Everything was happening too fast.
The speed at which the helicopter arrived also both surprised and frightened Beth. How did Daniel have the resources to get a helicopter to them in this remote part of the country in such a short period of time? Whatever it was they
thought
she saw on that train, it must’ve been bloody important. Important enough to have people following and shooting at her.
If only she could remember. She had to think, but first she needed some answers. Daniel must’ve known something, but she sensed reluctance on his part to give her any information. She’d just have to make him. Ever since her parents’ death, she’d taken charge of her own life. This dependence on someone else was an alien concept to her.
As the helicopter landed, Daniel helped Beth to her feet and collected her backpack.
“Keep your head down.”
The touch of his strong hands around Beth’s shoulders sent waves of heat across her skin. She barely had time to think before Daniel lifted her into the helicopter and buckled her in. By the time she remembered to breathe, he’d already moved into the seat next to the pilot, attached a headset and the copter had taken off.
The deafening noise of the rotors provided few opportunities for conversation, which suited Beth just fine. Her whole body continued to quake from the brief contact of being lifted into her seat. Talking was the last thing she felt like doing right now. Had he felt it, too? Did his body spark with energy? Were his senses on overload? Certainly Beth couldn’t remember ever feeling so many sensations from so light a contact. Her skin tingled and the sensual heat continued to flow throughout her body.
What the hell is happening here?
She had been shot at, dragged off a train and whisked across the country in a helicopter with a man she’d just met. She needed all her wits about her. This wasn’t the time to indulge in fantasies. He appeared to be on the up and up, but he still could be one of the bad guys. He hadn’t been very forthcoming with information so far, and that was a worry.
She’d better ignore this attraction. Her life was in enough turmoil without sex clouding her judgment. It was probably the adrenaline rush anyway.
Who was she kidding? It was lust, pure and simple.
The five years since her parents’ death had left her with little time for herself. Her parents hadn’t been wealthy. The house and small insurance policy they’d left her weren’t much, so it was still a struggle to make ends meet. Beth enjoyed her work at the art gallery, but it wasn’t exactly a place to meet men. At least not straight men, she thought, smiling to herself as she visualized most of the management. Before the crash, her evenings had been taken up with study for her online computer science degree. In all of her twenty-six years, Beth had never had a serious relationship. She’d gone out with men, of course, but she’d never been able to let herself care too much for any of them. She had always held on to her independence. That way she could be the one to leave, not the other way around. But none of those men had ever made her sweat as much as Daniel did. God, just thinking about him made her heart race.
Although it made her feel incredibly alive, Beth instinctively knew she’d have to tread very carefully. She couldn’t afford to let Daniel know what his presence did to her. Hell, he probably saved damsels every other week and walked away without a second glance. She would concentrate on what was happening now. Strangers were taking control of her life and she couldn’t let that happen. She’d learned the hard way that the only person you could really count on was yourself. First step—stay in control.
Where the hell are they taking me anyway?
This is crap!
She needed answers and now. She leaned forward and shook Daniel’s shoulder.
Daniel jerked his head around. He handed her a headset and waited while she put it on. “Everything all right? Is there a problem?”
“Yes, there’s a problem. And I’m not all right. I need to know where you’re taking me and when I can go home.”
He smiled at her. A sexy, lopsided smile, and she forgot to breathe.
“Trust me. Everything’s going to be okay.”
She smiled back weakly. What else could she do? Her chest felt like hundreds of butterflies were swarming around her heart.
That smile should be illegal.
All he had to do was flash those pearly whites and make that dimple appear and she was a goner.
If she didn’t stop herself, she could fall hard for this guy. Not only was he the best-looking man she’d ever seen in her life, but he seemed really nice. And those sexy eyes and the killer smile…
Whoa, baby!
She instinctively felt she could trust him, but could she trust herself?
* * * *
“We lost her,” said the silver-haired man.
His colleague on the other end of the telephone cursed. “What do you mean you lost her? How could that have happened?”
“She disappeared off the train, but she can’t get far on that injured leg.”
“You must find her. She can’t be allowed to destroy all we’ve achieved. We’ve come too far. I want her eliminated.”
“Of course… I’ll take care of it.”
The silver-haired man replaced the phone in its cradle and swore. He smashed his fist on his desk and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He didn’t want to do it, but this time he had no choice.
It was time to call in all favors.
* * * *
The helicopter circled around a small cabin in a clearing, the surrounding area appeared to be miles of dense bushland. As they hovered and began their descent, Daniel removed his headset and seatbelt, then moved to the rear compartment. He jumped out of the door as soon as the pilot opened it and reached for Beth’s hand to help her out. She brushed him aside and leaped out on her own steam. She’d had enough heat for the time being, thank you very much.
Daniel shrugged and reached into the cockpit to grab her backpack. The pilot climbed back in the helicopter after throwing a few extra bags on the ground and gave Daniel the thumbs-up sign before taking off and flying into the distance.
“We’d better get inside,” Daniel said, as soon as the helicopter was out of sight. “Here, take my arm,” he offered.
“I can manage.”
“Suit yourself,” Daniel answered, chuckling softly as he led the way to the small cabin ahead.
Beth hurried to catch up with him, limping heavily and cursing herself for refusing his help. She just couldn’t let him get close to her. If she leaned on him now for support, knowing how the slightest physical contact affected her, she wouldn’t be able to regain the control she so desperately needed.
Beth stopped for a minute to rest her leg and inspect the cabin. Larger than she’d first thought, it had bare timber walls and louvre shutters that gave the impression of age, however the gabled roof was a jungle-green corrugated iron, which hinted of recent renovations. Several timber steps led to a small veranda across the front of the building. The front door was open and Daniel leaned against the doorframe, grinning down at her, his brown eyes twinkling in amusement.
“Are you sure you don’t want any help, Miss Hamilton? I don’t bite, you know.”
Beth flushed at his words, once more reminded that he was absolutely gorgeous. Her heart pounded away so loudly that she was sure he could hear it.
“Nn-n-no thanks,” she stammered. “I’m good, almost there.” She started forward but caught her foot on a tree root and stumbled. She felt her legs crumple under her as she fell unceremoniously to the ground.
Daniel reached her in seconds, enfolding her in his strong arms and lifting her upright. She instinctively pulled away from him and he stepped back, leaving his hands resting on her upper arms, branding her.
“Easy now, it’s not a crime to accept help, you know.”
Beth trembled as the tears that had been threatening all day finally came out in a deluge. “I’m s-sorry.” She bowed her head and raised a hand to wipe her eyes. The last thing she needed was for him to see her crying.
Daniel stifled a curse and drew her to his chest. She felt her body sink into him as he gently rubbed her back before easing her head to rest against his shoulder.
“It’s going to be all right. You’re safe now,” he whispered.
The kind words of comfort intended to calm her unleashed a floodgate. Beth cried as she’d never cried before. All the pain and anguish of the last eight weeks—the operation, the memory loss, the nightmares—all collided with her thoughts and emotions, and combined with today’s horrifying events, came out in a torrent of tears. She leaned her body into his. He didn’t push her away. He just held on. The warmth of his arms and the tenderness of his touch made her feel safe and protected. It was difficult to move out of that comfort zone, but after several minutes when the sobs began to die down, Daniel drew back.
“Let’s get inside and have something to eat,” he said. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starved.”
The tears had released much of the tension she’d been feeling ever since that day she’d woken up in hospital, but that didn’t change the fact that she’d just made an idiot of herself in front of a total stranger. A drop-dead gorgeous stranger who was apparently in charge of her life for the time being.
Way to go, Beth.
Beth leaned heavily on Daniel’s arm as she made her way into the cabin. He held her firmly, but gently, as she hobbled over to a shabby but comfy-looking couch, and suggested she put her leg up while he prepared some food. Beth glanced at her watch and realized it was only lunchtime. Three hours ago she had boarded a train, hoping to get some answers, and now, here she was in a remote cabin with a stranger and more questions than she’d started with. She slumped back against the comfortable cushions and sighed. What the hell was next?
The scent of sausages and bacon filled the air as Daniel returned from the kitchenette on the other side of the large living room. “You want some coffee?”
“I’d kill for a cup of coffee,” Beth replied, trying to sound cheerful. “And that food smells fantastic. I really am hungry.”
Daniel placed a tray on the coffee table in front of Beth. The sausages and bacon were delicious and the coffee went a long way to warm the chill Beth had felt ever since that moment in the train when she had started to remember. He also handed Beth a glass of water and a couple of pain pills for her leg, which she gratefully took.
“You seem to have everything here, food, coffee, pills… What is this place?” Beth asked.
“It’s a safe house. We keep it fairly well stocked with vacuum-packed frozen meat and tinned food. You never know when it might be needed,” he replied, as he sat down in the armchair opposite her.
“We
,
meaning the NCA?”
“Yes.”
“So why is the National Crimes Agency interested in my train crash? And where do I fit in with all this?”
Daniel paused briefly before replying. “We’re not completely sure, but we do know it involves national—and possibly international—security. Why don’t we finish our meal first, then we’ll talk. Okay?”
“And you’ll tell me everything?”
“As much as I can,” Daniel replied. She was sharp as a tack and as prickly as a pear. He needed to be careful. He couldn’t tell her everything, for her own safety, but he knew she wouldn’t be satisfied with that.
“I don’t know all the facts, but I promise you I’ll tell you what I can. Okay?”
Daniel watched Beth, realizing what an effort this conversation was for her. She was really trying to get herself together, but her knee was obviously bothering her. She must be exhausted. He couldn’t add to her stress by telling her too much, regardless of how many questions she might have.
He’d only tell her what she needed to know for the moment. Later, when things were more certain, there would be time for the whole truth. He couldn’t even tell her how they’d met because he couldn’t risk her remembering just yet. If word got out that her memory was back, the people following her would stop at nothing to kill her.
She had to feel the chemistry between them, given her skittishness, but he couldn’t afford to do anything except try and ignore it. Realistically he knew he should maintain a professional distance if he was to keep her out of danger and his head straight. He couldn’t afford to think of what could happen between them down the track. For now, the present was far more important.