Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (15 page)

Strong arms gripped her from behind.
She screamed, flailing wildly, sending her camera flying into the
woodlands.

“
Calm down,” a voice said,
laughing. “It’s only me. Might want to warn your team that I set
off some tripwires on the way here.”

“
YOU!? Those growling
sounds weren’t funny, you idiot! And look…you made me drop an
expensive piece of equipment. Hard to believe you’re a
professional, Frank.” Sarah took a slow, deep breath to calm her
nerves.

He slipped off his leather jacket.
“Oh, come on. I even bought a proper Indiana Jones fedora for the
occasion.”

Her cheeks grew hot as she stared at
the safari shirt stretching across his broad shoulders and strong
chest, his sleeves rolled up at the elbow. Khaki-colored pants
finished his adventurer ensemble. His brown hair hung in shaggy
waves from underneath his hat. He looked really hot, but there was
no way she was going to admit it. If he’d had a bullwhip, she would
have wanted to strangle him with it. “You hate hats.”

“
What? No I don’t. Now we
match—his and hers Indy hats.” The flames leapt greedily at the
logs, reflecting in his hazel eyes as he scanned her up and down
with a crooked smile. “Did anybody ever tell you how sexy you look
in camouflage? And boy, you have the part of big-game hunter
nailed.”

“
I’m not
here to hunt any game and certainly not to kill anything. I just
want to prove its existence.” Sarah let out a long sigh. “This
is
my
expedition
anyway, so what’re you doing here?” She reached down and picked up
her equipment.

“
I’m on assignment. Nobody
wanted to write this article, but I jumped on it.” He wrapped an
arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “One of the perks of
the job is seeing you.”

“
Even if you got lost
trying to find me in this forest?”

“
I could more easily get
lost in those big brown eyes of yours.”

She flung his arm off. “You scared the
crap out of me!”

“
Hey, you’re lucky I didn’t
show up in an ape suit.”

“
You know I have a
tranquilizer gun, right?”

He glanced down at her waist. “Yeah,
and I love the holster. It’s so Old West.”

Sarah met his gaze. “I’d aim straight
for your—”

“
Cute butt?” he finished,
grinning.

She shook her head. “Not quite what I
had in mind.”

“
Don’t you dare say heart,
‘cause you’ve already shattered mine.”

“
I’m sorry,
Frank.”

“
Why don’t you answer my
phone calls or e-mails?”

She huffed. “Don’t you have some
ridiculous ghost story or urban legend you could be out debunking?
Shouldn’t you be killing off the Tooth Fairy for little kids or
something?”

“
Why do
you waste your time playing head researcher in
Planet of the Apes
?”

Glaring, she picked up the radio.
“Guys, false alarm! It’s only Frank Hedford.”

Adam’s
voice crackled in the speaker. “Huh? That guy from the
Daily News
?”

She glared at Frank as she spoke into
the walkie-talkie. “Yeah, that’s our animal. I’ll get rid of him.
Everyone back to your positions.”

“
So you caught the smaller,
smellier version of Bigfoot, huh?” he asked over the
radio.

“
Yeah, I suppose I did.
We’ll be in tomorrow’s headlines—‘Bigfoot: A No Show’.”

She recognized Steven’s voice when he
said, “Throw that guy out on his big furry—”

Sarah turned off the radio.

Frank smiled. “Man, it feels good to
be loved. Must be that article I wrote about those guys mistaking
an elk for a Sasquatch. You know, I bet they could still get their
story published. The supermarket tabloids would jump on a juicy
tidbit like that.”

Sarah’s cheeks burned with anger.
“Listen, we had two reliable eyewitnesses on that case,
and—”

“
And a blurry picture that
didn’t add up to squat.”

“
Why is it so hard to
believe that a reclusive primate that hasn’t yet been documented
and studied could be out there? Are you really so shallow that you
can only believe in things you’ve seen with your own
eyes?”

He groaned. “Sarah, it’s a myth. You
know what that is, right? Bigfoot stories have scared Boy Scouts
around campfires for decades. Oh, and speaking of campfires, I’m
assuming this is base camp.” He tossed his backpack next to a few
logs.

“
You’re not invited to this
slumber party,” Sarah said.

His eyes widened. “What? No stargazing
and snuggling?”

She pointed away from her camp. “You
can take your sleeping bag and tent somewhere else. How did you
find me and my team anyway?”

He
smirked. “Your organization tried to keep this location top secret,
but I’m a journalist, doll, an
investigative
reporter. Took Lois
Lane a while to figure out the correlation between Clark Kent and
Superman, but I’m a hundred times sharper than
her.”

“
Fine. So spill it. How did
you find us?”

Frank peeked up at the night sky that
was dotted with millions of sparkling stars. “Well, for starters, I
went back and read all the newspaper reports. Isn’t this the place
where your sister disappeared when she was fifteen? What was that,
about ten years ago? Sabrino Cave? I knew you’d hold the expedition
here because you think these alleged creatures had something to do
with your sister’s disappearance. When I saw your Jeep in that
caravan of vehicles over there, I knew my hunch had panned
out.”

He stretched his legs and made himself
comfortable on the naked ground. She sensed he wasn’t going
anywhere, so she decided to join the party and dropped down next to
him.

“
This is a great place for
an investigation. Bluff Creek is where Patterson took his famous
Bigfoot video.”

“
Is that
what you told your team?” He snorted. “You can’t fool me. Why
didn’t you elaborate on the
real
reason you picked this location? This has Liz
written all over it.”

She tried to fight the quiver in her
voice. “Look, I don’t care how ‘investigative’ of a reporter you
think you are, mister, but my sister’s off limits. You got that?
You print one word about her, and I’ll sue the living—”

His tone softened. “Now, now. Calm
down. I’m sorry. Clearly, I was out of line.”

“
It’s fine,” she muttered.
“Just get out of here, okay?”

“
You sure about that? What,
are you still sore we didn’t work out?”

“
Work out? Hmm.”

“
You know it really hurt
that you didn’t invite me to your twenty-fourth birthday party last
week. Yeah, I saw the pics on Facebook before you unfriended
me.”

Sarah shrugged.

“
Don’t worry,” he said. “I
forgive you. I have to admit, I saw fireworks the second I laid
eyes on you. It was so adorable how your face lit up like a
Christmas tree.”

She slapped his arm. “I’m afraid you
mistook that reaction. It was fright.”

He smiled at her as he snaked his arms
around her. “More like awe.”

Oh, he
has some nerve, this one.
“Listen, I don’t
need you breathing down my neck, okay? This isn’t a joke. I take my
research very seriously,” Sarah said, breaking herself free from
his smothering embrace. She sat down by the fire and scanned all
eight cameras. “If you don’t mind, I have work to
do.”

He kicked off his leather boots and
grinned. “Mind if I kick back for a while? I had to hike miles and
miles through the forest to find you.”

She shot him a glare. “There are some
twenty-five to thirty other researchers and scientists you can
bother. Take your pick of them or go out there and try your dumb
luck in the woods, but just leave me alone.”

He winked. “Yeah, but those other
campers aren’t as cute as you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh brother. What
are you up to anyway? Dreaming up articles on how to discredit my
work even more?”

“
I only give my honest,
professional opinion. I thought that’s what you loved about me.
Anyway, listen, Sarah; let’s not dwell on the past. We’ve both made
mistakes. I should’ve taken your research more
seriously.”

Her eyes
stayed focused on the screen, and she saw a mysterious shadow flit
across it. “Whoa! Did you see that? Something just moved on Camera
2!” She leaned in, not believing what she was seeing. “Right there,
left of the boulders. See it?”
Maybe this
is the real deal. Hunters claimed to see this beast only yesterday,
right here in this vicinity.

“
Where?” Frank
asked.

She pointed to the left side of the
monitor. “Look! It’s right there.” Her voice grew in intensity.
“Something just moved on Camera 3. There…right over there. Do you
see it?”

“
Yes, but need I remind you
that we’re in the middle of the wilderness? In case you might have
forgotten, plenty of squirrels, rabbits, bears, and deer live out
here.”

Sarah turned the knob to give more
clarity to the screen. “This is me ignoring you.”

“
You know, I think you’d be
more into me if I stunk, had long hair, and gave off pheromones
like a gorilla.”

“
Who said you don’t?” She
picked up the radio, her voice urgent. “Base camp to Adam. I got a
shadow on the south side of the forest, Camera 3. I need Team 7 to
check it out pronto. Over.”

“
Roger that. What was that
creepy howl?”

The radio crackled. “Amy to base
camp.”

“
Go ahead,” Sarah
said.

“
Bait’s gone by Cameras 1
and 2.”

“
Any other teams
experiencing anything unusual?” questioned Sarah into the
radio.

“
Team 6, by the river.
Nothing unusual to report here.”

Static crackled. “Team 3 reporting. We
heard some rustling in the bushes. It stopped, but something’s
definitely out there. Could just be local wildlife, but we’re not
sure.”

Another voice crackled over the
walkie-talkie. “Team 9 reporting. We got some rock- and
log-throwing, but it’s too dark to make anything out. Thermal’s not
picking up anything.”

“
Got a visual?” Sarah asked
into the mouthpiece, ignoring her uninvited guest who didn’t
believe it was anything more than a bear.

“
No. We’re moving
forward.”

She wasn’t comfortable with their
plan. For a moment, she hesitated, considering other options, even
though she knew there were none. “Okay. Get a visual, but stay
safe.”

“
This is Team 4. FLIR’s
lighting up like fire,” Beth said. “We got a huge biped crawling
low in the brush. Get over here NOW!”

“
I’m on my way.” Sarah’s
heart pounded as she put on a pair of night-vision goggles and
began adjusting the straps. They weren’t as helpful as actual
daylight, but even with that fluorescent green hue, they sure beat
tripping. Everything sharpened into focus as she blinked, her view
illuminated in neon from the high-tech gadget. She grabbed her
35mm, the FLIR, and clipped her radio on her belt. Without another
look at Frank, she darted through the giant trees, swatting away at
the brush and ferns as she went.

“
Wait! I’m coming!” Frank
yelled.

Sarah rolled her eyes and didn’t even
bother looking back at him. She raced through the trees and
thickets of brush, trying not to slip on the wet leaves. Finally,
she made her way into a clearing and ran in the direction of
Sabrino Cave.

Out of the darkness, a voice called
out her name, and a beam of light shone in her direction. “Sarah?
Is that you?” Adam called out.

“
Yeah.”

Adam waved a flashlight around. “Is
that…why is Frank still here? I thought you got rid of that
joker.”

Frank took a step forward, but Sarah
jerked his arm. “Listen, buddy, we don’t have time for any
nonsense. Capisce?”

“
But
he
started it,” he whined, pointing at Adam.

“
What are you, like five?”
She then shot a glance at Adam. “Look, just don’t start your crap,
okay? I didn’t invite him, but he’s here, and we don’t have time
for any drama.”

“
Fine,” Adam
said.

“
Where’re the others?” she
asked between breaths.

“
Rob, Beth, and the camera
dude, uh, Steven, are around here somewhere,” Adam said glancing
around.

Just then, a figure burst through the
towering ferns. “I’m so glad you’re here! Oh, man, you should’ve
seen it,” Beth shouted. “I swear I almost pissed my
pants.”

“
No way!
You
saw
it? With
your own eyes?” Sarah met her gaze, gasping for air, her mind
unable to comprehend just yet. “Where?”