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to tell her that they wouldn’t last long in the desert without hydration.
That was tomorrow, though. Today they’d dodged another bullet. She was lucky to be alive.
Axel bailed out of the side of the helicopter and slung his pack on his shoulder, then jogged around the front of the vehicle to her side. She spilled out into his waiting arms. Axel scooped her up and held her tightly against his body. She felt his racing heart against her own. He smelled like man and sweat and life.
Mystery blinked up, looking into his eyes. His expression, so sharp and aware, made her catch her breath. She dropped her gaze to his lips, aching to know what they felt like.
He grabbed a fistful of her hair and tugged, his stare sliding over her, fused to her. Then his lips crashed down onto her own. She gave a cry at the impact.
Axel took her mouth, possessed it. God, she’d been kissed before but not by anyone who could make her feel his touch through her entire body. The drugging relief she’d been feeling just after the crash mixed with a pure sexual thrill to give her a zing that soon had her climbing his big body, wrapping her legs around his waist, desperate for more.
Axel lifted his head, panted harshly in her face, then swooped in for another blistering kiss. This time, he drilled his tongue into her mouth and tangled it with his own, sweeping deep, scorching her all the way to her soul. His addictive flavor filled her. It wasn’t like artificial breath spray or toothpaste. It wasn’t whatever he’d been eating or drinking. It was just him. She tightened her legs around him and struggled for her next breath, not really caring if she found it.
He pulled at her scalp as he slanted his mouth across her lips at another angle, then dived deep into her a third time. Aching for him everywhere, Mystery wriggled on him and . . . Oh, did she find him hard and ready and so big. Yes. She wanted that. She wanted him. She yearned for more of his fingers tangled in her hair, his kiss taking absolute command of her body. She yearned to find out what it felt like to be filled by a guy who wasn’t simply trying to score.
She whimpered and tightened her arms around his neck. He gave a groan as he filled his hands with her ass and ground her against his raging erection.
He hit her right against the most sensitive spot. Mystery couldn’t stop herself from breaking the kiss and tossing her head back in pleasure. “Axel . . .”
Drawing in deep draughts of air, he set her back on her feet and jerked his hands from her as if he’d been burned. “Jesus, I didn’t mean to do that. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m fine. I—”
“Grab your pack.” Axel gritted his teeth, then gave a jerk of his head toward the expansive distance in front of them. “Let’s go.”
She frowned but did as he asked. Once she had it on her back, she fell into step beside him as he headed west, into the sun beginning its fall from its midday zenith. “What’s wrong?”
He refused to look at her. “I feel like an asshole. That was totally inappropriate.”
Mystery frowned up at him. “I liked it. A lot.”
That admission only seemed to turn his expression grimmer. “We’ll walk away from the crash site. With the transponder disabled, it should take whoever sent those guys a while to find their chopper.”
“So you don’t think my dad sent them?”
Axel shook his head. “If he had, they shouldn’t have been shooting at us. I waited to see if they’d fire first. When they started lining up their first shot, I acted accordingly.”
So whoever had paid for her abduction already knew she’d been rescued and was coming after her. “How long do we have?”
“Before they come after us again?” He shrugged, looking like he didn’t want to answer.
“Sheltering me doesn’t do us any good.”
“I know.” Axel squinted against the sun. “You’ve already been through a lot and . . .”
He didn’t want to put her through more. She appreciated that, but that didn’t help them. “It’s not over, so I can’t be a spoiled little rich girl and sit around waiting for someone else to solve my problems if I’d like to live. And the last thing I want to do is drag you down with me.”
“If he’s got another team on standby, an hour. Maybe two. If not, we might have a few hours more.”
The temperature sweltered. In order to reach the nearest town, they had to walk in the direct, blazing sun. They’d probably leave tracks in the sand that a blind man could follow.
“So we either find a place to hide nearby or make a run for it?”
“Yeah. And neither option is particularly good.”
Mystery understood that, but she hadn’t come this far for nothing. If she’d survived an abduction, a bullet-ridden rescue, a trek across unforgiving landscape, and busted out of her comfort zone so she wouldn’t be a burden, all of that couldn’t be for nothing. She wouldn’t let herself, her father, or Axel down.
“It seems to me that the closer we get to civilization, the better off we’ll be. Once we can tell someone I’m still alive and where to find me, they’ll have to give up. Or at least regroup.”
He nodded, then sent her a look filled with pride. “Hanging here makes us sitting ducks.”
“Then let’s keep going. If it doesn’t work out . . . we’ll know we did our best.”
“Good call.” He tilted his head at her. “Now drink water.”
“You’re bossy.”
Despite the gravity of the situation, a smile tugged at his lips. “That’s never going to change.”
Probably not, but she liked that about him. In fact, she liked everything about him. And if they survived this ordeal, Mystery didn’t think she could go back to her life without telling him exactly how she felt.
Chapter Five
THEY walked the better part of the day, skirting hills, rock formations, tall shrubs—anything that provided cover. The sun blazed, and they used up the last of their sunscreen. Axel donned a hat to protect his scalp from the rays. Mystery fought with her long hair until Axel found a length of string in his pack. She tied it on top of her head and kept putting one foot in front of the other. As afternoon waned, their water supply dwindled dangerously low, and she wondered what they’d do if they ran out altogether. Die within a few miles of civilization?
Axel glanced her way and frowned. “You look exhausted.”
She was. “It doesn’t matter right now. Are we walking until night falls?”
He studied the landscape, then turned back to her. “I’m thinking we need to make our way to that outcropping of rocks.” He pointed to a spot in the near distance. “We should rest there, soak up a little shade. We haven’t been followed yet, which tells me that whoever wants you is regrouping. When night falls, we’ll set out again. If we walk then, we’ll have to endure the cold, but it will preserve water.”
Right now, Mystery couldn’t imagine being not sweltering but she knew from experience that once the sun set, the wind often picked up and the temperature plummeted. Then the dry chill would whip at her bones.
She nodded, and they walked to the designated spot in silence. Neither of them said a word about the kiss. Had he just been damn glad to be alive and willing to lock lips with anyone to celebrate that? Or did he feel something for her that he’d written off as either unprofessional or a distraction to his mission? The question gnawed at her brain.
Once they reached the outcropping, Axel gestured to the shade wedged between two of the boulders. “Set your stuff here for a minute and take a load off. Make sure nothing is crawling around before you do. I’m going to climb up here and see if we can spot anything that might resemble dinner. MREs are running low.”
That struck further disquiet inside her. She and Axel could survive maybe another twenty-four hours. Thirty-six if they really conserved. What if no one rescued them before then? Or would her abductor’s goons materialize again even sooner to finish what they’d started?
If she thought about the possibility of either dehydrating or bleeding to dea
th, she’d only start panicking.
“Can I help?” she asked as he tugged his big body onto the rock and stood to his ridiculous height on top, surveying the area.
Suddenly, he froze, then squinted toward the bright, falling sun. He checked his compass, then seemed to do some mental math, dissecting a problem in his head.
“What is it? Do you see something?” Had they been saved?
“A few buildings. They look rickety, though. Maybe it was once a town.”
A bit of hope filled her. At the very least, maybe the structures would provide reliable shade. If she and Axel were lucky, maybe they would find water, food . . . something to sustain them, maybe more. “The desert is littered with ghost towns. My dad scouted a few for a movie about eight years ago, and I went with him. Some have been renovated for use as sets or for tourist adventures that show what mining in the old west must have been like.”
He whipped his gaze down to her. “You mean, some of these buildings could be habitable or have access to the outside world?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know which ghost town this might be, but we’ve at least got a shot.”
Axel jumped down with renewed vigor. “Then let’s go. It’s less than a half mile, just beyond that little rise in front of us.”
The smile he wore was infectious and showed off not only the cleft in his chin but the dimples in both cheeks. He wasn’t slick or polished or pretty, but when happiness lit up his face, he looked completely irresistible.
He ignored her stare and pressed on. “This could be good. We’ll approach cautiously in case your abductor is holed up here, but it looks deserted.”
“The whole ordeal might be over? That would make me so happy.” But I wish I could take you home as a souvenir. “Lead the way.”
As the big ball of the sun dipped toward the horizon and seared their faces, they hoisted their packs on their backs and hauled ass across the desert.
When they reached the outskirts of the little abandoned town, they found a big rock with a bronze plate just off the side of a dirt road. The town, Cerro Gordo, had once been the county’s wealthiest producer of minerals like silver, lead, and zinc. They’d sent water and other supplies by mule train, tram, or boat across the Owens Lake to build the pueblo of Los Angeles.
“Wow,” she murmured. “I’d heard that L.A. owed its roots to some of these old mining towns.”
Despite being hungry, sore, tired, and wrung out, Mystery wanted to see more of the place. If she could remake this nightmare into an adventure, even temporarily, maybe that would help her to cope with all the other stuff she couldn’t deal with yet.
Cautiously, they approached, Axel insisting she stay behind him just in case they encountered anyone out to kill them. With weapon drawn, he walked almost soundlessly, keeping her close behind.
Part of the town appeared at the base of a hill, while a few buildings perched on top. One of the first buildings they approached was a two-story structure made entirely out of wood. A wide porch stretched across the front, leading to a door flanked by two murky windows. A green and white sign proclaimed it the AMERICAN HOTEL. A balcony above boasted three windows and a railing no one should lean on. But overall, the building was in one piece and gave Mystery hope.
They tried the front door and found it locked. But one of the glass panes above the knob had been broken, leaving a gaping hole Axel stuck his hand through. With a turn of his wrist, he reached the lock and turned it.
They ducked inside the building to find it utterly deserted by anything except dust. People had been here, probably within the last few months. Dark hardwood floors, original to the structure, led to a long wooden check-in desk. Someone had painted the ceiling green, but left the exposed beams a cedar color. On one side of the room sat a massive woodstove. What might have once been an ornate copper wall behind it now looked green. Behind the counter, shelves of old-timey, empty bottles stood in a haphazard arrangement.
Around the corner, the theme continued as the room segued into a large bar/saloon area with an adjoining restaurant. The bar had been ravaged by time, then restored to something rustic yet polished. Above it hung a painting of a blonde in a white dress holding something that looked like an apple. A few bottles of modern beer sat on the corner, empty. Shot glasses lay upside down on a nearby tray, gathering dust.
“Do you think anyone is here?” she asked him.
He shook his head. “Maybe someone fixed this up and tried to make a go at drawing in tourists, then gave up recently.”
“Or they closed up for the winter. It snows around here sometimes.”
He nodded. “Let’s keep looking quickly. We’re losing light.”
A glance out one of the windows proved him right. They had maybe twenty minutes before everything went black.
“Any chance your phone works here? That someone installed a cell tower or something nearby?” she asked.
He pulled it from his pack and shook his head. “Nothing. Sorry.”
His reply disappointed her—mostly. Some small part of her rejoiced at the idea they’d get to stay together and alone just a bit longer. Which she knew was stupid.
She shrugged. “It was worth a shot.”
The bar led back to a restaurant. Despite the old cast-iron stove and the cabinets that looked as if they’d been built in the late nineteenth century, the place had a modern refrigerator, a microwave, and a ceiling fan with lights. Pots and pans hung from hooks in the ceiling.
Mystery flipped on a switch beside the doorway, hoping . . . But nothing. The refrigerator wasn’t humming, either. Damn.
Axel checked behind a little curtain set back in one wall. “Hey, I found some canned food here—beans, soup, veggies.”
At least they wouldn’t starve. She opened the refrigerator. A gust of hot air rushed her face, and the smell of plastic almost made her choke. Inside, sat a case of unopened bottled water.
“Axel!” she shrieked.
He rushed over and stopped short, then laughed. “That’s a welcome sight. Hot damn.”
A smile stretched across her face. Despite chapped, sunburned cheeks, blistered feet, and a layer of grime on her skin two inches thick, the sight of Axel happy made her grin. “Right?”
“Gather all that up. I saw some lanterns out in the restaurant. Hunt around for matches. I’m going to hope this hotel has a generator somewhere nearby.
She hadn’t even thought of that. “I’ll also see if, by chance, we have running water.”
“If not, I’ll look for a well or pump out back. Stay alert, just in case we’re not alone. I’ll be back by dark.”
As Axel eased out of the kitchen, she tried to turn on the sink. Nothing, damn it. With a sigh, she gathered up a few cans of food, then rifled through the drawers until she found a manual can opener and spoons. She wrenched one of the bottles of water from the pack and began sucking it down gratefully as she hustled back into the restaurant, grabbed a few lanterns, then searched the bar until she found a book of matches. Lighting a couple of the little lamps, Mystery grabbed one and decided now might be the best time to explore the upstairs.
Each step creaked as she made her way to the second floor. Hot, stagnant air lingered up on the landing, but she could see sunlight eeking through the cracks in the log cabin walls. She had no doubt that as the temperature fell outside, it would do the same in here.
She found five closed doors upstairs. All but one were locked. The one she could open revealed what looked like the suite. It consumed the area at the front of the hotel with a big, old-fashioned wrought-iron bed, homemade-looking quilts, a honey-colored dresser and basin, complete with an old porcelain pitcher and bowl. An old-fashioned plush chair in a fussy beige damask with a skirt covering its squatty legs took up one corner. Outside the window, she glimpsed a sweeping view of the desert they’d just traveled and the mountains beyond.
Everything in the room was quaint and charming, and the idea of sleeping in any bed at all was beyond welcome.
Cozying up with Axel . . . The thought made her shiver and flush.
A door in the corner led to a bathroom with a pedestal sink and an old claw-foot tub. And a toilet with a pump handle to flush. After making use of it, she snooped around. Someone had left behind a few new toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste, a comb, a bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo, a razor, and a spray can of deodorant. Mystery thanked her lucky stars.
Back in the bedroom, she opened the dresser drawers and hit pay dirt. A woman had obviously been here and left behind a pair of jeans. They’d be two sizes too big, but way more practical than her skimpy dress. Not only that, but she found a few shirts, some clean socks, and tennis shoes close to her size.
