Yeah, I’m not sure if this is a good idea or no…but I can’t leave her here.
And I can’t drop her on someone else to take care of. She’s mine, she’s always been mine. Even if she doesn’t know it.
CHAPTER 3
Marina
Istir and reach up to grab my head, wincing at the pain rippling through it like a freight train.
“Keep your hands off that bandage, Mari. I just got it fixed up. I don’t need you messing up my handiwork.”
The rough, husky growl washes over me and I squint my eyes shut harder.
No, no, no. There’s no way….
“You can stop wishing yourself somewhere else, baby. You know where you’re at.”
“I don’t know where I’m at. I’ve never been here.”
“I guess that’s true.”
Fabric rustles but I keep my eyes closed. If I don’t open them, surely this isn’t real. I’m having some horrendous nightmare where my car is trashed beyond belief and I’m still hanging onto the side of a mountain and praying for anyone to come by but him.
“Where’s my car?” I ask him, holding my breath and praying.
“Holding onto the side of a mountain and spinning its wheels.”
“Shit. I was really hoping you weren’t going to say that.”
He chuckles but it’s not a happy sound. It’s rough and angry. “What the hell were you doing up here on this mountain in the middle of the storm of the century?”
“My brother,” I hiss under my breath, feeling a wave of nausea wash over me. “Did I hit my head?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry but it’s gonna be an uncomfortable night because you can’t go to sleep. I need to keep an eye on you for a concussion.”
Nodding my head, I swallow roughly. But of course as soon as he says it all I want to do is go to sleep. I’m exhausted. This move is hell for me but it’s a new start since my whole life imploded.
Note to self: don’t ever get involved with someone you work with again.
Shaking myself free from stupid thoughts that won’t help a damn thing, I cautiously open my eyes, the light making me cringe.
But when I slowly let myself adjust, my eyebrows lift. The cabin is a lot nicer than I thought it might be when my brother said he was off-grid. This is no roughing it situation.
There’s a soft glow in the living room that I’m lying in and the couch I’m currently reclining on is a soft fabric that feels like butter on my aching body. My hand touches it, my lips twitching.
“Not exactly what you expected?”
And now I need to face the thing I’ve been dreading. Seeing him.
My eyes lift and I swear to god the jolt to my system feels like an electrical current running through my whole body.
“There she is,” he says softly, a soft smile on his lips. “I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to look at me.”
“Why would I want to look at your ugly mug when I can look at that?” The huge windows are dark except for a security lightthat shines on the huge back deck. I can see enough to know that that view is probably priceless.
“You can’t see a damn thing out there and you know it, baby. What are you doing up here?”
“I already told you that. My brother asked me to stop and check in on you since you’re bound and determined not to talk to anybody,” I huff, sitting up carefully, my whole body feeling like I went ten rounds with a boxer.
