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“This is the thanks I get for checking on you?” He tilts his head. “Don’t be like that, Lainey.”
“I’ll be however I want to be.”
“What about our walk tonight?”
“Canceled so hard.”
Manny ambles toward me, but he’s brought up short by a low growl from nearby in the woods. His face goes white, his body stilling. “Is that him?”
I smile. “Back up or you’re going to find out.”
The counselor’s face contorts with disgust. “We all saw him last night. That what turns you on? A fucking monster?” He steps away, swiping a hand over his twisted mouth. “We thought he was just some legend, but now that we know he’s real, some of the boys and I are going looking for him tonight. Can’t have some freak scaring the kids, can we? The next person he takes might not come back.”
For all Manny’s big boy talk, he’s sure whispering pretty quietly so Carver won’t hear him. Still, my stomach bottoms over the news. How many men are going along on this search for Carver? Enough to handle him, despite his size? What are they planning to do? “Leave him alone,” I say, my voice vibrating. “The stories are bullshit. He didn’t hurt me. Stay away from him.”
“So sweet how protective you are,” he sneers. “Nothing is going to protect him from us.”
“No,” I breathe, clutching at my chest.
But Manny has already turned and walked away, taking a path that leads away from the wooded area. I turn to the forest, hoping to catch sight of Carver, but I no longer feel his presence. He’s…gone?
“Lainey!” the campers shout in a chorus behind me. “Come on!”
With one last desperate glance toward the woods, I tell myself I won’t let anything happen to Carver. Tonight, I’ll go back to him. He needs to be warned.
Who knew I would be too late.
Chapter Seven
Carver
I stomp through the forest with even less grace than usual, sending small animals scurrying in every direction. There’s an awful pinch in my side that I haven’t inspected yet, but I can only think of finding my Lainey. Holding her. She’s not supposed to return to me until Saturday night, but waiting isn’t an option. I need her so badly, my head is turning inside out. Every second pushes me closer to insanity. Last time I saw her, she was standing in that tempting red bikini, her beautiful face in distress, and I only want to cure her of it.
A twig snaps to my left and I hear a sob. It’s a familiar one, too. I remember it from last night when Lainey was in pain after falling and hitting her head. It occurs to me in a sickening flash that the men who attacked me tonight could have also tried to harm Lainey—and the possibility has me battering a tree with my fist, its roots ripping out the ground at my feet.
“Lainey!”
“Carver?”
My heart hammers back to life in my chest as she comes stumbling through the trees, her arms wrapped around herself to stave off the cold. Without waiting, I scoop her up into my arms and begin rubbing warmth back into her limbs. “Princess, you should not be out here on such a cold night.” I search her for injuries—didn’t I hear her sob before? “Are you safe? Did they come after you? I should not have spared them—”
“I’m okay.” She clasps my face between her hands and I notice the tears in her eyes for the first time. “I was worried about you. I left as soon as the girls were asleep to warn you they were coming, b-but they’d already left. Oh God, I’ve been so scared something happened to you.”
“You are crying for me?”
My question seems to make everything worse. “Of course I am.” She wiggles until I set her down. “What happened? Did they—” Her breath leaves her in a rush as she prods my side. “You’re hurt. Oh God, you’re bleeding.”
“I feel no pain,” I say honestly. How can I feel anything but pleasure when this girl cries for me? “They brought only five men. It wasn’t much of a challenge for me.”
Her laughter is watery. “This is all your fault, you know. You just had to abduct me in front of everyone. Couldn’t you have waited until nighttime, at least?” She peels up my shirt, wincing at my injury. “No one would have known and you wouldn’t be bleeding right now.”
“I apologize, princess.” I brush hair away from her tear-stained face. “It was my first kidnapping.”
She peers up at me through her eyelashes. “If they took the time to know you, they wouldn’t think you’re a-a—”
“A monster?” I tilt her chin up. “I only care what you think of me.”
“I think you’re beautiful.” I’m still reeling when she says, “I want to know how you got your scars. Will you tell me?”
