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“The killer?” she whispered warily.
“Gone,” Moss informed her succinctly. He didn’t speak until they were out of the woods and back in the field where he could see her properly. “Might I remind you that this is a killer I was chasing?”
“Well, I know that,” she snapped.
“Where is your father? Why did he let you out of the house?” Moss demanded, his temper rising.
“I don’t need his permission to go anywhere,” Clementine protested.
“Really,” Moss replied. He placed his hands on his hips and squared up to her. “Well, what would you have done if that killer had circled around you and came up behind you to kill you? You could be dead by now. Do you know that?”
“But you were there,” she argued.
“Yes, running in the other bloody direction. You could have been killed. It was a bloody stupid thing to do to come after me, Clementine. I thought I told you to stay with your father.”
“Have I been put in any danger?”
“You have been in contact with every person who is now dead. How much danger do you want to be in?” Moss ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He wondered what he had to say, or do, to get the seriousness of her situation through to her.
“I know,” she replied quietly. “They were my friends, you know.”
“Why would you willingly put your life at risk like that?” Moss demanded.
Clementine folded her arms. “Did you know where you were going?”
Moss sighed. “I would have found my way back to your house eventually.” He pointed to the tall spire of the village church. “Or have you forgotten about the local landmarks?”
“Well, I am sorry for thinking I could help you.”
“This is what I do,” he shouted. “I am a private detective, or have you forgotten? I am used to chasing after suspects and wrestling them down if I need to. It is hardly ladylike or dignified for you to do the same.”
Clementine glared at him and copied his stance by placing her fists on her hips. “Well, this directly involves me. You can hardly expect me to stand and wait in a dead person’s house not knowing if the killer had claimed you as his next victim out here. Whether you like it or not, I am involved in this because the killer has made me involved. You cannot ignore it any more than I can. Staying inside like some frightened rabbit is not going to help anything.”
“I don’t expect you to stay inside like some frightened rabbit,” he snapped impatiently. “Just don’t put yourself in sodding danger so stupidly, like you have just now.”
“Stupidly? Well, I am sorry for thinking I could help you. Maybe I should just let you get lost next time,” Clementine shouted.
“I am trying to keep you safe,” Moss yelled back. “Why in the Hell are you determined to put yourself in danger? Don’t you know what it will do to people if you die?”
“Who says I am going to die?”
“The killer!” Moss grabbed her by the shoulders and held her squarely before him. “Have you stopped to consider what it would mean if you got injured, or died?”
Clementine opened her mouth but didn’t get the chance to speak before Moss resumed his outburst. “Don’t you give a damn about the people who care about you?”
“Of course I do,” she retorted. “What sort of question is that?”
“Well, you don’t seem to.”
“Of course I care,” Clementine yelled. “If I didn’t care I wouldn’t be here.” She flicked her fingers at his chest. “With you.”
Before she could say anything else, Moss yanked her forward and kissed her. This wasn’t
like any other kiss Clementine had enjoyed with him. This kiss was raw, elemental, and was driven by the charged emotions that swirled around them. Their lips were equally as fierce, challenging and demanding, refusing to acquiesce to the other. Their arms wound tightly around each other with a fierceness that made them strong. There wasn’t an inch of space between them but neither allowed any. The more either of them tried, the deeper the emotion seemed to entwine them both until they were lost to the sensations neither of them could deny. It drew forth a well of emotions which had lurked in the shadows from the first moment they had met, waiting to be acknowledged, studied, and named. Now that their need for each other was out into the open, neither Moss nor Clementine was prepared for the ferocity of it, or the changes that made them completely different people when they did eventually draw apart. Even then they didn’t step away from each other. Neither of them could bear for there to be any physical distance between them. Instead, Moss held her tenderly while he lifted his head to look lovingly down into her eyes.
“I apologise for being so harsh with you, but I care about you, Clementine. I cannot bear the thought of anything happening to you. It would be the end of my future happiness, you have to know that,” Moss whispered.
Clementine blinked at him. “So you do feel the same,” she whispered in awe. “That is exactly what compelled me to come after you.”
