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He’d make sure to figure out the answer to those questions, sooner rather than later.
? ♥ ?
They hadn’t been driving for too long, but the sun had left the sky about two hours ago, so it made sense when Hayden pulled into a small hunter’s cabin on the side of the road. According to him, they’d be taking this road almost all the way to their destination, a helpful piece of information Anna filed away in the event that this somehow became a solo journey once more.
They’d barely spoken the entire trip. Ever since their earlier argument. As if her attraction toward him would make her dislike him any less? If anything, it did the opposite. And then to accuse her of not having a plan? She had a plan. A great plan. Get in, kill the bad guy, get out. What more did she need to plan?
So she’d punished him with silence. Only, Hayden seemed to enjoy the silence, so she instead wound up punishing herself.
This trip had already been utterly infuriating, and Anna regretted her decision to include Hayden on it. Sure, he was a good fighter, and smarter than a man with that much muscle had any right to be. He would be of use. But he’d also annoy her to no end.
The cabin was small and wooden, clearly abandoned judging by the amount of foliage growing up the sides and dead leaves caked into the wooden steps. Hayden walked up first, hand hovering over the gun on his belt as he pushed the door in.
It must have been clear, because he quickly called out “are you coming?” when she lingered outside.
Normally, she’d be the first one running into danger. But it wouldn’t exactly hurt her if he ended up hurt, so…
No. She didn’t mean that. Anna had been angry for so long, she almost forgot what it was like to just… function, as a normal person. She might not like Hayden, but he did good things. And that alone meant he deserved the life he’d been given. The world would be done a disservice if he were killed. She reminded herself to remember that fact next time he pissed her off.
Walking into the cabin, she immediately noticed the musty smell of the place. Oh yeah, it had been empty for a long, long time. There were no lights in the dark space, but Hayden had already lit a lantern on the small corner table.
There was one full-sized mattress in the middle of the room, and one door, which Hayden stood in front of.
“Let me guess, bathroom?”
He nodded. Of course. There was only one bed, and two of them.
“I assume you’re cool with sleeping in the jeep? Big, brave protector and all. That way you can keep me safe from intruders in the night.” She winked.
Hayden huffed. “Nice try.”
“Well I’m not sleeping out there.” It was freezing, and she’d spent the previous night tied to a freaking pole. She had a whole night’s worth of sleep to catch up on.
He just shrugged, plopping down on the edge of the bed and pulling off his mud-covered boots. Carefully, he placed each one right beside the bed facing the opposite wall. Most likely so he could slip into them in the night and be out the door quickly. Not surprising, but interesting, nonetheless.
He laid back on the bed, taking up nearly the entire thing with his large form.
It was very obvious this small hunter’s cabin was meant for one single man or woman, not a person more. Hunting, while it could be done as a group sport, tended to be a solitary activity. At least, for humans it was. Whoever had owned this cabin, wherever they may be, did not see hunting as a group sport.
“You’re just going to ignore me? I know you can hear me.”
“I don’t care where you sleep, Anna. You’re more than capable of figuring it out.”
She stared down at his all-too-relaxed body, sprawled out across the bed and making it appear even smaller than it already was. He made this entire space appear smaller. There was no way they’d both fit on it…
Except, he’d left her tied to a pole last night. Her eyes slid down to her wrists, still red and raw, despite how little she’d fought to get free. Yeah, he was not getting another comfortable night’s rest while she got shit.
“Move toward the wall,” she demanded.
He moved toward the edge instead. “You can have the wall.”
It took everything in her not to argue. But she was tired, and sore, and annoyed as all hell, and her getting into the bed was argument enough. He would not win. She would not give in.
She crawled into the bed, taking the one pillow that was there and using it as a wall between them. If he thought anything of that, he didn’t say it. Just continued staring up at the ceiling, sprawled atop the blankets as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
Okay, maybe she wasn’t as strong as she thought. “What if I decide to run away while you’re asleep?”
He closed his eyes. “I’ll just find you again.”
