AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He looked her over. She trusted him and didn’t associate him with whoever had hurt her friend. That was good. Against his better judgment, he said solemnly, “I’ll keep you safe, Aliya. You’ll be okay.”
“You promise?” Her golden-brown eyes seemed to pierce his soul.
Could he promise? He hadn’t kept Suzanne safe, hadn’t been able to rescue her.
He held Aliya’s gaze, and he said two words he shouldn’t have. “I promise.”
“I believe you.” She gave him a soft smile, and he felt his chest expand. As the fourth of six prince brothers, he used to fancy himself a heroic and brave prince like the stories his mum had loved to tell him. Losing Suzanne had made him realize he was no hero.
But this woman believed he’d keep her safe?
He nodded to her and stood quickly, gun out, checking the surrounding area. He dared any threat to come at them. He’d failed Suzanne. He would not fail Aliya.
Chapter Three
Aliya shivered despite the thin emergency blanket tucked around her. Her clothes were damp and her skin tingled. The sun and the plastic blanket were trying to warm her up.
If Sydnee Lee was here, she’d boss Curtis around, maybe tell him to lie on top of Aliya and warm her up. No way would Aliya dare be so brazen. Flushing just imagining Curtis touching her made her warmer. Thankfully she wouldn’t see Pastor Jim soon and have to confess.
She stared at the insanely handsome man who was currently holding a gun out and watching for threats as they waited for a helicopter to come rescue them. One moment ungraciously tumbling off a waterfall; the next staring up at some sort of real-life superhero. He seemed familiar to her somehow, but she knew she’d never met the likes of this tough, kind, and brave man.
Despite the reassurance of Curtis’s muscles and his weapon and his promise to keep her safe, fear pounded inside her and she instinctively wanted to run from whoever was chasing her. Her head throbbed. She probably wouldn’t get far if she tried. She had to trust Curtis. He definitely seemed the trustworthy sort.
How did she even know someone was chasing her? The last thing she remembered was this morning when she and Gracie were getting ready in a hotel room. They’d been excited for a hiking adventure. With two men. Who were the men? She should know that. She felt like she should know those men. She strained to picture them, but it made her headache worse.
Had Gracie been hurt by one of the men? Where was her friend? Where was Aliya? It was terrifying to not remember what had happened, and not know where she was.
She was surrounded by the beauty of the mountains, so they must’ve gone hiking. Where were the men and Gracie? What time of day was it? The warm sun was slanting. Possibly late afternoon? She didn’t dare interrupt Curtis’s vigilant and protective stance and ask. She wished she understood why her mind was blocking out everything about those men and the events from this morning to when she’d opened her eyes and looked into a man’s blue eyes, clearer than a summer’s sky and warmer than the sun itself.
Curtis August. Why was that name familiar? He had no shirt on, and his damp shorts clung to him. He was beautifully shaped, with a tanned, muscular upper body that made her mouth dry. She let her gaze trail over the strong, manly bumps of muscle in his arms, shoulders, and chest, and the lean, striated muscles of his abdomen and back.
Yikes. She was acting like a wanton woman. Pastor Jim and her mama would give her a preaching about lusts of the flesh. But my goodness gracious, had her mama ever seen a build the likes of that one? They grew their men strong in Georgia, and her daddy was no exception, but Aliya had never glimpsed a man’s build that compared to the appeal of Curtis Augustine.
She flushed in embarrassment and looked out at the thick greenery instead, not wanting him to catch her staring. She needed to concentrate on how to find and help Gracie and who the men were that had hurt Gracie and somehow made Aliya jump off a waterfall. She glanced up at the water gushing over that ledge. She would never willingly jump off something that high. Had the men thrown her? Were they nearby, waiting to hurt her and Curtis? Her eyes darted around, but she couldn’t see anyone. If they were there, what were they waiting for? All this thinking made her head throb.
Curtis glanced down. The lean lines of his face softened, and he gave her a beautiful and reassuring smile that crinkled his cheeks and the corners of his eyes. “The helicopter will be here soon. We’ll get you somewhere safe, and my brother will stitch up your head and help you remember.”
“Bless you,” she said softly, loving his lyrical accent. This man felt like ‘somewhere safe’ to her. Could she stay with him? “Is your brother a doctor?”
“One of the best.”
She loved the pride in his voice. She loved her family too. Her mama and daddy were going to flip out that she got hurt. They hadn’t wanted her to extend her trip. They hadn’t wanted her to even come on the trip, had wanted her safe at home. If only she’d listened. She supposed she’d go home now. That was comforting, but she wanted to spend more time with her rescuer. Silly, as she hardly knew him. He was a hero in her eyes, and she probably had a rescuer’s complex where she thought she cared more deeply for her rescuer than she truly did because of how he’d helped her and how appealing he was.
A steady thrumming drifted toward them.
Curtis turned and peered through the trees. She watched him. She liked watching him. He was a welcome distraction to the fear of some unknown but looming threat that pulsed through her.
A few moments later, the thrumming got louder and then a helicopter hovered above them.
Curtis waved as the door opened and two men appeared holding a basket a little larger than a person between them. He squatted down next to her. “They’ll have to lower the basket; there’s not room to land safely here.”
“Okay,” she squeaked, tears pricking at her eyes again. She wasn’t always this emotional. Right? It scared her that she couldn’t remember this day or the men who she felt like she should somehow know. What else was she forgetting? Was she actually an emotional mess who cried all the time?
Curtis’s gaze was warm on her face as the two men stood on the edges of the basket, hanging on to the cables, and the contraption lowered toward them.
“It’ll be okay,” he said, bending down closer and almost whispering the words in her ear.
“You promise?” She grabbed on to his warm, firm arm.
