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Damian calls, a welcome relief from my toxic thoughts. “Hey, man, Lindy said you were in Oregon on some kind of vampire romance tour?”
I groan. “Don’t ask.”
He laughs. “S’okay. I spent half a day searching for then rescuing a cat from a neighbor’s garden shed. Not all mafia jobs are as manly as people think.” We share a laugh. “Anyway, just calling to remind you of Anni, that badass MMA fighter we met in the city. She’s got a cabin somewhere up there near where you’re gonna be. Let me shoot you her number in case you get a chance to stop in on her.”
God. He’s probably trying to hook me up with her. Concern about my single-dom does not stop with the Beauties. Still, it’d be good to have a contact in this neck of the thick, creepy-ass woods. “Okay, sounds good. Send it to me.”
I hang up with him. Give Anni a quick call, then fall into a troubled sleep. I wake to more gray skies and misty rain, putting me in a bad mood. Today is the day we’re touring a beach. Well, this rainforested corner of the world’s version of a beach. Give me the Mediterranean sun. The Parish’s sandy white shores. This bullshit is cold. Rainy. Cloudy.
The massive rocks that line the ocean are worth the drive but overall, I’m ready to go as soon as we step onto the rocky shore.
She’s wrapped in a raincoat I’ve forced her to wear. Summer is nowhere to be found out here, so she’s also got a beanie pulled over her dark hair. Arms wrapped around her middle as per her habit, she shivers as she looks down the shoreline.
“It’s so beautiful here!” she says.
Beautiful? Dreary. I’ve checked the historical weather bar graphs for Ecola State Park. You’re lucky if the temperatures get to sixty. Today, it’s way below average and falling. Don’t even get me started on the frigid water temps.
And the woods. Give me the monsters that lurk in the city any day. These trees. All kinds of creatures could be living out there. And the height of these evergreen monsters. Towering over us constantly. Anything could come running at us from those dark woods. I’m already on edge from drilling the importance of safety amongst these thick woods to my night crew outside the house last night.
The surrounding landscape is shrouded in a thick haze, obscuring the view of anything more than a few feet away. The drizzle seems to coat everything in a constant film of moisture, further adding to the sense of insecurity I'm feeling as head of security.
Making my job a living hell.
The fog feels cold and clammy against my skin, leaving a dampness that seeps into every pore. The drizzle is like a fine mist, coating everything in a thin layer of moisture.
I swear, out here I’m on edge every moment. “Stay by me. Right by me.”
“Um…you’ve said that quite a few times.” She glances up at me, too damn cute in that thick woolen hat. “And I’m like one foot from you.”
“Let’s keep it at six inches,” I say. I reach over her head, grabbing the edge of her hood and pulling it up over her beanie. “And the hood over the hat. Don’t want you getting cold.”
She openly stares at me. Like I’ve just grown another head. While her in that hat is making my down-below head get a little stiff.
“Why the stare?” I ask.
“Nothing?”
“Fine.”
But then she gives a little giggle.
“What?”
“It’s just that big old scary mafia men like you?—”
“I thought I was the big bad wolf.”
“Either or. Either one. Neither one, though…” There’s that little giggle again. This time she attempts to hide it behind her fingers. “It’s just they wouldn’t be worried about me being cold.”
“I’m not. I mean, not for me. But for you, yeah. I am.”
“That’s sweet. And cute.”
Her words land like punches. Punches from a very small kitten. But assaults all the same.
Which reminds me of information I need to share with her that will take her focus off me. “There’s this amazing MMA female fighter I’ve seen fight in the city. Damian dragged me with him one night and he respected her talent. At the end of the night, we got to chatting with her about martial arts and they formed a friendship. She said when she’s not in the city, she lives in a secluded cabin.” I glance up at the looming woods. “Really close to here. I got her contact from Damian last night. Gave her a call. She said she’d give you a private lesson after the beach tour, if you’re game.”
“Oh, gosh, that’s sweet.” There’s that word again. “But no.” She shakes her head. “I kinda gave all that up. That fight in the Pit was my last.”
