“Why don’t you want me to run off? No one says you have to escort me anywhere.”
“We wouldn’t want you to get injured trying to get around in the woods at night.”
“Which begs the question, what are you three doing out in the woods at night?”
“We can take care of ourselves.”
“So can I.”
His blue eyes met hers. “Sure you can. After all, you’ve done so well already.”
“You don’t have to be such a dick.”
“A dick? Is that what you call everyone who comes to your rescue?” Surprisingly, his tone was casual.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you that. I do appreciate your help.” She dragged in a long breath. “It’s been a trying day.”
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s get you out of here. Then we can talk on the way back.”
“On the way back to where? The city?” Or your basement where you lock up all the lost women you find?
His smile, not as brilliant as his brother’s, but still warm, lessened her concern. She did what had always served her well. She listened to her gut.
Can I trust him? Can I trust them?
The answer, faster than any other time, came back in a second.
Yes. I can.
But she wasn’t good at trusting people. She’d learned the hard way not to let her guard down even when her gut told her she could.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” His bluer-than-a-summer-day eyes twinkled. “And trust me. If I wanted to do that, you couldn’t stop me.”
He was right, but she wasn’t about to let him know that. Yet the fact that he’d ignored her question about where they were going didn’t help. “Fine. I promise not to take off on my own.”
“Good.” Then, in another move that was faster than she’d have thought possible, he snatched her pack away from her and hurled it up to the dark-haired man.
“Hey, take it easy with my stuff.”
He caught it and slung one strap over his shoulder. “Got it and I didn’t hear anything break, either.”
“Good to know. Who are you guys anyway? My name’s Callie.” She didn’t give them her last name. If she was wrong about them and she got away, she wouldn’t want them to be able to track her down.
He pivoted back to her. “I’m Blue Deacon and those two are my brothers, Raine and Pete.”
The one who grinned a lot widened his grin. “Raine here. As you can see, I’m the handsome brother.”
“And the modest one, too,” added Pete.
“Facts are facts, bro.” Raine took the pack from his brother and slipped the straps over his shoulders to rest the pack on his back.
Blue held out his hands, ready to catch her. “Take a jump and I’ll heft you out.”
“Can you please stop using the word heft? It makes me sound like I weigh a ton.”
He shook his head. “Shit. From the looks of you, you don’t weigh anything at all. Like a feather. Now go.”
She took a breath and rushed at him. He caught her easily, then before she had time to worry, he tossed her upward as though she really was as light as a feather. Pete grabbed her arms and pulled her the rest of the way up before setting her on her feet.
She took a moment to get steady and in that time Blue squatted then jumped. He cleared the edge without any help from his brothers and landed on his feet.
“Wow. That was one incredible jump. Are you gymnasts or circus performers?”
Raine laughed. “Hell, no. We’re just your everyday, normal kind of guys.”
“You are anything but normal.” Oh, hell. I didn’t mean to say that.
Raine shifted the pack into a better position. “I’m not sure if you meant that as a good thing or not.”
Embarrassed, she tried to cover. “Um, a good thing. I can take my pack now.”
“That’s okay. I’ve got it.”
Damn. “You never said where you were taking me.”
Blue glanced at his brothers, then turned on his heel toward the trees. “We’re taking you home.”
Home? Did he mean hers or theirs?
“I’m sorry? Where is home exactly?”
But he didn’t answer. Raine waved his hand to gesture her to follow Blue. She paused long enough to find Pete ready to take up the rear, then fell into place, but didn’t hurry to catch up to Blue.
It was too bad. She hated to lose her belongings, but it was better that she didn’t have the pack to weigh her down. She took in the dark forest around them as they started down a narrow path, reconsidered her options, and decided to take the risk.
Chapter Three
He should’ve known she’d make a break for it. Raine slung the pack at Pete and started running. It didn’t take long before he caught up with her as his brothers had known he would. They hadn’t even bothered to give chase, preferring to wait on the path