The only silent one was the bear.
CHAPTER FOUR
When I first saw the big black fur-covered thing standing a few feet away, I froze.
The huge black bear seemed to turn around in slow motion, but it didn’t matter. I was frozen in place. All I could think was: Oh God. Oh God, no.
I tried not to move as it lifted itself even taller on its hind legs, tilting its head, probably deciding whether it should kill me and then eat me or just eat me as it went along. I took a step back, right into something hard. A hand clamped over my mouth.
“Be quiet. Follow me,” a deep male voice said.
Slowly, I let the owner of the voice lead me away while the black bear tilted its head at us, perhaps thinking the whole thing was a big joke. Gradually, as we moved away, the bulk of the beast diminished into a black speck in the distance. Then it disappeared altogether.
“Thank you,” I said, finally turning around to get a good look at the man.
He was a broad-chested, burly bear of a man himself, but his blond beard was well-kept and his blue eyes were kind. In response to my thanks, however, he only nodded and glanced away.
I was about to ask him where exactly he was taking me when I saw it, the reason why this man had just happened to be there by the bear, by me, at the perfect time.
Just visible through the trees, parked at the bottom of a hill, was the car. The sunshine-yellow car.
I twisted to face him and took a step back.
“He hired you, didn’t he?” I asked, my voice hoarse with horror.
The man stopped and tilted his head at me, as if, like the bear, he was trying to figure out how to best dispose of me. I grasped at the plaid of one hulking arm. “Please, whatever he’s paying you—I’ll give you all I have; just don’t kill me.”
The man extricated his sleeve with one quick jerk sideways. Then, shooting me a puzzled look, he said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He pointed to a log cabin we were nearing and asked, “Would you like a cup of tea?”
I stopped and stared into his face; his dark blond beard was thick, his eyes were a bright, clear blue, and his shoulders were nearly as broad as the bear’s. He could kill me now. Hell, he could’ve killed me then, left the bear to complete the hit.
This man couldn’t have been hired by Angelo.
“Okay,” I said.
He nodded and walked ahead.
I took a good look at where we were headed. Tucked into a forest of emerald trees was the rough-hewn little structure, which was made entirely of deep brown wood.
“Are you coming?”
It was the man. He was visible against the black rectangle of the open door, and he was tilting his head at me again.
I approached the house. Stopping in the doorway, I asked, “Did you make this yourself?”
“It was my grandfather’s,” he replied.
He hit a switch and the room lit up, showing a bed with a thin mattress, a wooden table with one chair, a fridge, an antique oven, and a counter. While I took in the cabin’s interior, the man strode over to the kitchen area and began opening and closing cupboards and getting out jars that were presumably filled with tea.
Noticing me still standing and looking around in interest, the man gestured to the chair.
“It’s all yours.”
I sat down, staring at his back as I did. His words sounded strange, as if he were foreign or not used to speaking.
“I’m Claire,” I said.
“Blake,” the man said.
He plugged in a rusty collection of metal that must have been a kettle.
“You’re out a long way,” he said.
He turned to face me and leaned on the counter.
“Yeah,” I said. “I was just going for a walk. After the tea, I’ll just be on my way.”
His blue searchlight eyes scanned my face skeptically. I glanced away. I didn’t care if my story had as many holes as swiss cheese; there was no way I was telling a virtual stranger what was going on.
He shrugged, and I asked, “What about you? Have you always lived here?”
He shook his head.
“I came here to get away.”
He turned his attention to the kettle, which was pouring out steam already.
I opened and then closed my mouth. It would be pretty hypocritical of me to fault him for being close-lipped when I was doing the exact same thing.
“Here’s your tea,” he said, plopping a cup in front of me.
I lifted it, sipped it, and closed my eyes in pleasure.
“Mmmm, peppermint. My favorite.”
I opened my eyes to see his face looking how my own must have.
“Mine too,” he said. “Nice and calming.”