Safe In Your Arms (3 page)

She’d even experienced her first crush there at the age of twelve. He was the son of the contractor her father hired to remodel their summer house’s plumbing. School was out and every day the boy came to work with his father. Gabe was his name. She found her lips wanting to pull up in a smile as she remembered the way his dark hair curled up at the back of his neck. She couldn’t picture his face clearly, but she did remember his eyes were bluer than the river during a sunny summer day. His smile never failed to flush her body with heat whenever he caught her looking at him. And the way he laughed with his father, well, it was the happy pleasure in the sound that made her want to melt in a pile of goo. He was her first crush, the unattainable male who didn’t see her. He did, however, have no trouble seeing her little sister.

At first he’d tried to ignore her and her sister, Callie, as they tried to get him to talk to them. He’d always say he was too busy to go swimming with them, or too old to play childish games. Then one day she had to stay in bed with a summer cold. The following day she was late getting up and when she went downstairs to the kitchen she found him lying beneath the kitchen sink laughing at something Callie was saying as she sat on the floor beside him. That horrible day Mina learned that her grandfather’s favorite saying was true. The early bird did get the flipping worm.

Gabe and Callie were inseparable for the rest of the summer. Their friendship, or whatever it was, stayed strong right into that first year of school. A deep breath left her as Mina shrugged her shoulders. The past was the past. She was alone. More alone than she’d been that first year at their new school. She wondered where that boy was now. The family rarely had the opportunity to return to the summer house after her father won his seat in Congress. She knew Callie had lost contact with him, though she didn’t know the particulars. Callie rarely had time or interest in speaking with her. She regretted that. If she ever saw her...no,
when
she saw her sister, she would try her damnedest to get closer.

She just needed to survive long enough to get there. Turning her head, she saw the can of corn and the can opener. First thing was eating, and then she’d venture a look outside and try to figure out where her unfriendly rescuer had brought her in the night. The man might be a hottie, but he had the personality of a slug. She didn’t know why, but he didn’t want her there. The feeling was mutual and as soon as she found her clothes and weapons, she’d leave him alone with his crappy attitude.

Chapter Three

Gabe was not in a good mood, hadn’t been since Z-Day, but this was worse. The woman sitting in his cave was the reason today. Lifting a hand to his sore jaw, he swore, sure it was going to bruise with the punishing hit her elbow clipped him with. Foolishly, he’d never expected her to fight him, much less attack him. No, he’d envisioned her thanking him with a hug and tears of gratitude. He was such a bloody fool!

Mina Brady didn’t show gratitude to anyone. As a pre-teen she’d followed him around with Callie, but when he’d established a friendship with her sister, she’d frozen toward him like a hot coal doused by an avalanche. Callie told him that her older sister was jealous of her in everything. He supposed as their father’s favorite little princess, Mina just expected everyone to like her better.
Poor little Duchess
. He felt a spark of humor at the name he’d secretly dubbed her with years before. She hadn’t been sweet enough to be a princess and definitely not mature enough to be a queen. The day he’d started thinking of her as Duchess was shortly after Callie confided that Mina was jealous of them. Wanting to bridge the gap between the two sisters, he had approached Mina, who was sitting on the porch swing sketching the back yard and river with a charcoal pencil.

At first he’d tried to draw her into a conversation about her sketch, but that only made her hide the drawing against her chest. The distrust and suspicion in her dark eyes reminded him of a wild animal sensing danger, yet he’d never harmed her in any way. When he brought up the fishing trip he planned to take Callie on the next morning and asked her to come with them, her pert little nose shot right up in the air as she shook her head at him. He’d immediately given up on trying to include her.

“Okay, so...great talk. Why don’t you sit there on your duff then. Happy doodling.”

“I’m drawing, not doodling.” Her glare was filled with anger. She stood up and marched past him toward the door.

“Excuse me. I didn’t realize you were the next Picasso, Miss Brady. No wonder you don’t have time to spare on the little people.” His sarcasm had her stopping to turn back to him.

He’d expected her head to explode, but she’d simply stuck her tongue out at him and walked away with that elfin chin up in the air.

Her attitude hadn’t changed much, but he had to admit her body sure had. Gabe had felt the full length of her body beneath his while he was trying to prevent her feet and hands from battering into him. She was strong and firm, curvy in all the right places. He rubbed at the tension in his tight neck as he thought about the way her full breasts had brushed against his chest when she finally stopped trying to kick his ass.

Oh, yes. She was a problem. He had enough to contend with just trying to survive and take care of his primary responsibility. There was no room in his pathetic existence for another worry. Mina Brady was a big worry. Every second she was on the island with him, there was the chance she’d disregard his warnings and venture onto the beach, in the sights of a Z, or worse. He couldn’t chance having her find the house and the secrets within. His fingers clutched the heavy sack in his hand. It hit against his leg as he walked, making him want to toss it from his body, but he had no choice as he continued to walk up the well-trodden footpath to the house on the very crest of the island.

The beauty of Dr. Raymond Faucher’s summer home never failed to amaze him. It was a three-story mansion made of gray brick. The third floor was a cupola on top with a widow’s walk all the way around it. One could see all the way around the island from the small room surrounded with windows. That was where he’d spotted her little group and their blazing fire. He’d had every intention of warning them until he saw the weapons.

Finding the island had been a blessing. It was surrounded by deep enough water to make the Z’s think twice about attempting a crossing and fully stocked with food and fresh water. The generator in the outbuilding would make it possible to have electricity when the time came. He hoped it would be soon, but he wasn’t sure. Establishing the Z’s life expectancy was a test he hadn’t tried yet. He wasn’t sure he had the heart to try it. After all, it seemed the only way to weaken a Z was to starve it out. He wasn’t prepared to do that just yet.

He threw his shoulders back and tried to keep his attention on the upcoming ordeal. He would need every thought process and observational sense fully on the task he was heading for. One miscue, one mishap because his attention was divided, would be his downfall. It could be the end of his life. Before Mina’s presence on the island, that wouldn’t have been a big concern for him, outside the obvious fear of a painful death and possible grotesque afterlife. Now, her life was also in jeopardy if he screwed up. He had to get her healthy enough to transport her off the island. There had to be other survivors out there. Perhaps he could get her a boat and send her on her way up river or across to Canada. He had to try.

“Damn, Gabe. Focus.” He was almost to the house, having navigated his way up the stone steps to the white vinyl fence. The gate easily opened for him after he unlocked it. Closing himself inside the back yard, he slid the bolt on the lock and effectively shut off one escape route. The house was quiet, eerily so. Walking around the elegant flower beds, fragrant with the early summer blooms, he edged around the in-ground pool. The water was already green and littered with leaves and algae. It was a shame. The same thought that kept coming to his mind every time he walked along the edge to approach the sliding glass doors leading into the home.

The house was cool, even though the temperature outside was starting to rise. The sunshine lit the entryway to the sunken living room. He stared at the high-tech entertainment center with a wistful wish that the Z’s would all cease to exist so that he could just once see the huge flat screen television in action. If only there were still cable networks sending out a signal. Which he doubted. Still, it would be nice to play a CD or even the gaming system. He didn’t realize the things one missed when they were no longer available. Like an ice-cold Genny on a hot day like this one seemed to be. He pulled his gaze from the TV and eyed the plush leather couches. He’d taken his shoes off and flopped on the couch the first day on the island. It had felt wonderful to close his eyes for a few hours. Rest would not find him here. Never again.

He listened, but as always the house was quiet, the noise cut off by thick walls and even thicker rugs. He didn’t bother to remove his shoes as he once had in reverence to Mrs. Faucher, a woman who had once been kind enough to bake him chocolate chip cookies when he came with his father to fix the pump on their Jacuzzi. She was a nice woman with kind brown eyes and a gentle voice. He guessed her death hadn’t been half as easy as that good woman deserved. He never ventured into the basement. Never.

Gabe left the living room, his steps slowing without his realizing it as he moved down the hallway to the middle of the home and the circular stairway that split into two sections. The railing was smooth polished wood the color of rich chocolate. His hand slid up it, his legs protesting the climb up almost as much as his mind. The swim over from the mainland was always taxing, but he also had to carry an unconscious woman with him this time. Add not sleeping to the equation and his body was exhausted.

Whether the woman was there when he went back or not, he was going to lie down and catch some shut-eye when he was finished with his chores. He swore under his breath as he shook his head at his poor choice of words. When did this become a chore? His gut clenched as he reached the top of the stairs and turned to the left wing. There was a room at the very end. A room that he wished he would never have to go into again.

The idea of soaking the carpets with gasoline and flicking a match to it as he left the house once more entered his mind as an option. No one would blame him. No one could blame him. Everyone who could condemn him was gone, either dead or one of them. His shoulders sagged as he forced himself to move down the hall. There was never a choice, not when it was a decision concerning family. He was bound by more than his word to keep control of the situation. Control was what he would need, lots of it, if he was to deal with the stubborn Miss Brady. Gabe just hoped she would be easy to get rid of. He didn’t need a spoiled child to look after on top of his other obligations. His eyes landed on the barricaded door with the slit cut above the wooden boards keeping it closed. He picked up the hammer lying on the plush carpet, testing its weight with his hand before he looked through the slit in the door. His heart ached as he closed his eyes and stepped back to drop the heavy bag on the floor.

As he set about pulling the boards off the door, his one thought was that he hoped Mina acted out of character just this once and followed directions. He’d hate like hell to have to kill her.

***

Mina wasn’t exactly full, but she wasn’t about to eat all his rations. Though it would serve him right. She slugged down a big gulp of water and wiped her mouth with her arm. Things sure had changed. She’d never drunk right from the jug, nor had she eaten straight from a tin can. Cold corn eaten with one’s fingers seemed pale in comparison to the elegant meals she was used to before Z-Day.

Mina placed the can opener on the stand next to the canned food and set the empty can beside it. He didn’t possess a garbage bag and she was not so uncivilized that she would feel comfortable with just tossing it on the floor. The big shirt slid down her arm as she stood up to move toward the blanketed doorway. The smoke made her want to bend down and warm her hands, but the need to pee took priority. She carefully circled the fire and grasped the scratchy fabric of the blanket. She gasped in surprise as she realized the blanket wasn’t a blanket, but a camo-net. It was clearly army-grade material. She wondered where her benevolent hero obtained it. Stepping out from under the net, she grimaced at the brightness. The sun shone warmly right in her face, burning her eyes as she left the dark protection of the cave.

Lifting her arm she blinked at her bare wrist. “Son of a bitch!” Her watch was gone. She held both hands out in front of her and sighed in relief. Her mother’s ruby and diamond encrusted engagement ring was still on her finger along with her graduation ring. Twisting the rings in a nervous fashion, she looked out over the small rocky beach. The river stretched before her and, beyond that, the shoreline of the small town. She could see buildings, the bell tower of a church, and farther down, even the lighthouse. Her family’s summer home was still a ways down the shoreline. She couldn’t see it, even though she tried hard.

They were so close. Mina wrapped her arms over her waist, realizing his big sweatpants were slipping off her hips. She searched for and found the strings and tied them up as she stepped carefully toward the water. White caps gently rolled out in the water, the sun sparkling against them in a scenic display of peace. She was tempted to head into the water. Shore didn’t look that far away. Biting her lip, she shook her head. Who was she kidding? Swimming across the river with the severe undertows was a suicide mission. Yet he’d done it. He must have dragged her unconscious body with him at least halfway. She owed him her life. It was a hard pill to swallow, especially since he seemed to not give a damn either way about her safety.

“I owe him twice.” She huffed out a breath and turned to move toward the thick mass of grass and trees surrounding the outcropping of rocks that made the cave. Her bare feet made the going slow as she tried to avoid sharp rocks, broken glass, and debris that had washed up on shore. “I owe him one. He could have left me my damn shoes!” she hissed as she found a suitable tree to crouch behind.