“Not pointless,” Rafe said. “We’ll have to pack it up eventually when we decide to move everything to another lair.” He gave me an understanding smile. “Besides, we’ll need to rest tonight before we start out after them.”
We began working together to put things into containers and stack them against the wall.
I peered over at Rafe. He was focused on his task of stacking food items into a container. His dark hair framed his handsome face, and I could see determination written in every line of his features. Connor and Lucas weren’t the only ones who were angry. Rafe usually kept all his emotions bottled up, as though he was afraid that if he let them out, he wouldn’t be able to stuff them back inside. He’d released them briefly last night when he’d fought with Connor, and then he’d taken control of himself again.
But since the summer solstice he’d revealed so much to me: some of his vulnerabilities, some of his ambitions, some of the wildness that made him uniquely Rafe. If I had to make my choice at that exact moment, I wasn’t entirely certain that I wouldn’t choose him.
By the time we had things tolerably straightened, I was starting to feel claustrophobic. We each grabbed some protein bars and a couple of plastic bottles of juice and went outside. We climbed a short rise that gave us a spectacular view of the forest bathed in the light of a quarter moon.
“A little over a week to go,” I said quietly, referring to how little time was left before the next full moon. “Do you think we’ll have them back by then?”
Rafe wrapped his hand around mine where it rested in my lap. The gesture carried no sexual overtones; it was simply for reassurance. “I’m sure of it.”
But even while we were trying to save our friends, I had some soul searching and decision making to take care of.
Any other time, what we were doing tonight, watching the stars together, would have seemed romantic. Instead we were simply waiting out the passage of time.
“Rafe?”
“Hmm?”
I took a deep breath. “Until we free the others, whatever you feel for me, want from me, whatever I’ve started to feel for you…we need to put it on hold. Our focus has to be on getting Kayla, Lucas, and Connor away from Bio-Chrome.”
“Understood.”
“Good.”
He started to pull his hand away and I closed mine more firmly around it. “But we can still offer comfort, strength. We can be there for each other.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t want to sleep alone.” After what I’d seen happen that morning, I wasn’t certain that I ever wanted to be alone again.
“You won’t have to,” he said quietly.
Just then, I saw a star shooting across the sky. I could think of so many things to wish for, but I chose the one that meant the most to me.
I wish…I hope we all come out of this alive.
Within the circle of Rafe’s arms, I was able to sleep. When I opened my eyes, however, we weren’t alone. Mason stood over us, larger than I remembered him. He was holding a silver gun, pointing it at me, and somehow I knew it contained silver bullets—one of the weapons to which we are vulnerable.
“I can’t let you rescue them,” he said in a soft, menacing voice.
He quickly shifted the gun over to Rafe and fired.
I screamed.
Arms came around me.
“Lindsey, wake up! You’re dreaming. It’s just a dream.”
I opened my eyes for real this time. Rafe was holding me. Trembling, I collapsed against him. “Oh, God, it was horrible. Mason killed you.”
“Bastard,” he muttered through a slight grin.
I tightened my arms around him. “It’s not funny.”
“It was just a dream. I’m fine.”
But still…the dream had seemed so real.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Time for us to get going.”
I nodded, but neither of us made an effort to get up. I wished so much that things were different, but wishing wasn’t going to make it happen. I took a few more minutes to draw strength from Rafe’s embrace. Then I began to prepare for whatever the day would bring.
While I gathered food for us, Rafe grabbed some hidden cans of gasoline and refueled his bike before rolling it outside. When I had stuffed as many supplies into my backpack as possible, I went out to meet him.
He was sitting on his bike, staring into the woods.
“We’re going to ride?” I asked.
“No, too much noise. They’d hear us coming. But I want to teach you a few things in case you need to drive.” He swung his leg back and got off the bike. Patting the seat, he said, “Sit here.”
“You’re not thinking I can drive that.”
He sighed. “I think you need to know the basics just in case something happens to me and you need to get the hell out of Dodge.”
My stomach tightened into a knot of fear. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”
“I’m not planning on it, and both Connor and Lucas know how to drive it, but still…” He arched a dark brow and slapped his hand on the seat again.
Taking a deep breath, I set the backpack down. I straddled the seat, leaned forward, and grabbed the handles. Rafe got on behind me, his arms brushing up against my sides as he placed his larger hands over mine.
My breath hitched inappropriately with his nearness. At any other time, I thought I would have enjoyed the lesson, would have found his instruction incredibly sexy. But right now we were fighting for our lives and the lives of our friends.
“Okay, here’s what you need to know,” he said and his breath wafted along the side of my neck, causing a shiver of pleasure to cascade through me.
I tried to focus on his words and not on how wonderful it felt to have him so close to me. He explained the hand levers, the clutch, the brakes, the throttle, how to shift and brake using the foot controls. The concepts were easy, but the way everything had to be timed…
“I’ll probably kill myself. Maybe I should just run,” I said when he told me to take him back through the motions of starting the bike.
He chuckled low, a sound I was worried I’d never hear again. It warmed me, gave me hope that we would survive this.
I went through several mock sessions without actually turning on the bike. Rafe guided my hands and feet, giving me a sense of how to work the mechanics.