Page 43 of Searching Blind

Lucy just needed space. Space to breathe, space to think. Because God, did she need to think. The intensity of her desire for Sawyer was like a physical force, dragging her under its relentless wave. He made her feel things she didn’t understand, things she had never felt before. Things she wasn’t sure she wanted to feel.

As they trudged through the dense forest toward the cell tower, she kept her eyes on the path in front of her, refusing to look at Sawyer. She didn’t trust herself not to turn around and throw herself into his waiting arms.

The ground beneath her was uneven, the foliage thick. She could hear the distant rush of water, a river or a stream, perhaps. She could hear him and Zelda, too, their steady footfalls just calmly following behind her. The silence was heavy, taut like a wire on the verge of snapping.

Dammit, she was a coward.

She was usually the kind of woman who faced everything head-on. She’d learned in the hardest possible way that the only person who would always stand up for her was her. She didn’t hide or run away from her problems… unless they involved a six-foot-two blind tech genius with the body of a Greek god and a penchant for innuendos and pushing buttons. Apparently.

Damn Sawyer Murphy and his ability to get under her skin. She’d sworn off men a long time ago, and they were in the middle of a life-or-death situation. The last thing she should be doing was entertaining fantasies about that sexy body of his and the long, hard cock she’d felt pressed up against her belly in that pool. But here she was, all but whimpering at the memory of it, her panties soaked with want, her skin flushing hot.

If not for Zelda’s well-timed interruption, she would’ve begged him to fill the empty ache between her legs and fuck the nightmares and fears away. She would’ve lost herself completely in him, and, God, she wasn’t ready for that. She wasn’t ready for the cracks in her armor it would cause, or the breach in her heart Sawyer seemed so determined to make.

The silence between them was deafening, the tension almost palpable. She wanted to break it, to say something—anything—just to fill the void. But words, it seemed, had abandoned her.

Sawyer broke the silence first. “Lucy, talk to me.” His voice was soft, pleading. The undercurrent of worry was unmistakable. “What happened back there?”

“I…” Her voice caught in her throat. She couldn’t let him know about the whirlwind of emotions raging through her. Couldn’t let him see her vulnerability, her uncertainty. So, she settled for a diversion. “We’ve gone a couple of miles. We should check the phones. Maybe we’re close enough for a signal.”

Sawyer’s silence was loud in her ears. She didn’t have to look at him to know he was angry and confused and maybe a little bit hurt.

But instead of responding with fury or frustration, he replied with a calm, “Sure, it’s worth a try.”

Sawyer reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone. He extended his arm, waiting for her to take it. She crossed the few steps between them to collect the device from his outstretched hand. As her fingers brushed against his, the brief touch was like a spark of electricity shooting through her.

She quickly pulled away and examined the screen, looking for any sign of bars indicating network reception. She swiped her thumb across the glass surface, but no matter how hard she willed it, the No Service indication wouldn’t go away. She tried her phone next and got more of the same. None of the phones they had were working.

“No signal yet.” She tried to keep the disappointment from edging into her voice. “Let’s keep moving.”

Sawyer nodded, his jaw tight. “Right,” he said, his tone flat and distant.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to tremble, a rumbling sound resonating from deep inside the earth. Her heart slammed against her ribs as she realized what was happening.

Aftershock.

“Get down!” Sawyer called. “Shield your head.”

She crouched down... and the ground opened up under her feet. She was falling before she had a chance to scream, the world around her blurring as she descended into darkness. She hit the bottom of the hole hard, the air rushing out of her lungs in a painful whoosh. She gasped for breath as the world spun around her. She tried to blink away spots from her vision.

“Lucy!” Sawyer’s voice echoed down to her. She could see him leaning through the hole way overhead, his ear turned toward her, listening. “Jesus. Lucy! Answer me!”

She opened her mouth to tell him that she was fine even though every fiber of her body protested against the idea. She was not fine. She was in pain. She was in the dark, with only a small shaft of light filtering down through the hole. And she was scared.

Just like the cave.

Except she wasn’t in a cave.

And the Shadow Stalker was dead.

“I’m… I’m here,” she managed to croak out between labored breaths. She bit down hard on her bottom lip, struggling to push herself upright despite the wave of pain that radiated through her. “I’m in some kind of… sinkhole.”

“Are you okay?”

She forced a laugh, painful as it was. “Define okay.”

“Can you move?”

She tested her limbs. “Yeah, I can.”

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