Page 30 of Love Me Dangerous

She flew off easily enough, but it could be her last dose of strength. We’ll likely never know. “Hard to say.”

Sofie swipes at her cheeks.

“Hey, hey,” I say softly and step closer. The adrenaline from the rescue is ebbing through me, making me feel hollow. Is that how it’s affecting her too? “We did everything we could.”

Sofie nods. “Yeah.”

Despite the warning bells screaming in my head not to get any closer, I wrap my arms around her shoulders.

She sighs into my chest, like I’m exactly what she needs. Her body against mine is foreign, yet the longer I hold her, the more relaxed I feel. Being close to her like this goes against every survival instinct I’ve relied on since leaving home, but I can’t seem to pull away.

“Do you think she was trapped here for very long?”

I give the surrounding area a slow scan, taking in Sofie’s backpack, a half-empty water bottle, and, in the shade of the trees, a shovel. Several coils of wire glint from the shadows.

“She was alive, so no.”

“I’m glad you were here.”

“Me too.” I should let her go, but she’s tucked so perfectly against me, like a wild thing in search of shelter. Like she knows she can trust me. It’s unsettling to share such an intense history with a person, yet I barely know her.

“You out here alone?” I ask.

“We were supposed to have a work party today, but it got canceled.”

“But you came anyway,” I say, frustration edging my tone.

Sofie leans back to fix me with a curious glance. “You’re out here alone.”

I don’t have time to argue with her, and based on how stubborn she is, I doubt I’d get very far. But if Sheriff Olson is right and this region is being used as a pipeline, it’s not safe for her or anyone else to be working alone out here.

An unwanted memory of a girl in a hospital bed flashes through my mind. Terrilynn was so close to obtaining her freedom. But Kristov got to her first.

Emotions I don’t understand stir faster than I can stuff them down. As if she can sense this, Sofie steps back.

I release a measured sigh, but it doesn’t help. It’s like my past and present are playing tug-of-war.

“Why are you out here?” she asks. “This isn’t Finn River Ranch land.”

Back to being nosy. “You need help with this?” I nod at the area of fence we clipped apart to free the owl.

She frowns, like she can’t decide if she should press me to answer her question or accept my offer.

“I want to finish clearing this prairie section.”

“Then will you go home?”

That scowl again. It would be irritating if it wasn’t so damn cute. “Maybe.”

I snug up my gloves and step back over the fencing. “Then let’s get to it.”

Chapter Nine

SOFIE

Why doesZach always seem to catch me with my guard down? Crying? Seriously? I shove my annoyance back by focusing on our task.

We pick up where I was working before I saw the owl, in an open section between sparse groves of tall pine trees. Because the wire is so old and rusted, cutting through it is brutally hard. Then add in how the bottom row is sometimes buried in the dirt and it’s slow, sweaty work.

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