Page 14 of Burn

It wasn’t until I made it to the big room with all the chairs that I realized there were more newcomers here. A pair of men were speaking to a mother and her child, well, one of them was. They hadn’t been with Doc or Milo or any of the others downstairs.

The second of the pair turned and met my gaze. He looked like he’d just woken up, his hair was disheveled and stubble decorated his cheeks. His eyes were an icy kind of blue, but despite their paleness, they weren’t cold at all.

“Hello there,” he said with an open smile. “We’re just telling your friends how this is going to work.”

“Dude,” the other man said. “Ease up.”

“What? I’m being nice.” He took a couple of uneven steps toward me. “I’m Alphabet,” he said, introducing himself.

Alphabet.

His name wasAlphabet?

Despite the disbelief his name generated, it was hard to deny his charm. He held out his hand to me.

“Hey,” the other man said, gripping Alphabet’s shoulder. “Remember what Doc said.”

“She’s not the first wounded woman I’ve met,” Alphabet said in a low voice, sending a cutting look at his companion. “It’s better to be normal. Respectful. Also, I’d like to know her name beyond the fact she’s beautiful, you know.”

The man with him, dropped his chin and shook his head. Like Alphabet, his friend was tall and broad-shouldered. He also had blue eyes. But his eyes were a deeper blue, and from there their appearance differed.

The second man had short, neatly clipped brown hair. A beard decorated his chin with a carefully groomed mustache onhis lip. Where Alphabet was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and a jean jacket, the other man had on suit pants and a button down. They were a study in contrasts.

“Just leave her to catch her breath,” his friend said, meeting my gaze briefly.

Alphabet huffed. “Fine, you talk to her. But if you get her number first, I want it.”

His friend waited a beat as Alphabet limped over to one of the others.

“Sorry about him,” the man continued in English. “He means well.”

I still hadn’t said anything, nor did I pretend to understand him. Sooner or later something would have to give, but I wasn’t comfortable with even more strangers.

“Hey,” the man continued, narrowing the gap between us but managing to not loom over me. It was a definite talent. “I know you.”

My heart stopped.

“You’ve got an unmistakable face.”

Fear was an icy coat over my too hot skin.

“We’re going to make sure everyone gets home, including you.”

I glanced to where Alphabet sat speaking to a woman. She’d relaxed gradually. When I looked back at his friend, the man also glanced to Alphabet before he looked at me again.

“You don’t want anyone to know. I won’t tell.”

I had no idea how I was supposed to believe him.

“Right, you need us to prove to you that you can trust us.” He nodded. “Take a seat, and hang out. We’re going to take the first round here in a few. You can go with us. See where we take everyone.”

A frown tightened my brow.

Why? Why couldn’t I just leave?

“We don’t know everything about the people who had you,” he continued as if I’d asked the question aloud. Then again, maybe it was an obvious question. “To make sure you’re all safe, we want to get you home and to safe ground before we leave you.”

Still not a reason to trust them.

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