Page 5 of Saved

“Miles.” He blew out a breath. “I understand.”

“Which only leaves you.” My attention landed on the diminutive brunette who’d first spoken. Closer inspection revealed a more youthful complexion than the one I’d first surveyed, but her soft, green eyes spoke of her experience. “Do you agree?”

Her jaw tightened as she nodded, conveying how little she liked being put on the spot. “Yes, I agree.”

“Excellent.” Maybe the group wouldn’t be as ridiculous and unruly as I’d first feared. First impressions could sometimes be wrong, after all. “Then I suggest we get going. There’s a lot to see and a long way to go. The sun sets at around seven at this time of the year. No one wants to still be in the woods when that happens.”

***

“THIS PLACE IS INCREDIBLE.”

I liked the awe in Erin’s voice as she gazed up at the green awning overhead. I rarely heard wonder from those who paid me to take them into the forest. Most tourists were so interested in reaching their destination that they almost entirely ignored the journey. Her reverence was unique.

“Yes.” I watched as she strained to take in the view of a particularly enormous pine tree. “It certainly is.”

I’d known that tree for years, having laughed, cried, and shed blood by its roots. As though the memory had awoken the ghoul, a dark silhouette materialized behind the trunk—the outline of a man who’d once walked the same path but never came home. Peeking out from behind the pine, the black spaces that should have been eyes gazed at me, expecting absolution, though I had none to offer.

He was only a fragment of my shadowy past, a ghost sent to haunt me. He had no power over me or what happened next, and turning to survey the others, I knew nobody else could even see him.

His spectral presence existed only in my mind.

“It just looks like a lot of old trees to me!” Miles’s tone was sardonic, but his comment jarred regardless. “The real feat is getting past where the forest meets the mountain and reaching the top.”

“I hope you’re being sarcastic.” Erin frowned. “You can’t come to a place like this and not recognize its splendor.”

“I see it.” Miles tutted as though she were a fool. “I’m just saying that’s not what I’m here for.”

“It’s not what I’m here for, either,” James purred, tugging Chelle, closer. “I’m gonna need a little one-on-one with my girl before the terrain gets any tougher.”

“James!” Chelle giggled like an intoxicated schoolgirl as they stumbled forward. “Not here!”

“Definitelynot here.”

They all turned at my insistent tone.

“We talked about this.” My attention slid from one face to the next. “And you all agreed we stay together.”

“I only need five minutes.” James chuckled, pulling her against him.

“Hey!” Chelle whacked his chest playfully. “No way! You needmuchlonger than five minutes!”

“We’re happy you’re happy, but can’t you guys give it a rest?” Erin leaned against the tree she’d been admiring. “This trip isn’t about your sex life.”

“I think your little friend is jealous, Chelle,” James sneered.

“You don’t need to talk about me as though I’m not here.” Erin’s gaze narrowed.

“You need some cock of your own, Erin.” Pulling away from Chelle, James motioned to Miles. “That’s why I brought him along.”

“No offense, but she’s not exactly my type.” Miles sniggered.

“Fuck you!” Erin spat the words at Miles. “I don’t want anything to do with you.”

Lifting my hand to my temple, I rubbed at the throbbing in my head. Its volume grew louder with each new cutting remark. So much for not trusting first impressions. I’d been right all along. James and Miles were acting like morons.

“Listen!” Raising my voice, I drew their collective focus.

“What?” Chelle’s brow creased.

---