Page 7 of Wraith

Chapter Six

Jesus Christ,I just got jumped by America’s top ninja warrior. What the fuck was that? I have no god damn words for what the hell just happened as the tiny ass woman that just attacked me goes limp from my punch and falls to the ground. I knew I felt eyes on me all day but to find out it was this littlething…

With her story about getting separated from her friends, the stammering and fear of my rifle, I believed her. There was no fucking way she could be here to kill me. Then I saw her shoes and knew I fucked up. With barely a flinch with the barrel burning her hands, this girl either has the highest pain tolerance known to man or has had some intense training. With the way she fought, I’d go with the latter. “The fuck am I going to do with you?” I question her unconscious body. I begin to wonder if she has a contact she reports back to, or if she has a tracker on her. If she does, there is no stopping whoever sent her here to kill me. My location is out now. How she got it I don’t know, but my location will have to be underworld knowledge bynow.

The sky is getting dark and the snow is starting to fall heavily. I was hoping to be back by the time the storm hit, fresh kill in tow, but it looks like that isn’t going to happen. At least now I’ll have some entertainment. Pulling her body onto the back of the sled, I make sure to check her over for any other weapons but only find a knife tucked away in her boot. I’m surprised she didn’t go for that instead of the gun that was lost in the drifts. I seriously contemplate stripping her bare to see if she may have a tracker of some kind on her, but the thickness of the snow coming down gets me movingfaster.

The drive back to the cabin is quick, my need to get back inside even quicker. Tossing the girl to the ground with a thud I cover the sled back up and drag her inside. The fire is still burning hot so I bypass that for the moment and tend to my new house guest. I don’t want to take the chance of her waking up and killing me where I stand so I strip her of her clothes and boots—complete with the snow shoes—like I wanted to before and find some rope to tie her to my bed. Being sure to make my knots tight. She is a slippery little thing and probably knows how to get herself out of ties. With her clothes piled on my table, I start rifling through them but come up with nothing but a few granola bars, a bottle of water and a body warming blanket. How long had she been watchingme?

Leaving her in only her bra and panties, I look her over from head to toe. She can’t be more than five and a half feet, maybe mid-twenties, willowy as hell with a full head of dark hair. I can tell it’s long, but she has it tied back into a now very messy braid. The closer I get, the more prominent the details of her face become. A small scar runs the length of her jaw, nearly two inches long, with another one not quite as noticeable through the top right side of her plump chapped lips. Even with the windburn and sun damage—the girl is a knockout. I only wish I could pry her eyes open to see what color they are. I didn’t quite get a glimpse of them as she was trying her damnedest to beat my ass into the snow. My eyes travel down to her breasts, confined underneath the unflattering bra she wears. They can’t be much more than a handful. I find myself unconsciously reaching out to see for sure. Her body lurches away from my touch, letting me know she is awake and fully aware of her situation. My eyes find hers, the wide pools of chocolate, blazing with fire, meet me.Damn,brown eyes. Forgoing my mindless grope of her breasts, I instead bring the pad of my index finger to her rapidly moving chest and trail it along the tops of those concealed mounds. She jerks again, still not getting anywhere, and I pull my hand away. Feeling her up is not what I was planning when I tied her to thebed.

“You are here to kill me. What I want to know is, who hired you?” I stand to my full height, crossing my arms over my chest. She tracks the movements, watching me like a hawk. “You have training, little girl. Who taught you?” She still doesn’t answer, not that I thought she would just open up to me and tell me her secrets. Getting those will take time and I don’t know if I have any of that until she talks. I’m standing right on top of a fucking hard place with a boulder crushing me from above. “I can tell you’re going to be chatty.” I deadpan. I’m not getting anywhere with her tonight, nor do I even have the drive to at the moment. Maybe I’m getting old. Too washed up for torture and interrogation.Killing. The me ten years ago would have put a bullet in her head and drove away without a backward glance. But today, when I knocked her out, I didn’t kill her. And as much as I would like to blame it on needing the name of who she was sent here by, deep down, I know that isn’t the case. She has a fire I can’t put out, not yetanyway.

She doesn't say a word while I eat my last can of potato soup and down a full glass of water in her line of sight. She at least has to be thirsty, but she remains silent, staring at the wall on herright.

That’s how I find her in the morning. Eyes open, still focused on the log wall. Vacant. She’s using every ounce of her energy to keep herself quiet. “I take it you’re enjoying your stay?” I ask sarcastically, standing stiffly from the chair that served as my bed. When I tied her up, I didn’t quite think it through. Maybe I should have put her in the chair. A night in that and she would have said anything to get out of it. I know I would have.You should just kill her and be done with it.Maybe, but that would be tooeasy.

“Would you be willing to take our online survey? You could be entered in a chance to win a free four-night stay.Tax included.” I flick my eyebrows up and down, using my sense of humor on her, but getnothing.

Damn, is this going to befun.

Not.

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