Page 7 of Red Rabbit
“Tomorrow we start hiking,” he said.
“So you know where we’re going?”
“I need to get up on one of those ridges first. Maybe I’ll know where we are.”
He didn’t seem optimistic about it and I worked through the next few stitches quietly.
“You’re thinking so loud I can hear you,” he said.
“I’m just wondering if we’ll make it out of this,” I said quietly, feeling a lump in my throat as the emotions of the day came towards the surface. I hurriedly dashed a tear off my cheek but even with his back turned, I felt like he knew.
“One day at a time, sweetheart,” he finally said.
That was far from reassuring but I already knew better than to look for any sort of hope from him. This man was hardened and brutal—cut from steel and birthed from shadows. He had some demons following him and I didn’t know what that meant for me yet. I already caught on real quick that out here, you needed to trust the person you were with or everything would be a lot harder and a lot more dangerous. Unfortunately, I didn’ttrust him but he was my only option if I wanted to get out of this situation alive.
I finished up his stitches and cleaned everything up as he moved back over to the other side of the fire. Thankfully, he finally pulled his shirt back on and without that distraction I watched the surrounding wilderness fade away into darkness as night fell. I looked up at the sky and couldn’t help the sound of astonishment when I saw the utter brilliance above me. With no light pollution and the clouds from the storm mostly dispersed, the stars shone without obstruction.
I laid down on my back as close to the fire as I could get and tried to ignore the cold. Seeing all those stars, I felt very small and alone.
Graham leaned back against the log and closed his eyes. I didn’t think he was asleep though. I didn’t see how anyone could sleep in these conditions. I tried to study him discreetly and between him and the stars; there was plenty to keep me occupied.
4
GRAHAM
She’s got some balls on her, I’ll give her that.
Besides the few tears I felt her try to hold back when she stitched me up, she didn’t show any sort of distress for the situation we were in. It was also really hot to watch her retrieve everything from the plane. Maybe I was an asshole for not helping her but I wasn’t a gentleman before the crash and I didn’t see any point in being one now. Especially since that white bra and panty set left hardly anything to the imagination and I found my mind wandering down some exceptionally dirty rabbit holes. Most of which involved that feisty mouth of hers being too occupied to talk.
Neither of us slept much. It was freezing cold and the sleeping bag and tent weren’t dry enough to use yet. I could see her shivering across the fire and every so often I’d catch the glint of a pair of wary green eyes as she stared at me through the flames.
She didn’t trust me. I didn’t care.
I was going to get out of here and find the nearest backwood town to hole up in until the shit storm that landed me in handcuffs hopefully blew over and she’d go back to her corporate life with her shitty fiance. Just the tone of the man set my teeth on edge. Telling a woman she was asking for it because of whatshe was wearing? A woman should be able to wear whatever she goddamn pleases.
I finished stuffing the backpack with as much of the gear as I could before I threw it over my shoulder. She’d retrieved her purse which was really just a trendy leather backpack and was currently sifting through her items. I watched her look at her cell phone briefly before including it in the backpack and after discarding whatever was destroyed, she put the remaining items into her bag and stood up.
“Lead the way,” she said as she gestured to the forest with a sarcastic flourish.
“Try and keep up,” I said.
I was only half joking as I passed her and walked into the woods. She scowled at me but didn’t reply as she fell into step behind me.
“I’m surprised you left your suitcase down there,” I said.
For some reason I got a kick out of annoying her. I could almost picture her glaring at my back.
“It’s all replaceable,” she grumbled.
“What, no favorite sweater or pair of jeans?” I pressed.
“I mean, I might miss having another change of underwear here in a few days, otherwise no.”
That caught me off guard and I chuckled.
The forest we were walking through was dense but not impossible to navigate. The ground was soft and covered in pine needles. We had enough granola bars for the next two days and then I’d have to figure something out. For a moment it felt like I was at home, out on a job, but then my backpack would rub against the stitches and I’d be pulled back to reality. I felt like I had been hit by a truck—or more accurately a plane. Everywhere was sore. I felt like one massive bruise.
“What about you? Miss those handcuffs?” She asked dryly.
