Page 13 of Being Bold
Because she had to live. To warn her friend.
If she could get somewhere with a phone . . . for a moment, she paused, flushed with hope, patting her pockets for her cell phone. But no, of course they hadn’t given it back to her. They hadn’t brought her work bag either. She didn’t even have her wallet.
A bitter thought twisted her gut.They couldn’t make it too easy to identify the body.
If—no, when, she corrected herself—she lived through this, shewouldfigure out a way to save Yumi. But that wasn’t all she’d do. A darkness she’d never felt before stirred to life in her heart, demanding she make Mr. Dao pay. Because if she’d gleaned one thing, it was that she wasn’t the first person he’d done this to.
He wouldn’t get away with murder. She wouldn’t let him.
By the time she topped the rise, her leg muscles were on fire. She paused, taking in the idyllic scene below. Moonlight glinted off snow-covered slopes, which bottomed out to a clearing cut by a wide, currently frozen creek. It was long, winding, and narrow, but the land leveled enough to host a rustic cabin before reaching the opposite slope. She didn’t see any smoke comingfrom the chimney or any lights within, but maybe there’d be a phone. Or at the very least, a dry place to rest.
Renewed energy surged through her veins. Riding that wave, she half slid, half hopped down the slope to the dark little cabin. When she made it to the log building, she dropped her poles, unlatched her snowshoes, and climbed the two steps to the front door. She reached for the handle and prayed it wouldn’t be locked.
As she turned it, the wind rushed in, blowing the door out of her hold. It slammed against the cabin wall with a loud knock. Inside, she saw a man, backlit by moonlight streaming in from the kitchen window.
Oh! Thank God someone’s here.
“Help me,” the words rushed from her half-frozen lips.
The wind kept blowing, wrapping her hair around her head wound. The man didn’t respond, but she wasn’t deterred. Not when he was her last speck of hope, glimmering like a beacon of warmth after the icy hell she’d endured.
Relief wanted to make her weak, but she thought of Yumi again. Stepping inside, Selene lifted her hand to touch the stinging in her head. Pain coursed down her neck, followed by a wave of dizziness that swept over her and sent her crashing to the floor.
Chapter 5
Bo
The woman woke with a noisy gasp of breath, scaring the shit out of him. He’d been tucking the blanket tighter around her shoulders, but he jumped backward in reflex as she reared up into a sitting position.
“Ouch!” She clutched her head with a grimace and shut her eyes.
While his heart rate settled, he asked in as soft a voice as possible, “Do you want something for the pain?”
Her eyes popped open, and their color struck him, making his heart flip-flop. They were so pale a green as to be almost gray. Like fog rolling over an aquamarine sea. He’d never seen anything like them.
While he stared, she grabbed at his arm. “How long have I been here?”
Heat raced up his skin straight for his heart, and he blinked, too stunned to respond.
She glanced around as if the answer were in the air somewhere, before those soul-stealing, gray-green eyes landed on his.
Lost in her gaze, he couldn’t help but ask, “Where are you from?”
“SoCal.”
His brow knitted in confusion. That didn’t seem true. “Originally?”
“Oh. No, I was born in Crete.”
“I’ve never been there. What’s it like?”
“From what I remember, it’s beautiful. Andwarm.” The hint of a smile tipped her lips up. But there was a sigh behind it. Like she wished he’d skip the small talk. Then her eyes widened, urgency slipping into her melodic voice. “I need a phone.”
He cleared his throat and forced himself to focus on something other than her mesmerizing face, looking down at her grip on his arm when it tightened.
“May I use yours, please? My friend is in danger, and I have to warn her.” The agitation in her tone ratcheted up a notch as she begged, “Please, I need to warn Yumi.”
Bo nodded, ignoring the little voice that did a fist pump on learning Yumi was her friend and not a significant other. “Let me get it.”
