Page 26 of Atone in Darkness
9
The press of a soft, feminine body next to his wasn’t helping Chase’s concentration one bit. He’d done his best to suppress the memory of how perfect his keeper had felt in his arms, straddling his lap with her lips locked on to his, but it wasn’t easy with her close enough that he could feel the heat of her skin. It didn’t help at all when Marisol leaned in even closer to whisper, “Is anyonethere?”
He delayed responding to her question as he forced his full attention back to the cabin in the small clearing below. Through the scope on the rifle, he scanned for signs the place was currently occupied. There was no smoke coming from the chimney, but that didn’t mean anything. The weather was warm enough right now that a fire wouldn’t be needed to heat the place. However, there wereno lights on, either. He could be wrong, but his gut said the place was vacant right now.
“I don’t see anyone moving around down there, but that’s no guarantee they won’t show up at any minute.”
“So do we go around and keep walking?”
If it had just been him, that’s exactly what he would’ve done rather than risk being seen, but Marisol was on her last legs. Earlier he had to move quickly tosupport her when she almost tumbled down a steep slope. It wasn’t for several minutes that he realized he had continued to hold on to her even after she’d regained her balance for no reason other than he liked the way their hands fit together. She hadn’t protested, but for both their sakes, he’d made himself let go even though he immediately missed that small connection.
Now wasn’t the time tothink about why that was, not when he needed to find them a place to hole up and rest, not to mention they badly needed food. They had one granola bar left. He had planned to let her have the whole thing, but then they’d spotted the cabin. He hoped like hell there was something to eat down there. A single granola bar wouldn’t replenish Marisol’s depleted energy levels, and he couldn’t keep goingmuch longer himself without something more substantial to eat.
In top condition, he could go without food for days if necessary. Armed with swords, the Paladins stood the line to protect humanity from bloodthirsty invaders from Kalithia, another world separated from this one by a mysterious high-voltage energy barrier. To his knowledge, no one understood the physics of it all, not that it mattered.It was what it was. When the barrier went down and stayed that way, he and the other Paladins had to stand and fight, knee deep in blood and bodies, until the damn thing stabilized again. It wasn’t as if there was a pause button they could hit when the crazies kept boiling across from Kalithia just so the Paladins could catch a breather and eat something.
But he wasn’t in top condition, not afterthe hell those bastards had put him through since they’d snatched him off the street. Right now, as compromised as he was, he couldn’t protect himself, much less Marisol. It was time to throw the dice and hope for the best.
“I’m going down there. You stay right here until I check the place out.”
He was up and moving before she had a chance to argue. His former keeper wasn’t much for taking orderswithout discussing the situation to death. While he appreciated intelligence in a woman, right now he didn’t have the energy or patience to explain things.
At least she didn’t follow him down the hillside. He kept to the trees as long as he could, only breaking cover after he stopped to study the clearing one last time from a closer vantage point. Still no sign of anyone moving around insidethe cabin. The place was nearly square, most likely with the kitchen and living area one large room across the front.
Considering he didn’t see an outhouse, they might have lucked out and found a place with indoor plumbing. He suspected Marisol would appreciate that particular feature, although she hadn’t complained at all about having to take off into the bushes whenever nature called. She clearlywasn’t used to roughing it, but all things considered, she had proven to be remarkably resilient.
He crept farther into the clearing, his finger on the trigger and ready to fire the rifle if necessary. When he reached the side of the house, he crouched down and moved forward until he was under the closest window. He slowly raised his head just far enough to peek inside. The place looked deserted,but he checked out three more windows before finally letting out a deep breath and circling back to signal Marisol to join him.
Once she started down the hillside, he stepped up onto the porch and tried the door. Locked. No surprise there. He hated to damage the place, but he’d kick the damn door in if that’s what it took to get inside. Before going to that extreme, he looked under the mat andthen slid his fingers along the top edge of the windows and shutters. Next, he checked under the rocks that formed a small flower bed along the front of the house.
His efforts were rewarded when he discovered one of the rocks had a plastic plug on the underside. When he removed the stopper, a key fell out into his hand.
Marisol rounded the corner of the cabin just as he opened the front door.She hurried to follow him inside. It was amazing how good it felt to have the thickness of an old wooden door between them and the rest of the world.
“See what you can find in the kitchen while I check out the other rooms. Cross your fingers there’s something to eat in there.”
While she started pulling open the handful of cabinets over the kitchen counter, he opened the first door he came to,which turned out to be a bedroom. The furnishings were sparse and simple, but the double bed would still be a cut above spending another night sleeping on the ground. The other door turned out to be the bathroom, complete with at least the basic amenities. Considering the camping lanterns scattered around the place and the woodstove in the kitchen, he had to guess there was no electricity.
Well,beggars can’t be choosers and all of that.
He returned to the kitchen, where Marisol had a row of cans and boxes lined up on the counter. That looked promising. “What did you find?”
She pointed at the cans as she counted them off. “Five cans of soup, four of tuna fish, and various canned vegetables. We also have corn bread mix, pancake mix, and two boxes of mac and cheese. Not exactly deluxedining, but more filling than granola bars.”
There were three other cans that she’d set apart from the others. “What are those?”
She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Canned processed meat.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t tell me you’re a food snob, Doc.”
Marisol turned her back to him as she shoved the offending cans back into the cabinet and slammed the door with more force that was necessaryto get the job done. “I grew up on that stuff. I’d have to be starving before I’d eat it again.”
Well, that didn’t fit with the mental image he had of her. As tempting as it was to ask a few questions about Marisol’s past, he had more important things to do right now.
“I’ll bring in enough wood to cook with and heat the place if necessary. It’s still pretty comfortable in here, but I’m guessingit will get chilly at night.”
He headed for the door but stopped before stepping outside. “There’s no electricity, so that means there’s no hot water. There is a tub, though. If you want a bath, we can heat water on the stove. Maybe there are some clothes in thebedroom that we can use, so we can rinse ours out by hand. They’ll dry pretty quickly if we hang them near the stove.”
At least thepromise of getting clean had chased away the shadows that had haunted Marisol’s eyes when she mentioned her childhood. “That sounds like heaven. I’ll look for a big pot.”
