Page 47 of Atone in Darkness
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Marisol’s feet hurt, but not as much as her back. Then there was the nasty scape on her hand from when she’d been maneuvering down a small incline and had to grab a sapling to keep from tumbling down to the ground. It wasn’t the first time she wished she had Chase’s ability to heal. She was also hungry, thirsty, and getting crabbier by the minute. But what choice did she have except to plodalong behind Chase as he led the way through the woods?
“So tell me, is the ability to see in the dark another one of your superpowers?”
The jerk actually laughed. “I guess you could say that. Our eyes are definitely more sensitive to light. Most of us need pretty heavy-duty sunglasses when it’s really bright out.”
“Us, meaning there’s a bunch of you. Is there a name for your secret society?If so, is there also a secret handshake?”
“Yes, there is.” He paused to glance back at her. “But you’d be better off not knowing any more about us than you already do.”
Fine. Back to the eyesight thing. “So about your sensitivity to light. Do you think it was an adaptation to the environment where your people originated?”
He snickered. “I guess you could say that.”
Of course he didn’t explainwhy he found her question so amusing. Still, the scientist in her couldn’t help but ponder the implications. “I wonder if that means your ancestors came from the far northern regions where there’s not much daylight during part of the year.”
“Interesting theory.”
“If I could get enough test subjects, I’d love to do some comparisons on their DNA to see if I could determine the country of—”
Beforeshe could finish her train of thought, Chase whirled around and planted his feet right in front of her. Even in the dim light, she could tell the man wasn’t happy right now. “Is something wrong?”
“Yeah, Doc, there is. Despite how we burned up the sheets together, it seems you’ve reverted back to thinking of me as your pet lab rat.” He loomed closer, the weight of his gaze almost a physical touchagainst her skin. “It might come as a surprise to you, but that pisses me off big-time.”
“I didn’t mean to... Chase, you have to know I don’t think of you that way.”
His light eyes glittered in the dark shadows. “So how do you think of me?”
Good question. Her feelings about him had started evolving from the moment he first appeared in her lab, and that process had really picked up speedover the last few days. For sure, he engendered a heady mix of pretty strongemotions in her, ones she was hesitant to put a name to. Better that she keep her answer simple and true.
“I think of you as a man, Chase.”
To prove that, she settled her hands on his arms and slowly slid them up to his shoulders to tangle her fingers behind his neck. “I don’t know what’s going to happen after all ofthis is over, but I won’t regret having known you. I hope you can forgive everything I did back in the compound and come to feel that way about me, too.”
When he stepped back, forcing her to release her hold on him, his rejection stung like a physical blow. But then he set down the two rifles he’d been carrying and wrapped her in his arms. His mouth came down hard on hers in a take-no-prisonerskiss. She surrendered willingly to the moment.
When they finally came up for air, Chase brushed a lock of her hair back from her face, his mouth curved up in a soft smile. “I think that pretty much sums up how I’m feeling about you right now.”
She smiled back up at him. “Good to know.”
He reached for his weapons. “I’ve been looking for a good spot to hunker down for the rest of the night. Weshould stay close to the stream, but I want to make sure we can’t be seen from above. Can you keep going for a little while longer?”
It had been a relief to forget about the danger that was dogging their every footstep for a few seconds, but he was right. If they were going to survive this, they couldn’t afford to forget that the enemy forces were coming at them from multiple directions.
“Yeah,I can keep going.”
Even if it killed her. He swooped in for one more kissbefore leading her deeper into the shadows.
Another fifteen, maybe twenty minutes passed in a blur, but Chase finally called a halt to their endless trek. “This looks promising. Wait here while I scout ahead.”
She coasted to a stop. It was tempting to sit down to give her aching legs a break, but she feared she wouldn’thave the strength to get up again. Luckily, Chase was already back. “We’ll stop here for the night. The stream is only about thirty feet that way. The trees should be thick enough overhead to prevent anyone from seeing us from the sky, and there’s room for both of us to stretch out in the middle of those boulders, which will keep anyone from seeing us from the ground.”
He must have realized shewas running on fumes, because he took her hand in his and basically towed her to their resting spot for the night. “Sit down before you fall down, but don’t go to sleep yet. You need to eat something to replenish your energy level first.”
He guided her to a small boulder and gently urged her to sit. She knew she should be doing something more useful than just sitting there, but at the momentshe had no idea what that might be. Chase dug stuff out of their pack and shortly returned with a pair of open cans. The one he handed her was meat of some kind.
Wrinkling her nose at the less-than-appetizing smell, she dutifully took a big bite. With considerable effort, she choked down about half of the contents before trading cans with Chase. Cold canned green beans weren’t exactly gourmetfood, but at least they tasted better than the meat had.
