Page 15 of Beyond the Blue Horizon
Someone who wasn’t a stranger passing through.
And that’s all I would ever be.
A stranger.
Something intense traipsed through those dark eyes. “We take care of those who come to this town and are in trouble.”
“Bye-bye,” Finn giggled, and I glanced back to find the old man was already slipping out the main lobby door before I could stop him.
I turned back to Theo.
He loomed over me.
Tall and powerful and rippling with that unnerving strength.
An alarm blared in my consciousness.
Warning me that this man was dangerous to everything I was fighting for.
“I’m not in trouble.” It gritted out through clenched teeth. Pure defense. Because I got the sense Theo could read me like I was a page that had been written in his book. One that was tattered and torn and barely clinging on.
“Think your car sitting on the side of the road says otherwise.” He pushed away, that easiness riding back to the surface when he did.
I opened my mouth to give him every reason why the things he was doing were highly inappropriate when Nelly cut me off. “You’ll have to understand, our Piper here is used to doing everything on her own. I’m afraid I’m not of much help in my old age.”
She said it like she was on her deathbed and was a burden I had to drag around, rather than her being an intrinsic part of this team.
I couldn’t do this without her. She was the strongest person I knew.
She’d also been pressing me to make a change.
Urging me that we couldn’t go on the way we’d been.
But what else were we supposed to do?
She knew what happened the last time we tried.
“People don’t pay for strangers’ doctor visits, Nells.” I hissed it under my breath.
“You’re in luck,Pipes. Today they do.” Theo cocked his head.
A shiver sprinted down my spine.
Why did he have this effect on me? Why did my flesh feel as if it were electrified and there was a low hum that buzzed in my belly?
I nearly scoffed at myself.
As if I didn’t know my type.
As if I didn’t know what I was drawn to.
Panic churned. I had to get away from this man. Put a thousand miles between us. Because I’d never had such a strong reaction to a stranger before. To anyone, for that matter. “I don’t need you to take care of me.”
He took a step forward.
The air thrashed and the ground trembled beneath my feet.
The man a ball of energy that snapped and flickered, drawing me into his orbit.
