Page 6 of Beyond the Blue Horizon
A war went down in the middle of the woman.
This fiery hot protection that I could feel brimming from her flesh as she stared me down like she could see every sin I’d ever committed.
Thank fuck she couldn’t.
Otherwise, she’d have them all running out into the woods, figuring surviving the storm would be a whole lot safer than surviving me.
“Not going to hurt you. None of you. My name’s Theo. Theo Mallin.” The promise grated up my throat.
Disbelief shook her head. “And I’m just supposed to take your word for it?”
The older woman in the front seat shifted around and peered into the back. “We don’t have a lot of other options, Pipes, unless you want to sit out here and freeze to death, and that doesn’t sound like a real fun way to go to me.”
Good. At least she was in my corner. Seeing things rationally.
I turned back to the woman who was looking at me with so much distrust it was a wonder I didn’t turn to ash.
But apparently, it was too fuckin’ cold for fires because that flame burning from her was petering out.
She breathed out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. But know I will claw you to pieces if you even look at any of us wrong.”
Couldn’t stop the rough chuckle that rolled up my throat while something in my chest was clutching in a fist.
This woman was ferocious.
“Noted,Pipes.”
She sent me a scowl.
I ignored how much I liked it, and I angled my head toward my truck. “Come on. Let’s get you out of this storm.”
TWO
PIPER
What the helldid I think I was doing? Putting my trust in this stranger?
But the storm continued to howl and thrash and batter, and my car…
I gulped around the jagged rock at the base of my throat as I looked out at where the tail end was sticking up in the air from the ditch.
Sickness curdled my stomach.
I couldn’t believe I’d been so careless.
That I’d allowed this to happen.
The car was probably toast, and that car was our lifeline.
Our salvation.
The one thing that kept us safe.
Carrying us from one destination to the next.
Now, we were stuck. Subject to the will of a stranger who was currently running around my car grabbing our belongings and loading them into the bed of his truck.
Theo Mallin.
