Kiss of Midnight_ A Midnight Breed Novel - Lara Adrian [872]
“You’re very different from other women, Alex,” he said again hesitantly. “And I … you need to know that I’m not like other men, either.”
She blinked, feeling an unseen weight press down on her in the silence that spread out between them. The same instinct that told her to demand more answers pleaded with her to back away and pretend she didn’t want to know—didn’t need to know whatever it was that had Kade so tongue-tied and antsy. All she could do was watch him and wait, worrying that he was about to send her entire world into an even greater tailspin.
The sharp trill of her cell phone jolted her like a kiss from a live wire. It rang again and she dived for it, welcoming the excuse to escape the strange, dark shift in Kade’s demeanor.
“This is Alex,” she said, recognizing Zach’s number as she flipped the phone open and took the call.
“Where are you?” he demanded, not even sparing a second on hello. “I just drove by your house and you’re not there. Are you out at Jenna’s?”
“No,” she said. “Jenna was at my house this morning, before I left. She must have gone home.”
“Well, where the hell are you, then?”
“I’m out on a call,” she said, bristling a little at his curt tone. “I had a, um, a charter client book a flight this morning—”
“Well, we’ve got a bad situation here in Harmony,” Zach cut in harshly. “I’m in the middle of a medical emergency and I need you to fly a critical injury in from the bush.”
Alex snapped out of the emotional fog that had held her before she took the call. “Who’s been injured, Zach? What’s going on?”
“It’s Dave Grant. I don’t have the whole story yet, but he and Lanny Ham and a bunch of other men from town were out hunting west of town today. They ran into trouble, serious trouble. Lanny Ham is dead, and apparently it’s not looking very good for Big Dave right now, either. The guys are afraid to put him on a snowmachine, for fear that they won’t get him back here in time enough to save him.”
“Oh, my God.” Alex sat back on her folded legs, a cold numbness crawling over her skin. “The injuries, Zach … what happened?”
“Something attacked them out there, according to the other men. Dave is delirious and he’s lost a lot of blood. He’s in and out of consciousness, talking a lot of nonsense about a creature lurking in one of the caves west of Harmony. Whatever it was that got ahold of him and Lanny, well, it’s bad, Alex. Real bad. Tore both of them up something awful. The news is all over town already and everyone’s in a panic.”
She closed her eyes. “Oh, my God … oh, my God …”
Kade’s hand came to rest lightly on her bare shoulder. “What is it, Alex?”
She shook her head, incapable of forming the words.
“Who’s that with you?” Zach demanded. “For fuck’s sake, Alex. Are you with that guy from Pete’s the other night?”
Alex didn’t think she needed to answer to Zach Tucker about whom she was spending time with, not when one man was dead and another man’s life was hanging in the balance. Not when the horror of her past—the horror she had feared had visited the Toms family just a few days ago—was now raking her heart open all over again.
“I’m out at the Tulak cabin, Zach. I’ll leave right away, but I’m probably forty-five minutes out.”
“Forget it. We can’t afford to wait on you. I’ll track down Roger Bemis instead.”
He disconnected, leaving Alex sitting there, frozen in shock.
“What happened?” Kade asked. “Who’s been hurt?”
For a moment, it was all she could do to concentrate on breathing in and out. Her heart banged miserably, guilt gnawing at her. “I should have warned them. I should have told them what I knew instead of thinking I could deny it.”
“Alex?” Kade’s voice was cautious, his fingers firm but tender as he lifted her face up toward his. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Big Dave and Lanny Ham,” she murmured. “They were attacked today in the bush. Lanny’s dead. Big Dave might not make it.”
And if Kade had gone with them, instead of coming out with her? The idea that he might have been close to that danger—or worse, a victim of it—made her heart lurch. She felt ill with fear