Whispers in the Dark - Maya Banks [46]
With a muttered curse, he pocketed the flashlight and then swung her into his arms to carry her up the incline to the jeep.
She didn’t make a sound the entire way. She laid her head on his chest and burrowed into his hold. She clutched his shoulder like she was afraid he’d disappear.
He put her down long enough to throw his gear in the back and then he put her into the passenger seat, securing the seat belt around her. For a moment he stood staring down at her, awed by the fact that she was in front of him. Real. Tangible. Not in his head.
Her blond hair was bedraggled and lay limply against her head. Her blue eyes were dull with fatigue. She was dirty and disheveled, and he’d never seen a more beautiful woman in his life.
He reached out to softly caress her cheek, unable to resist the opportunity to touch her once more. She closed her eyes and slid her cheek over his palm as if she found as much pleasure in his touch as he did in touching her.
The sound of a distant car dragged him abruptly back to awareness. He slammed her door shut and bolted around to the driver’s side. He pulled onto the highway seconds later and directed the jeep into the town of Crescent City.
He felt her gaze on him as he entered the city limits. He glanced sideways to see her staring at him. Did she know how affected he was by her? How gutted he was to finally be face-to-face with her?
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she said softly, a thread of wonder in her voice. “I’ve imagined it so many times. I’m half afraid I’ll wake up and this will all be a dream.”
He lifted his hand and touched the side of her hair before running his finger over her cheekbone. “I was right. You are an angel.”
She smiled faintly, but then her lips turned down into a troubled frown and the lights from passing streetlamps highlighted the shadows in her eyes.
“I’m afraid, Nathan.”
“Shhh, baby. I’m going to take care of you. Just like you took care of me. First thing we’re going to do is get the hell out of town. Go north. Put some miles between us and the assholes after you. We can’t take the jet yet. It won’t be ready, and I want to stay away from the airport until we’re ready to fly out of here. For now we’ll get a place to stay so you can clean up and I can make sure you aren’t hurt.”
Her relief was palpable. Her entire body shook and she leaned back, resting her head against the seat. “Thank you. I was so scared. I knew I wouldn’t make it alone and I don’t know whom I can trust.”
“You can trust me.”
She nodded tiredly. “I know. I know.”
“We have a long drive. I don’t want to stop until we’re well away from here. Tell me what I need to know while I drive. I’m sure we have a lot of…questions. About each other. About this…connection. But for now, let’s put that aside so we can focus on the most important thing. Your safety.”
She nodded again and then surprised him by reaching for his hand. She laced her fingers with his and let their hands rest on the seat beside her.
“I’ve been running from them for a year,” she said quietly. “They killed my parents. They want me and my sister, Grace. But especially Grace.”
“Okay, why do they want Grace so badly?”
Shea sucked in a breath. “She can heal people. Really heal people. I can take their pain but I can’t fix them. Grace can. It was she who helped me help your friend when you were escaping.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m not sure I get the difference. You take pain. You take on the wound. How is that not healing?”
She sighed and rubbed her head tiredly. “It’s different. I know it all sounds crazy, but I can draw pain away from an individual. I even seemingly absorb the wound. But I don’t really. It’s temporary. Even the pain I take is temporary because after a while, it comes back. Because I don’t heal them. I’m like a Band-Aid. A temporary fix. When it’s all said and done, the affliction remains. You know like when you were…h-hurt…”
She drifted off momentarily, her face haunted by the memory of what he’d endured.
“When you were hurt, I took your pain but I didn’t heal your injuries. You still