Phantom Warriors: Arctos (3 page)

The snow was coming down hard by the time they reached the rickety shack. The structure looked even worse up close than it did from a distance, which didn’t seem possible. Caitlin stared at the wooden hut wondering if they’d fal through the floor upon entry.

Wind whistled through the trees, whipping her hair around her face. If nothing else, the place would block out some of the cold. She climbed the two steps up to the door and knocked, then waited.

“There is no one inside,” Arctos said. His warm breath teased her ear, making it tingle.

Caitlin shrugged in a lame attempt to brush the sensation away. “How do you know?” she asked.

“I know,” he countered, then pushed the door open.

The hinges creaked as the door swung wide. Caitlin stepped forward, her eyes squinting to adjust to the darkness. Arctos put her pack down near her feet, then walked inside, his big body brushing hers as he did so.

She sucked in a breath as a shiver skittered along her spine, turning her nipples into hard points. Caitlin chalked it up to the cold, refusing to acknowledge that it could be anything else.

Arctos moved silently in the shadows. Given his impressive size, Caitlin was surprised by his agility and stealth. She couldn’t see exactly what he was doing until a flame flared to life, nearly blinding her. She blinked away the spots, then scanned the shack as he continued to feed the growing fire.

The cabin turned out to be in better shape than it appeared from the outside. Despite the Spartan furnishings, the dwel ing somehow managed to be cozy with its smal table for two and over-sized chairs situated near the hearth. An elk pelt covered much of the floor, keeping the cold from seeping into bare feet.

A neatly stacked pile of wood, enough to heat the place for the night, stood next to the now crackling blaze. A thin, crude mantel had been erected over the hearth. It housed a row of wel -worn paperbacks that clung precariously to its narrow ledge.

Caitlin recognized several of the titles. At least they’d have something to do, while they waited out the storm, she thought. Her traitorous gaze slid of its own volition to Arctos’ wide shoulders.

She cleared her throat and tore her eyes away, focusing instead on a smal door on the left toward the back of the cabin. “I’m going to see what else is here. Check if they have any…uh…blankets,” she said, not waiting for a response.

Caitlin poked her head inside the room and saw a decent sized bed and what looked to be a primitive bathroom. She’d kil for a hot bath. Excited, she rushed toward the room and threw open the door, only to find a porcelain washbasin, a freestanding claw-tub, and a portable self-contained flush toilet. There was a cast iron pot next to the bathtub with a set of potholders wrapped around its metal handle.

Her heart sank. So much for having a hot bath. Unless she wanted to melt snow in the fireplace and fil that tub, it wasn’t going to happen. Caitlin supposed she should be grateful that whoever had built the shack had at least sprung for the toilet or she’d find herself making several trips outside. She shuddered at the thought of squatting in the snow.

Despite her chosen profession, Caitlin wasn’t much for roughing it. Sure, she’d camp if she had to, but
only
if she had to. She much preferred taking day trips. That way she could work al day and sleep in a real bed at night. At least there was a bed, she thought. Caitlin spotted a rusted first aid kit under the washbasin. It looked old like it hadn’t been replenished in a while. Didn’t matter. It would have to do.

The tinkling sound of her cel phone reached her.

Tearing out of the bathroom, Caitlin rushed into the main room, only to find Arctos standing over her bag with some kind of weapon drawn. His eyes were narrowed and his muscles tense.

She skidded to a halt. “What are you doing?” she asked, not daring to get any closer for fear he’d fire and kil her bag.

Her gaze shifted to the weapon once more. The size of a smal stun-gun, it didn’t have a discernible barrel. Caitlin did not recognize the gun model, but that didn’t mean anything. She was in no way a weapons specialist. She’d only learned to shoot a pistol and a rifle because of her job.

A camera was her weapon of choice.

“There is something inside your belongings,” Arctos said, his gaze never wavering from the pack.

Caitlin would’ve laughed, if he hadn’t looked so serious. “It’s just my phone. What you’re hearing is the ringtone for my friend, Al ie. A little odd maybe, but hardly suspect.”

The cel rang again.

“I real y need to get that.” She pointed to her bag.

“Al ie’s probably worried sick that I haven’t returned.” His brow furrowed. “It’s a communication device?”

“Yeah, like I said, it’s my cel phone.” Caitlin put the first aid kit on the table, then took a step closer. “I promise it won’t bite.”

His gaze met hers. Arctos studied her as if gauging the truth of her words then lowered his weapon.

Caitlin reached into her bag and rummaged around for her phone, praying she got to it before it went to voicemail. “Hel o?”

“Where are you?” Al ie shouted over thumping music.

“You were supposed to meet me at Rob’s party.

Mike’s here already.”

Caitlin scrambled to remember. Party? Party? Party?

She recal ed Al ie mentioning something about a fireman fundraiser. Was that tonight? She searched her brain. Oh crap, it was and she’d agreed to go with Mike. Ugh! Caitlin knew she should’ve never let Al ie talk her into going on a double date. “I—”

Al ie cut her off before she could say another word. “No more excuses. I let you out of the last two parties. You promised. I told Mike that you would be here.
You
told him that you’d be here. He’s stoked to get to know you better.

Told me to pass along that he thinks you’re cute.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Caitlin didn’t mean to sound cynical, but in her experience ‘cute’ was code for smal . Most guys used her size as an excuse to not take her seriously. Some went out of their way to convince her that she needed someone to take care of her. They didn’t realize that she’d been taking care of herself since she was nine years old.

Something sloshed and Al ie broke into giggles. “Cat, you won’t believe how many smoking hot men are here tonight. The room is ful of hard bodies.”

“A firemen pun, seriously?”

“Gosh, I just realized what I just said.” Al ie laughed harder. “Sorry, it was an accident. Now are you coming or what?”

Caitlin grimaced at the phone. Her friend had started the party early by the sounds of it. She’d never been big on parties. The idea of making smal talk for hours was about as welcome as butt hives. She much preferred quiet dinners and casual lunches to loud music and shouting. “I can’t,” she said, not feeling an ounce of remorse.

“What do you mean you can’t?” Al ie shrieked.

“Hon, try to use your indoor voice. You don’t want those hot guys thinking you’re a screeching harpy” Al ie scoffed. “Can’t or won’t? Do I need to remind you that you promised?” She lowered her voice to less ear-shattering levels.

Caitlin sighed. “I know I did, but some things are beyond my control. Have you looked outside lately?”

“No, why? Hang on.”

She could hear shuffling as Al ie made her way through what sounded like quite a crowd. Everyone in the smal town must be there. The noise slowly died to a dul roar.

“I’m back,” she said, then gasped loudly. “It’s blowing like stink out there. Where did you say you were?” Caitlin paused. Al she knew for sure was that she was a few miles from town, but that could be in any direction.

“Um, I’m in a cabin.”

“Whose cabin?” Al ie asked.

She turned her back on Arctos. “No idea. We just needed to find shelter from the storm.”

“What do you mean ‘we’? You had better not have stood Mike up for another guy. Even I wouldn’t do something like that,” she said, indignantly.

Caitlin glanced over her shoulder, but Arctos didn’t appear to be paying any attention to her. “It’s not like that,” she said. “You know I’d never do anything so rude. Not on purpose anyway.” She scrubbed a hand over her face.

“Listen, it’s been a long day and I’m beat.”

“I get it. You don’t feel like going through the whole story. That’s cool. Give me the condensed version,” Al ie said, sounding more sober than she had moments ago.

Caitlin took a deep breath. “I was attacked by a polar bear. Arctos saved me. We almost made it back to town, but we got caught in the storm.”

“Who’s Arctos? Is that an Inuit name?” Al ie asked.

Caitlin glanced at Arctos’ silvery white hair. “No, definitely not Inuit. Maybe Norwegian. I don’t know for sure.

Not real y important.”

“Does this Arctos have a last name?” Al ie asked, sounding more than a little perturbed, which was her normal tone when she began to worry.

Caitlin frowned. She hadn’t asked. Weird, that would normal y be something that came up right away. Instead, she’d felt at ease in his presence. Enough so that she’d looked past her usual dating protocols.
Where had that
thought come from?
She and Arctos were
not
on a date. “I think you missed the most important part of the story. The guy saved me from being a polar bear snack,” Caitlin said a little too defensively.

Al ie sighed. “I’m grateful that he did. Beyond grateful.

But where is he from? Does he live around here? I’d feel a whole lot better if someone here knew him and could vouch for him.”

Caitlin felt her face heat. She hadn’t even asked. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

“What am I going to tel Michael, when he asks where you are and why you aren’t here? I can’t exactly tel him you’re in a cabin with another guy. That’s not going to go over wel . He real y likes you, Cat.”

“He doesn’t know me wel enough to say that,” she said.

“Just because you don’t believe in love at first sight doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist,” Al ie said.

It wasn’t like she’d planned to get trapped in a cabin with a stranger. It just happened. Caitlin didn’t know why she was arguing. Arctos wasn’t even her type. He was far too good-looking and outdoorsy. Not to mention
huge
.

Because of her size, Caitlin had always avoided big men.

She didn’t like feeling helpless—ever.

“I have a question for you and I want you to real y think about it before you answer,” Al ie said. “If you haven’t asked for coordinates, then how do you know you’re close to town? You could be miles away. Shoot, for al you know, it’s his cabin you’re standing in.”

Fear clamped onto Caitlin’s shoulders, sinking its steely fingers into her bones. Was that why Arctos knew no one was home? Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her phone. Had she been wrong about him? Caitlin inhaled and did a quick soul search, then slowly let the breath out.

The fear disappeared with it. She wasn’t wrong about Arctos.

“Cat, are you stil there?” Al ie asked.

“I’m here,” she said.

“Do you want me to contact the State Troopers? I think there’s a few of them here tonight at the party. It might take a while before they can find you, but at least they could start searching now. I’d hate to have you trapped in a cabin with a crazy toothless wild man.”

“He’s not toothless,” she said absently. Caitlin glanced over her shoulder again. Arctos stood by the fire, his gaze focused on the storm raging outside. Even in repose, he exuded power and savage grace.

He carried you for miles,
she reminded herself. Would a crazy mountain man do something like that? Her gut said no way. If he wanted her dead, she’d already be dead.

“I’m fine,” she heard herself say, knowing it was the truth. “Don’t cal out the troops just yet. I’l be back tomorrow as soon as the storm dies down.” Caitlin snapped a picture of Arctos with her phone and emailed it to her friend.

“Please apologize to Mike for me. I’l make it up to him when I get back to town.”

“Cat, I don’t mean to alarm you, but I just heard someone say that the storm is expected to last for days. Do you have enough supplies?”

“Yep,” Caitlin said automatical y, knowing it wasn’t the truth. She hadn’t checked the kitchen yet, but she couldn’t imagine there’d be much in the cabinets. Food tended to attract bears. And she was pretty sure al she had in her pack were a couple of protein bars.

“Hang on, my phone just beeped,” Al ie said. A second later she returned. “Whoa! Is that the crazy mountain man?

Mike is so not going to be happy, when he sees this.” Caitlin sighed. “He’s not crazy. Geez, give me a little credit. Please don’t show the picture to Mike.” Even as she said the words, Caitlin knew it was only a matter of time before her friend spil ed the beans. Al ie had never been able to keep a secret. Not that Arctos was a secret, but stil …

“Who cares if he’s crazy if he looks like that!” Al ie said. “I swear you have al the luck.”

Caitlin flushed. “I wouldn’t exactly cal this situation lucky. I was almost eaten by a polar bear and now I’m trapped in a cabin with a stranger.”