The Keeping (8 page)

The feeling of
anxiety grew and she walked even faster, her senses heightened. She
was aware that her breathing had quickened and a faint layer of
sweat was forming on her skin. Wiping her palms on her pant legs,
her gaze darted from side to side as she stumbled down the drive,
no longer watching where she placed her feet. A noise to her left
had her whirling around to face the source and her breath caught in
her throat.

At first, all she
was aware of was teeth. Large, shiny white teeth with pointy ends
designed for puncturing and tearing flesh. Then her focus widened
as she noted black noses and gleaming eyes, surrounded by thick
fur. A pair of very large guard dogs were staring at her, licking
their chops as if she just became the main selection on tonight’s
dinner menu.

Some instinct told
her they weren’t too pleased to see her—or maybe they were; she’d
be a change from a diet of dry kibble, she thought inanely as she
stood frozen in place. A low rumbling sound came from one of them
and snapped her out of her statue-like state. They were holding
their heads low and had raised the fur on their backs. She was sure
she’d read somewhere that indicated an attack was imminent. Mel
started to back away, not wanting to lose eye-contact. The fact
that these might not be dogs was niggling at her mind but she shied
away from examining that thought at the moment. Adding additional
reasons to fear for her life would not be helpful at this
point.

Slowly, the beasts
followed her, exactly matching her pace. Icy terror was working its
way through her body despite the rapid beating of her heart.
Surely, her blood should be rushing through her veins right now,
oxygenating her muscles in preparation for flight? Where was that
adrenaline rush everyone talked about? That super human strength
that came out of nowhere when faced with horrible danger? She
blinked, realizing that her vision seemed to be blurring, the world
was darkening. Oh great. Passing out in fear. How lame was that? If
only she’d had sufficient coffee fixes today, Mel lamented to
herself, she would have been better able to cope with the
situation.

Shaking her head
and refusing to give into the panic invading her system, Mel
continued to back away. She kept one eye on the creatures stalking
her, while shooting glances from side to side, looking for a sturdy
stick to grab onto and use as a weapon. It wouldn’t be overly
effective, but it was better than defending herself barehanded.

Just when she
thought she saw a suitable branch, her heel came down on a large
stone. Her foot twisted to the side and she lurched to the left,
flaying her arms wildly as she tried to maintain her balance. Fear
made her overcompensate and instead of righting herself, she made
matters worse. As she stumbled against a tree trunk, the animals
took exception to her sudden movement. They rushed towards her,
barking and howling. Mel opened her mouth, inhaled deeply, and
resorted to the age-old solution of screaming for help at the top
of her lungs.

*****

Ryne groaned as
the sound of howls and barks penetrated his alcohol soaked brain,
forcing him from his sleep. He was seriously hung over from last
night and was contemplating the benefits of death over the way he
was presently feeling. Dark thoughts ran through his mind as he
determined the source of the noise that had dragged him from
blessed oblivion.

Obviously, Bryan
and Daniel were out acting like idiots and it was the last thing he
needed today. If they wanted to go out hunting, it was fine with
him, but keep it quiet. No rabbit or squirrel or whatever they’d
cornered, warranted that much noise. He rolled over and winced as
his head pounded. How many beers had he consumed last night,
anyway? It was all sort of blurry. The favoured team had won the
hockey game and everyone had started buying rounds and then...?

Gingerly, he
opened one eye and squinted against the assaulting rays of light
that streamed in around the window shade. He swore and let his
eyelid fall shut, raising his hand to his throbbing head. At least
his stomach wasn’t protesting the treatment he’d subjected it to.
Having a cast iron stomach was one of the genetic benefits his
parents had passed on to him.

The sounds from
outside continued, and he was muttering darkly under his breath
when a scream pierced the air, drilling into his brain with
unmerciful sharpness. He shot upright, ignoring his protesting body
and swung his legs out of bed. Some corner of his mind noted that
he was still dressed in last night’s clothes and only needed to
slip on his shoes. A second scream followed the first, and he was
out the door before the sound even died out. What the hell were
Bryan and Daniel doing? They were scheduled for patrol duty and
shouldn’t be fooling around. He muttered darkly about their demise
as he ran down the front steps, moving with surprising ease for
someone who, just moments before, was feeling like death warmed
over. They knew better than to bring a female here. And what were
they doing to make her scream like that?

Both the howls and
the screaming stopped abruptly before Ryne was even at the end of
the sidewalk. He froze and cocked his head to the side, trying to
catch any sound that might indicate what was happening. Footsteps
approached—two individuals—one set sounding a bit heavier with some
shuffling mixed in, almost as if the walker was carrying something.
Ryne crossed his arms and leaned against as nearby tree. There was
no point in him rushing down the driveway when it was obvious that
they were coming to him.

It only took
moments for the source of the footsteps to appear. Bryan and Daniel
came into sight, glaring daggers at each other; obviously they’d
had one of their famous arguments about who was at fault for the
most recent predicament they found themselves in.

Bryan was carrying
something—no, make that someone—in his arms. From the way the arms
and legs hung limply, it was obvious the person was unconscious.
Narrowing his eyes, Ryne realized the 'someone' was a woman and no
doubt the origin of the screams that had woke him up. Shit!

He straightened
from the tree he was leaning on and widened his stance, his whole
demeanour conveying his displeasure. The two men looked up and
noticed him. Immediately, they slowed their pace as if trying to
delay something unpleasant. Ryne sneered. How right you are my
friends. This
will
be unpleasant.

As soon as they
were within hearing distance, he began. “What the fuck did you do
this time?”

Daniel ducked his
head and shuffled his feet. Bryan kept his head up, but averted his
gaze. “We found her on the propriety.”

“And you decided
to what? Go hunting with her as the prey?” Ryne raised his brow and
snorted derisively.

Bryan flushed, but
didn’t back down. “No. We just thought we’d scare her off. You
know, chase her a bit and she’d run back to wherever she came
from.”

“Your plan doesn’t
appear to have worked very well since she’s now here at the house.”
Ryne folded his arms and jerked his head towards the unconscious
woman. “What happened?”

Daniel decided to
speak, shooting glances up at Ryne as he spoke. “We...um...we
stalked her a bit and she was backing up towards the road, but
moving real slow—”

“So we thought a
bit of noise might hurry her along—” Bryan explained. “But then she
tripped or something, just as the barking started and she began
screaming—”

“And then it was
the weirdest thing, just liked you’d see in a cartoon.” Daniel
jumped in, his wonder at the event he was describing causing him to
momentarily forget he was in trouble. “She turned to run, and
bang!” Clapping his hands together, he gestured to show what
happened. “She ran right smack into a tree and then just sort of
slid down the trunk.” He shook his head. “I never thought that sort
of thing happened in real life.”

Ryne bit back the
chuckle that the mental picture evoked. “Is she all right?”

“I think so.
There’s a lump on her head and that’s why we brought her here. We
didn’t think we should just leave her lying there on the ground.”
Bryan shifted the woman in his arms.

“Bring her inside
and we’ll check her out.” Ryne tightened his lips as he turned and
stalked back to the house. They couldn’t have just approached her
like normal human beings and told her she was on private land,
could they? Oh, no. That would make too much sense.

Once inside, Bryan
laid the woman down on the sofa and Daniel disappeared, only to
return with a damp washcloth and the first aid kit. Kneeling beside
the sofa, Ryne nodded his thanks. Daniel was a good kid, he just
didn’t think sometimes.

Gently, Ryne
brushed the unconscious woman’s hair from her forehead and probed
the bump on her head. It wasn’t too large, but the skin was broken,
no doubt from contact with the rough bark on the tree. Her skin was
warm and soft to the touch, he noted absentmindedly. Inhaling
deeply, he took in her scent and stored it for later analysis
before proceeding with the first aid treatment. He washed off the
area and applied a bandage then leaned back to study his
patient.

Her hair, spread
out upon the cushions, was a shade between blonde and brown.
Incredibly long lashes lay against her cheeks and her mouth was
wide and full. The faintest dusting of freckles showed across the
bridge of her nose making her appear quite youthful. His gaze
worked its way down her body and he noted her nice-sized breasts
and slim waist, the way her jeans clung to her shapely thighs
before disappearing into knee-high leather boots. He concluded she
probably wasn’t as young as he initially thought—maybe
mid-twenties.

Ryne looked back
up at her face and studied it more carefully. She wasn’t strikingly
beautiful, nor blatantly sexy, but there was something appealing
about her. Glancing at her mouth again, he wondered what her lips
would feel like against his own. He frowned. Where had that thought
come from? He didn’t go for the girl-next-door-type; real women who
knew the score were more his style. Women like Lucy, he added. Some
sex, some fun, and then we’re done; that was how he operated.
Giving his head a shake, he decided that his hangover must be
muddling his thinking.

Something nudged
his shoulder and he looked up to see Bryan gesturing towards their
visitor. Her eyes were showing some movement behind her closed
lids, indicating that she was coming around. While he was relieved
that she didn’t seem to show any signs of permanent damage from her
experience, he started to ponder what he’d do with her, once she
woke up.

If luck was on his
side, she'd apologize for trespassing and leave. Worst case
scenario, she’d start screaming ‘sue’ and threatening to call the
police about the dangerous animals he kept. The thought of
dangerous animals had him clenching his fists. He stood and moved
to the kitchen next door, indicating that the other two should come
with him. Standing in the doorway, so he could still see the couch,
he began to rip a strip off the other two men.

“That had to be
the most stupidly, idiotic idea you two have had in ages. Trying to
scare her off? Why didn’t you just say it was private
property?”

“We didn’t mean
any harm.” Daniel began.

“I’m sure you
didn’t, but look what happened anyway. This isn’t like back home,
you know. We don’t have people in the right places to help brush
things like this under the carpet. It’s just us three against the
rest of the community, and we have to blend in, not draw
attention...” Ryne listened to himself talk and wondered when he’d
suddenly become the heavy. Hell, he sounded like his foster-father
used to after he and Kane had pulled some stunt or another. The
thought brought him up short and he exhaled gustily. After a moment
of silence he rubbed his neck awkwardly and glanced at the other
two. They were waiting quietly, eyes downcast. “Just...just...don’t
do it again, okay?”

“We won’t.” They
looked up at him sheepishly and Ryne relented.

He gave a dry
chuckle and punched Bryan lightly in the arm. “I thought you were
supposed to be the smart one.” He mocked.

Bryan shrugged.
“Yeah. But she was kind of cute. I was sort of thinking that once
she was near the gate, I’d show up and ‘save’ her from Daniel. She
might have been...grateful, you know?” He winked and Daniel
laughed.

Ryne did too, but
inwardly he felt his hackles rise. Something about Bryan’s
statement bothered him, though he didn’t know exactly what. “Why
don’t you two go see if you can make something for us to eat? I’m
starving.” They nodded and headed towards the fridge. “Oh, and brew
up a large pot of coffee. I’m still feeling a bit hung over from
last night.”

With the other two
busy, Ryne headed back into the living-room and sat in his recliner
facing the sofa. The initial coolness of the leather felt good
given his less than prime state of being. Not for the first time,
did he wonder why he kept accepting all the drinks sent his way. He
knew the locals were somewhat in awe of his capacity for alcohol—he
could hold way more than the average human—and he suspected there
might be some bets going around about who would be the first to
drink him under the table. It would never happen, but still, he
should be more careful. Drawing undue attention to the ways in
which he was physiologically different from his neighbours was not
a good idea.

He leaned his head
back and switched his attention to his present concern; the girl
lying unconscious on his sofa. Through half-closed eyes, he watched
and waited while speculation ran through his mind. Why had she been
on his land? She wasn’t a local. Stump River residents would never
go walking in boots like hers. Maybe somebody’s relative, visiting
for the weekend and out for a stroll? Possibly. After all, who else
would have a reason to be roaming around Stump River?