Night's Awakening Read Free Page B

fall?”
    Elena’s green eyes shifted as she pointed to where she had been. “I came from that way. There is a large hole in the ground that Sloan wanted to explore. She didn’t anchor the bolt right, and it came out before I could help her.”
    “It’s all right,” he said, and wondered if it really was.
    It seemed the right thing to say, especially since she stopped talking a mile a minute.
    Banan straightened and turned on his heel. “I’ll go look.”
    “I didn’t want to come,” Elena said. “I told her I had a bad feeling. I heard her scream, and then nothing.”
    Guy fisted his hands to keep from touching her. The need hammered within him and became so overwhelming that he stood and moved away from her. “Have you been caving before?”
    “No.”
    “Then it is no’ your fault,” Rhys said.
    Guy stood off to the side, staring at Elena while Rhys managed to move her leg a bit to see if it was broken. His small shake of his head told Guy the bones were intact.
    That was the only good news.
    It took only one look at Banan when he returned to know Sloan hadn’t survived the fall.
    Elena covered her mouth with her hand and squeezed her eyes closed. “No,” she whispered with such anguish that it tore at Guy.
    Being so near her caused a riot within him that he couldn’t stand there, but he couldn’t move farther away either. It baffled him, and set him on edge.
    “I want out of this mountain,” Elena suddenly said, her voice shaking with her emotion.
    Banan caught Guy’s gaze. “She willna get back through injured as she is.”
    “And taking her back with us is no’ wise either,” Guy said.
    Rhys shrugged. “We doona have a choice.”
    There was movement as Elena used the cave wall to pull herself to her feet. “I’m not going anywhere with any of you. I don’t know you.”
    “We’re here to help,” Rhys said.
    “Really?” she asked, her voice laced with sarcasm. “Then who are you? How did you get here without any kind of equipment?”
    One thing at a time, Guy thought. He pointed to Rhys first. “He’s Rhys, that’s Banan, and I’m Guy. We work and live at Dreagan. We’re no’ here to harm you, simply to get you safely off our land.”
    “And the gear?” she asked pointedly.
    Guy smiled and lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “We’re good at what we do. We’ve lived near this mountain for—”
    “Seems like eternity,” Banan interrupted sarcastically.
    Guy cut him a look before he turned back to Elena. “In other words, we know these caves. You can no’ return the way you came. You need to come with us. We willna force you.”
    “What?” Rhys asked in disbelief.
    Guy held up a hand to stop Rhys. If he had to, he’d knock Elena out and carry her out of the cave himself, but he wasn’t leaving her.
    “Good or not at caving, only an idiot would go without equipment,” she said, eyeing him with distrust. “But I want this nightmare to end.”
    “Then come with me,” Guy said, and offered his hand.
    She hesitated a moment, staring at him before she reached for his hand. As soon as she took it, he knew his world was about to turn upside down.

Chapter Three
    Elena couldn’t stop looking at the three men, but most especially Guy. They were tall, and all incredibly handsome. Even the surly one, Banan.
    But Guy was different. Whereas Rhys was quick to talk and was at ease, Guy watched her beneath hooded eyes, his gaze intense and…hungry.
    It’s the only word she could come up with. And it hit her like a freight train. It left her breathless and wanting.
    Yet, she knew each time those amazing pale brown eyes of his turned to her—because her stomach would quiver and goose bumps rose all along her skin.
    It was as if she was attuned to Guy on a level she hadn’t known was possible. She briefly thought about asking him why he watched her so, which was odd behavior for her. She wasn’t aggressive with guys. It must be the shock and pain of Sloan’s death that was making