Category: Flash Fiction

It had been slow going through the woods, Adam carried the pack with their belongings on his back, and Zara concentrated on walking as much as she could. When her leg gave out on her he would pick her up and carry for her a while, but she always insisted on being put back down after a while to walk on her own.

She was something else this woman. He no longer believed she had anything to do with them both nearly being shot and he was worried she was in as much trouble as he was.

Maybe more.

Adam found he didn’t like the idea of Zara in danger.

It made sense that Warrick might be smuggling drugs, but if Zara thought it she must have seen something, heard something, that tipped her off. And Warrick and Zara’s father knew it.

They walked in silence, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable one. He found he actually felt a measure of peace when he was around Zara. It was crazy but she seemed to possess the ability to still the raging storm of grief and guilt inside him.

When she stumbled, he reached out, grabbing her before she hit the ground, then scooped her up. Holding her in his arms felt natural.

Almost too natural.

“I’ll carry you for a bit,” he said.

“Sorry, I’m slowing you down.”

He smiled inspire of their situation. “You’ve said that every time I’ve carried you. I’m glad you’re here.”

“You are?” She sounded surprised by his admission, he was just as surprised. Not because it wasn’t true but because he’d told her.

“I am. Its always nice to have someone at your back.”

Zara smiled then rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad to have your back.”

They lapsed back into silence and an hour later they came upon the cabin in the woods.

Only it wasn’t empty.

Smoke was coming from the chimney and he saw badly hidden cars nearby.

Amateurs.

“Adam, that’s my dad’s car,” Zara said anxiously. “And that’s Warrick’s. Why would they both be out here?”

Because this was supposed to be a trap. One they’d obviously thought he would walk unknowingly into.

But he was too smart for that.

He was going to set a trap of his own.

“Still trust me?” he asked Zara.

Zara hadn’t hesitated when Adam had asked if she trusted him. Of course she did. She understood where his suspicion had come from and couldn’t believe that the same man had touched both of their lives in horrible ways.

“What are we doing now?” she asked him. She knew for certain they couldn’t call the cops, Warrick’s twin brother was a cop and she knew from experience that the man wouldn’t turn on his brother, not for anything. Not even if Warrick had committed a crime.

“Leaving,” Adam said shortly. “Can you stand?”

She didn’t know if she could but she knew she would. Even if Warrick hadn’t come here for her he’d almost definitely followed her here, meaning it was her fault Adam had almost been killed. “I can stand.”

“Go get dressed, if you can’t make it on your leg then call out, don’t push it, I’m going to need you mobile when we leave.”

“Where are we going exactly?”

“Through the woods around the house, there’s a small cabin tucked away out there, once we get there we can make a plan. For now we need to leave.”

To illustrate his point, Adam repacked the first aid kit and headed from the room. Not wanting to slow him down, Zara stood, biting her lip to keep from crying out in pain, and hopped as best as she could towards the stairs.

“Loving this, loving this,” she muttered ironically, as she made her way painstakingly slowly up the stairs and down to her room. Going with loose fitting pants, a t-shirt, waterproof jacket, and boots, she paused when she got to the shoes. Getting the pants on had been hard enough, no way she’d be able to do the shoes on her own. She was about to call out when Adam appeared in the doorway, dressed with a large backpack on.

“Ready?” he asked.

“I need help with my shoes,” she replied.

Adam eased her onto the bed, then knelt before her, taking extra care sliding on her sock and boot on her injured leg. He frowned when he saw blood staining her clothes. “You aren’t going to be able to walk.”

The decision was an easy one to make. “Then leave me behind.”

“You don’t want to come with me?”

Zara hesitated. She did, but she was worried if she did she’d get him killed. “I feel safe with you but I can’t walk, and I don’t want you to get hurt because of me. Adam, my family owns one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Warrick and my dad have been friends since childhood, my dad … he can be violent … but Warrick he’s something else. One of the reasons I took this job was because I found out my fiancé had been cheating on me, the other was I suspected Warrick might be smuggling drugs. His brother is the chief of police here, but I might be able to placate my dad enough to keep myself safe. I’d never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me, you’ve been through enough.” She reached out and cupped his cheek, stroking her thumb along his cheekbone. He’d already suffered more than anyone should, he deserved to live his life in peace.

“And I’d never forgive myself for causing another death. Its not any safer for you here than it is for me. But if you want I can call in a favour, get someone to come get you.”

“I’d rather stay with you, if you don’t mind.” The relief in his eyes stirred something inside her. She liked this complicated, gruff warrior. A lot. More than maybe she should. Zara leaned in and whispered her lips across his. “If you’re okay with me slowing you down then id rather stick by your side.”

“You won’t slow me down,” he said, and scooped her into his arms, striding with her towards the door like she weighed nothing at all. “I got you.”

Yeah. He did. And she liked it.

She was finally afraid of him.

She should be, but Adam felt he didn’t like knowing that Zara now feared him.

It was his own fault, he’d jumped to conclusions and was glad he hadn’t acted and done something he couldn’t take back. Like kill her.

When he returned with his first aid kit and supplies he found Zara huddled on the couch, her face tight with pain, her eyes wide with fear. She shrunk away from him and he hated it.

“I can explain,” he said as he knelt on the floor beside the couch, and began to clean the gunshot wound with a wet cloth. “I knew that man too. His name is Warren Warrick and he’s the one who killed the rest of my team. I was taken alive to a remote camp, tortured for almost three weeks for information, I killed him when I escaped. I was medically discharged when I returned to the States, and I moved my family out here, to what used to be my maternal grandparents estate. Its remote, has good security, I thought I could defend it, defend them, here. Turns out I was the threat they needed protection from. But Warrick and whoever he was working for must have found out you were here, decided to take out both of us.”

Zara was staring at him wide eyes. “I didn’t know. I swear, Adam, I didn’t know he did that to you. I’m so sorry. I told you this was my fault. My father likes to keep tabs on me, he must have had me followed, or bugged my things or something. I’m so sorry, but I swear I didn’t lead him here on purpose.”

“I believe you.” He did, too. “This is going to hurt,” he told her as he held up a sterile pair of tweezers. “Bullet is still in there, I need to get it out.”

She nodded, her skin a sickly gray, her jaw clamped tightly together. She looked prepared but he was the one who hesitated, feeling queasy at the thought of causing her more pain.

But he did what had to be done. Removing the bullet, ignoring Zara’s whimpers, then cleaning and bandaging the wound.

“What are we going to do now?” Zara asked after she’d taken the painkillers he’d offered.

He had a plan, but he had no idea if Zara would be willing to go along with it. If she didn’t he’d leave her here, get her to hide, then call he cops, leaving her safety in their hands. It didn’t sit well with him but he wouldn’t force her to go with him if she was afraid of him now. “Do you trust me?”

Her brown eyes met his squarely, there was fear in them, pain too, but when she spoke her voice was firm. “I trust you.”

Adam felt his entire body sag in relief. He’d only met this woman yesterday but there was something about her that touched him in places he’d thought were broken, damaged beyond repair. He would protect her with his life.

Pain burned through her leg, and Zara cried out in surprise.

Adam lunged at her, wrapping an arm around her waist and taking her to the ground in one smooth motion. He rolled them so he took the brunt of the impact then rolled them behind the stone pizza oven.

“Stay down,” he ordered as he reached up to do something.

A man she thought was dead was walking towards them. Zara gasped. She had to be wrong but she wasn’t. He was there, with a gun, and that same evil smirk she remembered so well.

He was going to kill her, Adam too, although she had no idea why he had followed her here or why he wanted her dead.

She scrunched her eyes closed, unable to watch the gunshot that would end her life.

The gunshot was loud.

She waited for pain, or blackness, or white lights, or whatever accompanied death, but there was nothing.

“We have to get moving, they’ll send more men,” Adam said, and she felt his arms slip beneath her knees and around her shoulders and he lifted her.

Cautiously she cracked open an eye to see if she really wasn’t dead and saw the man who had come after her was the one who had died.

Adam must of shot him first.

Now he was carrying her quickly back inside. She’s brought trouble to his peaceful refuge, he could have died because of her.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“Not your fault,” he said as he set her down on a couch in the living room.

“It is. I know him. He was here for me,” she admitted.

His eyes widened in shock then narrowed in suspicion, and she suddenly realised what he meant when he said he was dangerous. This Adam knew how to kill, how to inflict injury, how to be cold and unfeeling.

“How do you know him?” he demanded, his voice low and threatening.

Zara shrunk away from him, trying to find safety in the couch cushions. “H-he was m-my dad’s best fr-friend, but he a-always scared m-me. I was t-told he died somewhere in S-South America.”

A shocked gasp escaped his lips but he no longer looked at her like he could snap her neck at any second. “We need to talk,” Adam said, “but first I need to take care of your leg so we can get out of here.”

As she watched him disappear she wondered whether he was taking her with him to protect her or because he thought she’d done something wrong. She had no idea what was going on.

This had to be without a doubt the single most stupid thing he had ever done.

Adam didn’t stop doing it though.

For the life of him he couldn’t seem to tear his lips away from the delicious creature who was pressed up against him. She’d been watching him for hours, hadn’t followed him out here, hadn’t left him alone, and had told him she cared about what happened to him.

Crazy.

Zara was crazy.

And maybe … maybe everything he needed right now.

“What are you doing to me?” he murmured as he broke the kiss and tucked a wet lock of hair behind Zara’s ear.

“What are YOU doing to ME?” she shot back.

“I’m not a safe man to be around,” he warned, in case all of that hadn’t already sunk in.

“You have issues, like everyone else. Maybe you should consider getting some help. I mean for your loss and whatever caused the nightmares.

“Don’t need help,” he growled.

“Thats what I thought too.” Her gaze dropped and he had the feeling she was summoning courage. When she met his gaze again her face was determined. “But I was wrong. I needed help and asking didn’t make me weak it made me strong. You need a reason to want to get better.”

Because he was truly curious, the first time he’d cared about anything in a long time, Adam asked, “What was your reason?”

“The power of love,” she answered without hesitation.

Immediately he released her. He hadn’t even asked if she was involved. He’d assumed because she’d taken this job she wasn’t attached but he could have been wrong. Adam did his best to keep his face impassive but from the smirk on Zara’s he suspected he’d failed.

“I’m not involved, that wasn’t what I meant. Its just that I want to fall in love one day, get married, have kids, a proper family, and I want to be my best for them when I do,” Zara said.

That was something he could never give her. Never again would he risk innocent lives.

Adam swam to the edge of the pool and lifted himself out. “Zara, I’m …”

“Don’t tell me again how scary you are,” she said, climbing out of the pool to stand beside him. “I’m not buying it, but it doesn’t matter what I think, it only matters what you think, what you want your future to look like.”

He knew what his future looked like.

Bleak and empty.

In a year Zara would be gone, taking her light and sunshine with her, and even though she would be here for a while he couldn’t kiss her again. He couldn’t risk hurting her too.

Adam was turning to walk away when a bullet buzzed by him.