She simply looked into Kade's unfaltering eyes and she knew, down to her soul, that he was strong enough to carry whatever burden she shared with him.
"I need you to trust me," he told her gently. "There are things you need to understand, Alex, now more than ever. Things about yourself, and what you saw, back in Florida and here, as well. And there are things you need to know about me, too."
She sat up, her heart thudding oddly in her breast, heavy with a wary sense of expectation. "What do you mean?"
He glanced away then, his gaze following the soft path of his touch as his caress drifted down the length of her na**d body, then lingered at the flare of her hip bone. With the pad of his thumb, he traced a length of her na**d body, then lingered at the flare of her hip bone. With the pad of his thumb, he traced a skimming circle over the tiny birthmark there. "You're different, Alexandra. Extraordinary. I should have recognized that right away. There were signs, but somehow I missed them. I was focused on other things and I ... damn it."
Alex frowned, more confused than ever. "What are you trying to say?"
"You're not like other women, Alex."
When he looked back up at her now, the confidence that normally sparked so brightly in his eyes was missing. He swallowed, the dry click of his throat making her blood run a bit colder in her veins. Whatever he had to say, he was the one who was afraid now, and seeing that trace of uncertainty in him made her anxiety spike a bit, too.
"You're very different from other women, Alex," he said again hesitantly. "And I ... you need to know that I'm not like other men, either."
She blinked, feeling an unseen weight press down on her in the silence that spread out between them. The same instinct that told her to demand more answers pleaded with her to back away and pretend she didn't want to know--didn't need to know whatever it was that had Kade so tongue-tied and antsy. All she could do was watch him and wait, worrying that he was about to send her entire world into an even greater tailspin.
The sharp trill of her cell phone jolted her like a kiss from a live wire. It rang again and she ped for it, welcoming the excuse to escape the strange, dark shift in Kade's demeanor.
"This is Alex," she said, recognizing Zach's number as she flipped the phone open and took the call.
"Where are you?" he demanded, not even sparing a second on hello. "I just drove by your house and you're not there. Are you out at Jenna's?"
"No," she said. "Jenna was at my house this morning, before I left. She must have gone home."
"Well, where the hell are you, then?"
"I'm out on a call," she said, bristling a little at his curt tone. "I had a, um, a charter client book a flight this morning--"
"Well, we've got a bad situation here in Harmony," Zach cut in harshly. "I'm in the middle of a medical emergency and I need you to fly a critical injury in from the bush." Alex snapped out of the emotional fog that had held her before she took the call. "Who's been injured, Zach? What's going on?"
"It's Dave Grant. I don't have the whole story yet, but he and Lanny Ham and a bunch of other men from town were out hunting west of town today. They ran into trouble, serious trouble. Lanny Ham is dead, and apparently it's not looking very good for Big Dave right now, either. The guys are afraid to put him on a snowmachine, for fear that they won't get him back here in time enough to save him."
"Oh, my God." Alex sat back on her folded legs, a cold numbness crawling over her skin. "The injuries, Zach ... what happened?"
"Something attacked them out there, according to the other men. Dave is delirious and he's lost a lot of blood. He's in and out of consciousness, talking a lot of nonsense about a creature lurking in one of the caves west of Harmony. Whatever it was that got ahold of him and Lanny, well, it's bad, Alex. Real bad. Tore both of them up something awful. The news is all over town already and everyone's in a panic." She closed her eyes. "Oh, my God ... oh, my God ..."
Kade's hand came to rest lightly on her bare shoulder. "What is it, Alex?" She shook her head, incapable of forming the words.
"Who's that with you?" Zach demanded. "For f**k's sake, Alex. Are you with that guy from Pete's the other night?"
Alex didn't think she needed to answer to Zach Tucker about whom she was spending time with, not when one man was dead and another man's life was hanging in the balance. Not when the horror of her past-the horror she had feared had visited the Toms family just a few days ago--was now raking her heart open all over again.
"I'm out at the Tulak cabin, Zach. I'll leave right away, but I'm probably forty-five minutes out."
"Forget it. We can't afford to wait on you. I'll track down Roger Bemis instead." He disconnected, leaving Alex sitting there, frozen in shock.
"What happened?" Kade asked. "Who's been hurt?" For a moment, it was all she could do to concentrate on breathing in and out. Her heart banged miserably, guilt gnawing at her. "I should have warned them. I should have told them what I knew instead of thinking I could deny it."
"Alex?" Kade's voice was cautious, his fingers firm but tender as he lifted her face up toward his.
"Tell me what's going on."
"Big Dave and Lanny Ham," she murmured. "They were attacked today in the bush. Lanny's dead. Big Dave might not make it."
And if Kade had gone with them, instead of coming out with her? The idea that he might have been close to that danger--or worse, a victim of it--made her heart lurch. She felt ill with fear and dread, but it was her anger that she clung to.