Chapter 1
An early morning run was her favorite thing. Rogen felt like she was free when she was out in the time between darkness and when the sun crested over the hills in her new town. Whatever happened here, it was going to be because that was what she wanted, and not what she had no control over. She and her brother Jamie were here for a fresh start, where no one cared where they came from. At least that was their hope.
A familiar car drove by her and she waved. Every morning about this time she’d see the family go by her on her weekday runs. She liked to imagine that they were taking the children to school and to daycare as the parents made their way to their jobs. There were two car seats in the back seat with babies in them. They were tiny, snuggled up in the seats every morning. The child, she didn’t know the sex, was the most enthusiastic waver she’d ever seen.
As they passed her by, she continued her run. Ten miles out, ten back. Then she’d shower, eat, and get on with her job. The running not only kept her in shape but got her out of the house at least once a day. Rogen not only worked from home, but she seldom left it either. She thought that was why this meant so much to her.
The sound of metal against metal ripped through the silence of the morning. Before she could get her bearings on where it might have come from, a different car sped by her. Rogen took note of the license plate number and the state. The driver was laughing hard as he or she nearly took Rogen out by swerving to try and hit her. She didn’t know the person, but she would find out who it was when she got home.
Continuing on her run after texting the number to herself, she put her phone back in her pocket. She knew that if she didn’t do it right away, make a note of the plate number, she’d never remember it when she got home.
Just as she rounded the bend toward the long stretch of nothing but fields, she saw the overturned car with the family inside. Hurrying to the car, she could see that the man was hurt badly. Rogen made a mental note that he’d been shot in the left shoulder. Not wasting any time, she pulled her knife out of her sock pocket and cut him free of the belt that had him strapped upside down in the car. The smell of gasoline was making itself known to her, and she knew that she had to hurry.
Dragging his body to the other side of the road from where the accident was, she rushed back for the woman. Rogen thought that if she could get the adults out, it would be easier for her to save the kids, as the big front window was gone.
The woman was alive but that’s about all she knew. Cutting her free of the seat belts, Rogen also grabbed her purse. She then scolded herself all the way, while taking her to her husband, that it wasn’t like she was going shopping or anything. But it seemed right, somehow, that she had her purse, so she let it go.
The children in the seats were screaming. And just as she was starting to cut the first one loose from the seat, she saw the other car coming back. This time the person paused long enough to throw something at the car. The explosion knocked her forward when whatever was tossed at the car ignited the gas. The power of the blast from it had her landing on the middle child.
Rogen must have blacked out for a moment or two. When she woke, she knew that she’d been burnt, and badly, judging by how it hurt her to the point of nearly being sick every time she moved. But she had to save the kids before the gas tank blew too.
The car seats were somehow strapped to the car. She tried and tried to get one of them loose, but it was too much for her with her back and arms hurting so badly. Taking her knife out again, cutting the things over the child’s shoulders and lap, she took the baby from the seat and set it right outside the car, and reached for the other one.
It went faster this time, getting the baby out and at least in her arms. Rogen was on fire now, literally. Her clothing was sticking to her back so badly that she knew that she’d be in trouble with this. Taking the babies to where their parents were, she laid them down and put the sucker things—binkies, she thought they were called—into their mouths. Thankfully they’d been pinned to their blankets. The silence was golden for a few minutes, then Rogen went back for the other child.
The gasoline was a huge puddle under the car and trailing down the street. If the flames from the rubber on the tire got to it, everything, including her and the boy, would go up with it. Rogen hurried as best she could.
Limping badly now, she made her way back to the little boy. He was still unconscious, and Rogen could see that he had a few burn marks on his hands. Cutting him loose, she tried to pick him up but she hurt too badly. Crying now, she tried to drag him from the car using her one hand. The other, she noticed, was red and full of dark blisters.
The ticking of something was all the notice that she got before the back end of the car exploded. She knew that she’d been lifted up and tossed away with the young boy in her arms, and all she could think about was that she’d failed him. He’d not wave at her any more.
Waking up the second time, she realized that she’d been tossed from the car. Lucky for her and the little boy, he’d been in her arms. Moving cautiously, she tried to stand but her legs were no longer working, it seemed.
He was burnt now. The back of his arms and legs were red like hers, but he didn’t seem to be blistered. Rogen sobbed for the family. She felt like she’d failed them all by getting the little boy hurt. In the back of her mind she knew that was stupid, that she’d gotten them all out, but she didn’t like to fail. Failure meant that someone always got the shaft, usually her.
Standing up as best she could, she dragged him by his leg to his family. The babies were still crying but not nearly as badly as before. Had they been in the car when it blew the second time, they would have died. The blast would have hit them full in the face, as they had been turned facing the explosion. Thankful that she’d been able to save them from dying, Rogen started to feel every single burn on her body.
The car was on fire, just a shell of what it had been. Rogen had lost her cell phone and couldn’t call for help. With the remote area that it had happened in, no one would see it for hours, she thought. Dropping to her knees on the road, she could see that there was nothing left for her to try and get out for them.
Just as she was ready to go back to them, a car came down the road and she thought perhaps she’d not hurt as badly if they just ran over her. Rogen stayed whe
re she was, propped up only by exhaustion.
“My goodness, what happened here?” The man looked slightly familiar, but she couldn’t think beyond the pain. “Honey, I’m going to lay you down on the grass over—”
“Thatch, they’re here. The Conrads are here together. Oh, Thatch, I think she saved them all.” The man looked at her and asked her what her name was. She didn’t know. “She’s Rogen something. I don’t know her last name. She’s not well, Thatch.”
“No, I can see that.” She was picked up, the scream from her mouth so painful to her that she just let it go. The man was still talking, but Rogen was beyond understanding him. She just hoped that someone would please forgive her for not getting them out sooner.
Rogen woke twice more, once to hear the man saying her name and asking her if she had any relatives to call. Just her brother, she wanted to say, but faded out again. The next time she woke it was to find a large tiger standing over her. Rogen was sure that she was dead—the pain in her body was gone.
Closing her eyes, Rogen knew that she was dead for sure. The big tiger was going to eat her up. She just hoped that he didn’t mind his meal being well done.
~*~
“What in blue blazes are you doing, Maggie? She’s hurt enough.” She told him that she was going to save her. “Save her? Holy pin cushions, woman, she’s nearly dead now. You’ll only make it worse for her. Leave her to die in peace. She did a good thing here and should be able to die without more pain.”
His mate was the prettiest tiger he’d ever seen, and he was amazed by her every time he saw her. But this wasn’t going to work, he just knew it. Thatch could hear the poor woman’s heart getting slower with every breath she took. The poor girl would never stand a chance if bitten by a tiger too.
The first bite that Maggie gave the young woman didn’t even make her scream. He knew that it had to be painful to her, but the poor thing was so far gone now that it didn’t faze her. As he kept watch over the two babies, his wife moved down to Rogen’s leg and bit her there.
Maggie would have to work fast now, or she’d lose her. But when the woman started to breathe a little better, her heart just a bit stronger, Maggie looked at him. He knew what she was going to ask him, even before she reached out through their link.
Help me. You used to be a leader, Thatch. Your help would make her stronger. Help me save her. Putting down the little girl he’d been holding, Thatch took off his shirt. You’re a good man, have I told you that lately?
“Don’t be trying to butter me up now. You know as well as I do that someday she’s going to meet her mate, and he won’t have a thing to do with her because she’s a tiger. The things I do for you.” He let his cat take him. Move over, love. Let me have a go at it too.