“I can’t get mixed up with the law, Violet.”
“You don’t have to,” I say, relieving him of the stress of telling me whatever he’s been through. “You can remain anonymous. I just need a ride and a gun.”
Walker shakes his head. “I’ll help you… under one condition.”
“Whatever you want.”
He pauses for a long moment, then stares back at me. “I’m lonely up here.”
“You want me to visit you more? I’ll visit you more.”
He laughs. “No. Not like that. I want to meet someone. Someone I can talk to and—”
“Oh.” I grin. “You want a girlfriend. You want me to set you up with someone?”
“Maybe not a traditional setup, but help me meet someone who has the same interests.”
“I’m not sure a woman who won’t leave her house and has no interest in people is going to want to leave her house to meet someone,” I say with a laugh. “But I’d like to try.”
“Similar interests then,” he says, grabbing the keys to the ATV from beside the door. “Just someone I can talk to is fine. Hell, I can talk to her online. That way we can chat without a lot of pressure.”
I open his gun cabinet and swing a rifle over my shoulder, then grab a case of bullets from the drawer beneath. “Do you get internet up here?”
“Nothing. I’d have to come into town, but it might be worth it.”
“Yeah,” I say, opening the front door. “I’ll help you.”
“And I’ll help you,” he says, locking the cabin up behind him. “Truthfully, I’d have helped you anyway.”
I know he would’ve, but I don’t mind helping Walker find someone to spend time with. I can’t imagine how lonely he is up here. I consider myself introverted, but he takes it to the next level.
Walker starts the ATV and a loud rumble shakes my stomach as I hold on to the bars on each side of the machine. It won’t take us long to catch up with Hawk, but he will hear us coming, and I’m not sure how happy that’s going to make him.
Speeding along on the four-wheeler is fast and efficient, and for a second, I close my eyes just to feel the wind in my hair. It’s rare that I get to ride trails quickly like this. I didn’t think I’d care for it. I rode the back roads with my dad when I was a kid, but I haven’t been on a four-wheeler in years. I figured you missed out on too much of the good stuff. The pine needles, the spongy grass, the soft crunching of leaves, and the bright colors. It’s all part of the beauty. But moving quickly has its advantages too. Like right now, when I need to know that Hawk is safe.
“I think I see him,” Walker shouts back, pointing toward a shadowy figure in the night.
I bend around Walker’s large frame and see Hawk in the headlights staring back at us, gun drawn. I should’ve thought this part over.
“It’s me,” I shout, waving my arms in the air as we slow the vehicle at his side.
I’m not sure what I should do now that I’m here.Should I run to him? Should I play it cool? Should I show him my gun and tell him I’m here to help?
Walker kills the engine and leans forward off the ATV, climbing off. I follow his lead and step toward Hawk, a smile on my face like I’m proud of what I’ve done. It’s unintentional but seeing him has me feeling warm and fuzzy. I reach out for Hawk, desperate to feel the warmth of his arms again. But when I step forward, the ground beneath me disappears and suddenly, I’m falling and screaming, trying to figure out what the hell is happening. Soon, the falling stops, and I’m met with the heavy reality of the ground as the world goes black.
Chapter Eight
Hawk
Looking at Walker, I know he’s hiding something. Call it professional intuition, but something about the guy isn’t on the up and up. Thankfully, it’s not my responsibility to give a shit. I’m here for one guy and one guy only… Jeramiah Wilcox.
That said, the only person in the universe that really matters right now, is a girl. A girl who’s laying at the bottom of a trench, motionless.
“Violet!” I yell down, calling out for her. She doesn’t answer. I yell again, my stomach in knots as my brain runs a thousand miles an hour trying to figure what to do. “Violet, please!”
“I have ropes,” Walker says. “I can run back and grab them.”
“I have to go down there,” I say. “She could be hurt.”