Page 3 of Red Rabbit
I was marooned in the middle of nowhere.
And the goddamn cherry on top was the handcuffed man passed out across the fire from me.
What if he was dangerous?
I could have just signed away my own life by saving his.
2
GRAHAM
“I can help you with that if you want.”
She startled so badly she dropped the needle with a whispered curse and after retrieving it, she looked over the fire at me. Her long dark hair was curling haphazardly around her face from the fire’s heat and it kept falling into her eyes while she attempted to stitch up a jagged cut on her arm. I tried to ignore the fact she was only in her bra—a lacy white one that was still damp, giving me a view I was having trouble looking away from.
“No, thank you,” she said, her eyes immediately going to the cuffs still around my wrists. I shrugged and looked out over the lake with a frown.
“Where are the others?” I asked.
My head was killing me but I was mostly dry and there was a space blanket thrown over me. From the looks of things, the fire had been going for several hours already and the sun was just beginning its descent into the afternoon over the mountains. There was a large black crate sitting next to the woman.
“Dead,” she said.
“And the plane?” I asked.
She looked at me like I hit my head harder than she thought and jerked her head over at the water. Damn. So if it hadn’t been for her, I’d probably be dead.
No, I would be dead.
“You didn’t happen to grab the key did you?” I asked her, holding up my wrists. She barely glanced away from her needle, digging it into her skin with a wince as she resumed stitching. There was a slight tremor in her hands but her mouth pressed into a thin line and she shook her head.
“No.”
“Not very talkative are you,” I muttered. “Saved me but not the key. What was your thought process there?” I couldn’t keep the irritation from my voice.
She didn’t answer right away, instead she finished the final few stitches and slapped a bandage over it. As she was putting everything away, she looked at me.
“Why are you handcuffed and with a US Marshal?”
“None of your business,” I snapped. I watched an annoyed look cross her face as she threw up her hands.
“Well, then it’s probably a good thing I left the key down there while I saved your ungrateful ass,” she snipped. “I don’t know if you’re dangerous or not.”
“We just survived a plane crash,” I said dryly. “Don’t you think everything else is irrelevant right now?”
“Maybe,” she said. “But how do I know you’re not going to kill me so you can have all the supplies for yourself?” I stare at her in disbelief but she looks dead serious.
“You watch too many crime shows,” I muttered and shook my head. I leaned back against the log and then winced as pain shot through my back. She noticed and frowned.
“Are you hurt somewhere?” She asked. I closed my eyes, resting my head back against the log.
“Let me get this straight,” I said. “You saved me. But you didn’t get the key. You don’t want to free me, but you’re worried I’m hurt.” I shook my head and opened my eyes to look at her with distaste.
“Typical woman.”
She bristled at that like I knew she would and I smirked.
“Don’t worry, even though you’re in just your bra, I don’t think you’re asking for it,” I said, driving the nail deeper.
