Page 16 of Kiss of Deceit

A little farther up, the path opened to a huge clearing. My breath hitched when I saw two shadows move out of the corner of my eye, and I shot past them.

“Wait,” a voice called.

I gripped the flashlight, preparing myself to use it as a weapon. I screamed when someone wrapped an arm around my waist from behind me, yanking me into a chest. When my elbow went into his ribs, I heard a pained grunt before his holdtightened. I squeezed my eyes shut when I was suddenly blinded by a bright light, and I swung my flashlight, hitting whoever had a hold on me in the side of the head.

“I’m trying to help,” the voice grated out, his mouth much too close to my cheek as he hauled me backward.

“Get off,” I snarled.

“Dani?”

His hold suddenly loosened, and I tore myself away, scrambling back. The other person was still shining a light in my direction, and my lips parted in surprise when I saw it was Miles who grabbed me. I aimed my own light at the other person, realizing it was another intern that I’d met at the bar, but I couldn’t remember his name.

“Are you okay?” Miles asked softly, his gaze trailing over me. “You look freaked. Why were you running like that?”

My chest heaved as I stared at both of them, trying to slow down my racing heart. Were they the ones chasing me? No, that wasn’t possible. I’d seen them in front of me at the same time there were footsteps chasing behind me. Unless they were with whoever had been hiding in the trees.

“I—uh—heard something,” I said lamely. “An animal or something.”

Miles stepped closer, and I forced myself to stay where I was. “You have to be careful out here, Dani.”

My eyes narrowed into slits. “And why is that?”

He motioned to his left, the direction I’d been running before he caught me. “If you would have made it ten more feet, you’d be dead.”

I frowned, keeping him in my sight as I walked forward, aiming my flashlight where he was pointing. My heart dropped when I saw what he meant. The dirt disappeared into blackness a few feet in front of me. We were on the side of a cliff. If Mileshadn’t stopped me, I would have gone right over the edge. Bile burned my throat, realizing how close to death I’d been.

“Fuck,” I muttered, moving away from the cliff edge.

“What are you doing out here?” Miles asked.

“Exploring,” I answered curtly.

He grinned. “So are we. Did you see the waterfall yet? That’s why we came out here. One of the locals told us about it earlier, and how amazing it is to see in the moonlight. I wanted to invite you, but I don’t know where you’re staying.”

I stared at him, trying to detect if he was lying or not, but he seemed sincere. It wasn’t enough to drop my suspicions, but I relaxed a fraction since he literally just saved my life. My gaze drifted through the darkness, wondering if the people who were chasing me were still out there.

“We were about to head back,” Miles said, concern in his eyes. “Want to walk with us?”

I nodded, ignoring my hesitation as I fell in step with them while we headed back down the trail. My skin prickled, making me aware that I was still being watched. Miles and the other guy didn’t seem to notice as they struck up a conversation. I studied them both out of the corner of my eye with the small bit of light from the flashlights. Miles’ actions weren’t of someone who was hiding something, but I wasn’t fully trusting my instincts. Not when I was still shaken up from being chased.

“You sure you’re okay?” Miles asked quietly as we moved down the path.

“I’m fine,” I muttered. “Just learned my lesson not to explore the woods at night by myself.”

I’d do it again, but next time I’d keep myself armed. Not that I was going to tell him that.

“Anytime you want to come out here, I’ll go with you,” he offered.

I gave him a small smile, not wanting to talk about it more. “Thanks.”

The other guy began talking about his new job, and I only half listened to them as I kept peering through the trees. I hadn’t caught a break since coming here. Between this and last night at Kole’s, it had been a rough start.

Hopefully everything would calm down, and I could just make it through this year without anything else happening.

CHAPTER EIGHT

kole