Page 3

Chapter

Two

Bloom

Masked Intruders

B ut who could they be?

None of the townspeople would venture this far, as rumors claimed the forest was cursed and that whoever entered would be struck with incurable disease. Probably one reason Mom had chosen to live here, so we wouldn’t be bothered.

An uneasy thought struck me. Could that be why Mom got cancer?

Because she’d been cursed? But I was the one who often entered the dark forest. Could I have infected her?

I shook my head. I might not have formal education, but Mom had been an excellent math and literature teacher.

She’d ensured my homeschool education kept pace. I shouldn’t fall prey to superstition.

My eyes widened as two men in black masks burst from the cabin’s back door, rushing toward me. Their masks covered them from forehead to chin, exposing only eyes and mouths—homemade masks like bank robbers wore, at least from what I’d seen on TV at the town’s sports bar.

“Leave this place!” I demanded as I fought not to shudder in fear. “There’s nothing to steal here! You’ll go home empty-handed and embarrassed.”

“Found her!” the first masked man called.

“You sure it’s her?” the second asked. “We’ve taken a dozen redheads by mistake.”

My heart turned to ice. My hair was unmistakable, bright as a flame.

Had they seen me in town last week when I went to trade?

I should’ve come home directly after selling the herbs gathered from the last days of the spring and buying toiletries.

Why did I have to go to that boutique bookstore for a historical romance about highlanders who ripped bodices?

One indulgence brought me this trouble. No wonder Mom had drilled me to avoid everyone.

Even when I traded in town, she’d demand I return immediately.

I’d had to run the entire round trip to have extra time to linger, especially in the library.

She’d always insisted I keep my hood up whenever I left our cabin.

Now I understood why.

“It’s her! She’s no longer concealed. He sensed her two weeks ago.” The first thug grinned. “We finally found her.”

Shit!

Two weeks ago, when Mom died, I’d taken off my amulet necklace—Mom had insisted I never remove it, not even while sleeping or bathing—and placed it in her hand as I laid her in the coffin, so she’d have something of me.

Her words came back to haunt me. “Always wear it, so no one will come to take you away, and no harm shall come to you.”

I’d assumed Mom had taken me from my father, whom I’d never met, and that she feared he’d find me and take me from her.

The masked thug’s shout echoed in my head. “He sensed her two weeks ago.”

The timing fit.

“Who sensed me?” I demanded. “Are you talking about my biological father? Did he send you?”

It shouldn’t be possible for my father to locate me. I wasn’t in the system, and Mom had erased herself, staying under the radar all these years.

Both thugs looked confused before one shook his head and the other shrugged.

“We don’t give a fuck about your father. He’s irrelevant,” Thug One said.

This wasn’t about my bloodline that I knew nothing about. And there was no legitimate reason for these men to come to my house. Without warning, I flung the rock at him and bolted.

He ducked swiftly, dodging it.

I hiked up my robe to keep from tripping as I ran toward the garden’s edge. Once I reached the forest, I could lose them. Just as I leaped over the fence, a trunk-thick arm wrapped around my middle and yanked me back.

I kicked and shouted for him to release me, but the giant pinned me against his chest, my feet unable to reach him.

I considered slamming my head back into his face but knew I’d only hurt myself.

The strength with which he held me indicated military training or worse.

If he hadn’t pinned both arms to my sides, I could have scratched him.

That option was gone as well. These men were experienced kidnappers.

“She’s got some fight in her,” Thug Two said. “That’s good, right, Dante?”

That was a stupid comment, and he was stupider to reveal his pal’s name. But his words sent dread through my stomach. I’d read enough horror stories. Were they planning to force me into pit fights?

The only way to escape was persuasion and logic.

“You’ve got the wrong girl,” I said clearly. “I’m dirt poor. You’re welcome to take anything from my home, but I don’t have rich relatives who’ll pay a ransom. No one knows me.”

“Of course no one knows you, Miss,” Thug Two said, his smile stretching as Dante wheeled me toward a trail leading away from the garden. “You were hidden from us for so long. We’re lucky to find you at all.”

They didn’t head toward the forest but carried me in the opposite direction.

“Who are you people?” I hissed.

“Don’t fuss. You’ll know soon,” Dante promised. “His name is Orren.”

“Nice to make your acquaintance,” Orren offered.

“Did you hear what I said?” I shouted while struggling in his arms. Orren moved to help subdue me, and I kicked him in the face.

He leaped back, massaging his cheek. “Whoa, whoa. There’s no need for that. I heard you.”

“You’ve got the wrong girl, and it’s not too late to correct your mistake and?—”

“This argument is getting tiresome,” Dante said as he carried me to the road. “You’re exactly what we’ve been looking for, Carrot.”

“My name is not Carrot!” I called out angrily. “My name is Bloom Aurelius. Let me go!”

Orren gestured at my red hair as if that explained everything.

Deep laughter boomed from Dante’s chest, vibrating against my back. My face burned while I struggled uselessly.

The drowning dream flooded back, making me gasp. What if these thugs were taking me somewhere to drown me? Wasn’t that what the dream had warned about? But first, I’d have to meet the handsome stranger.

“Well, you’re very creative at calling people names,” I said sarcastically.

“At least this one isn’t too mean,” Dante said thoughtfully.

In the distance, a black van came into view in the center of the dirt road. They’d parked far away to avoid alerting me, to prevent me from bolting.

A gorgeous woman in a sharp, elegant leather suit and boots leaned against the hood of the van, smoking. She didn’t wear a mask but had sunglasses shielding her eyes and a silky scarf wrapped around her strawberry blonde hair. Rings pierced her nose, eyebrows, earlobes, and lips.

The woman was tall, and these two thugs were bigger than any men I’d seen, except the stranger in my dream. I glanced down at their shiny shoes. If you wanted to know whether a man was cheap, look at his shoes.

It dawned on me that the trio had taken me for another purpose instead of ramson.

Fury shot through me as I renewed my struggle against the giant man. His one arm pinned my arms and torso, his other my legs since I’d tried to kick him. I couldn’t fight him off, but I could still spit on his shoe, so I did.

“Why did you do that, Carrot?” he asked in displeasure. “Orren, gag her.”

“No way,” Orren said. “You gag her. I won’t become her enemy. She’ll hold a grudge.”

“If you don’t want me to hold a grudge, let me go,” I said. “I don’t just hold one for a long time; I hold it for a lifetime!”

“Don’t do that please,” Orren said.

“We can’t let you go, Carrot,” Dante taunted. “We’ll be a joke if we do. No kidnappers let their captives go.”

Orren nodded eagerly. “It took us years, decades even, to locate you.”

“I need to tend to my garden. If you take me away, it’ll die.”

“Someone else will manage it. You need to look forward,” Dante said, not a drop of sympathy in his voice.

“Look forward to what?” I hissed.

“You’ll see, Miss Carrot,” Orren said, forcing a tone of semi-civil calm over my anger.

Fear seized me, sending knots twisting through my stomach. If these people had spent decades searching for me, they had a terrible agenda. They wouldn’t listen to reason or my explanations that they’d made a mistake by kidnapping the wrong girl.

But was it a mistake?

“Hide her well.” Mom said a goddess gave her the warning in a dream.

My heart sank. All this time I’d thought Mom was paranoid, but she’d been right. I’d made an irrevocable mistake by removing the amulet. It was out of my reach now, buried deep with Mom.

Now they were tearing me away from the only home I’d ever known, nineteen years of memories left to rot. Dragging me from Mom, leaving her alone in her grave.

And my garden…no one would tend to it now.