Chapter 4

"Please, don't go!"

A whimpering sound, like a small, distressed animal, came from Landon. Trapped in a nightmare, he mumbled incoherently.

He looked exactly like Buster did when he was a puppy.

I instinctively patted Landon's head, trying to make him settle down. Only after I did it did I remember he wasn't a dog. Good thing he was still unconscious, or with his temper, he'd probably throw a fit.

Suddenly, a strong pull on my wrist sent me tumbling onto the bed, caught off guard.

Landon let out a muffled grunt as I landed on him. His eyelashes fluttered.

I lay sprawled on top of him, and where our skin touched, there was an intense, burning heat.

Perhaps it was nervousness, or maybe guilt, but my heart started beating inexplicably fast.

Something hard pressed against my hip, jolting me out of my daze.

"What's that?" I muttered, reaching down to move whatever was digging into my left hip.

The moment my hand touched it, the person beneath me went incredibly rigid, and the heat beneath my palm was astonishing.

When I realized what I had touched, I instinctively recoiled, a flush of heat rushing straight up to my ears.

"Harper, I told you I was man enough! Are you… satisfied with what you touched…?"

Landon had woken up at some point, and his warm breath caressed my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

I sprang to my feet, backing away several steps, my words stumbling out in embarrassment.

"You, you, you… when did you wake up?"

At my question, Landon clearly looked uncomfortable. His face was beet red, practically dripping blood. The man who'd been speaking so smoothly just moments ago was now stammering.

"Just, just now… yeah, just now, when you landed on me!"

Normally, I could see through his lies in a second, but at that moment, I had no mind to try and read the micro-expressions on his face.

"Oh, I see. Well, um, sorry, I didn't mean to. Anyway, I have something to do, so I'm heading out."

I admit, running away might be shameful, but I was afraid if I stayed another second, he'd ask something else. To be safe, it was better to retreat.

Landon watched my retreating back, a part of his heart sinking.

He pulled out his phone and opened his photo album. The woman's silhouette in the album overlapped with the person who had just left.

He'd taken that photo in a desolate wilderness in the Mojave Desert. His companions had deliberately abandoned him, driving away and leaving him alone on an empty road.

He didn't know how long he'd walked. The sky had turned pitch black, and sand swirled violently ahead.

He thought he would die there. In his despair, a hand reached out to him.

"Hey, get in. It's not safe out here."

The woman's melodious yet serious voice descended upon his world like a savior. He stared blankly as she pulled him into the vehicle.

The SUV sped across the desolate highway, only the woman's stern admonishments filling his ears.

"Who gave you the guts to cross the Mojave Desert without permission? Are you thrill-seekers trying to get yourselves killed?!"

"Do you have any idea that if I'd been a minute later, that tornado up ahead would've taken your life…?"

The woman said a lot, and though he didn't hear a single word, her voice and face were deeply etched into his mind.

For the first time in over twenty years, his heart pounded violently for a girl.

He was taken to a remote ranger station in the desert. After getting out of the car, he was left behind by the woman. It was then that he took that photo.

He still remembered what everyone there called her:

"Officer Hayes."

After that mission, I moved out of the Davis family home.

As the Davis family watched me pull my suitcase away, my father off-handedly remarked,