Chapter 5

Raven was in some kind of mood. Everything had gone wrong today. He'd been tracking Eloise Fitzgerald for nearly two weeks. His client Morton Hancock had hired him to track the woman down almost six months ago after she'd fled the state of Florida. He suspected her of embezzling two million dollars from the company funds. Raven had been hot on her trail, then just like that she was gone. Vanished.

Morton was the owner of one of the largest shipping magnets in the world. He was not going to be happy about this current state of affairs. He was paying Raven good money and he expected results. Raven couldn't help feeling at a loss. He was considered one of the best private investigators in the United States. That's why Morton trusted him to do a good job. Now he had failed him miserably. How was he going to tell him the truth, that she got away?

Raven stormed into the cabin. Forgetting that he had a guest, he slammed the door with a force that shook the walls and rattled the windows. He was known to have a temper. And right now he was furious with himself. He'd been careless. He thought he would have this case wrapped up no later than five this evening. But as it was looking, he was likely to lose the job. That wasn't good for him. He had no other jobs lined up. No jobs meant no money.

It took Raven a few minutes to realize there was a strange smell wafting through the cabin. He'd been so deep in thought he'd forgotten about her. Rose. The mysterious woman who had just appeared out of no where.

Agitated he moved into the kitchen. Rose stood in her baggy clothes. She had at least taken a shower. He could tell clearly because her face was scrubbed clean, and her long golden hair glistened around shoulders. She had rolled up the sleeves of the shirt and he could see the bruises and scratches all the way to her elbows. For a moment he felt like turning away from her. But he knew that would be rude. Where was his sympathy?

Raven didn't speak as Rose stood there watching him from across the small expanse of the kitchen. Instead he started looking through the cabinets. He slammed one door after another making Rose flinch each time. She could tell that he was angry. The set of his jaw was tight and clenched. A nerve twitched in his cheek signifying he was tense.

“Bad day?” Rose questioned.

“The worst,” Raven responded.

When he failed to find what he was looking for Raven finally turned to Rose, his frustration growing. “Okay, where is it?” he practically yelled at her.

“Where is what?” Rose asked innocently.

Raven slammed the palms of his hands down on the marble counter tops. He squeezed his eyes together gathering control of his emotions. “You know what. The Scotch. I need a drink. Where'd you put it.”

Rose's eyes darted away. She started to fidget with a button on her blouse. Immediately Raven knew what she had done. His anger exploded inside of him. He ran to the kitchen sink. He tore open the cabinet underneath and there it was. The empty bottle. He whirled on her holding the empty bottle of Scotch in his hand. He waved it in front of her. “Please tell me you didn't poor this down the drain,” he spat out venomously.

Rose started to walk away from him. But he snatched her arm and drug her close to his face. “Why in the world did you do that?” Raven asked. His eyes bored into Rose with a heated rage. “You had no right.”

Rose jerked her arm away. For a moment she had a moment of weakness. But she wouldn't be manhandled. Not by anyone, including Raven. She had always been able to take care of herself. Now was no different.

“I won't stay in a house with a man who drinks,” Rose stated matter-of-factly.

Raven released her. “Then maybe you need to find another place to stay. I'm doing you a favor, remember? This is my house and you can't come barging in her and taking over like this. I won't allow it.”

Rose stumbled back. As she did she saw a vision out of the corner of her eye. At first she wasn't sure it was there. But then she knew with no uncertainty that it was. It was the girl from the hospital. It floated in the air like a ghostly apparition.

Suddenly Rose froze. She stared right through Raven as if he weren't even in the room. Her eyes were glazed over. She swayed once, twice, three times. Her head began to spin and before she knew what was happening, her legs were giving out beneath her. She felt herself slowly falling to the ground. What was happening to her?

Raven responded immediately. He reached out and snatched her before she could hit the hard floor. She clung to him desperately. She was close to hysteria. She was clawing at him now as she struggled to her feet. He felt her trembling sporadically and it frightened him because he didn't understand what was happening to her.

One minute she was fine and the next minute . . . It was like someone had taken possession of her and . . . It was unexplainable. It didn't make any sense.

“Rose,” he said sharply. “What is it? What's wrong?”

She stared at him blankly as if she couldn't understand exactly what it was he was saying. She stiffened in his arms and she found herself pushing her palms against his chest. She needed space. She couldn't breathe. This must be how her mother felt every day of her life.

“Mother, help me,” Rose screamed. “Somebody help me. She's here. She's followed me here.”

Raven looked over his shoulder but he didn't see anyone there in the room with them. She was obviously confused. Who was she talking about any way?

Rose managed to separate herself from Raven. She darted off. He swore heavily under his breath. He turned off the boiling pot of stew on the stove and went in pursuit of Rose. Before he could catch up to her she had bolted out the front door and was heading toward a thick cluster of pine trees to the left of his cabin.

“Rose, no. You can't go in there.” He was on the verge of a panic attack.

Raven knew she'd get lost in those woods. Rose didn't know her way around them like he did. He watched her as she was gobbled up by the foliage. He was out of breath when he reached the edge of the woods.

He bent over as he tried to catch his breath. He took a few seconds to rest then continued his pursuit of Rose. He didn't have a minute to waste. If he didn't stop her soon, it was likely he wouldn't find her at all.

He edged his way into the thicket of brush one slow step at a time. He felt the branches clawing at his ankles and shins. He gritted his teeth against the pain.

“Rose,” Raven called out. “Rose can you hear me?”

He stumbled over a stubborn root that had suddenly appeared in his path.

“Rose, where are you?”

The sun was quickly setting in the distance. Before long it would be dark. Rose couldn't be out in the woods alone. She would never survive.

“Rose.” His cries were loud and full of urgency. “I need you to tell me where you are right now. It's too dangerous for you out here by yourself.”

His eyes darted around examining his surroundings. Off in the distance he heard the howling of a coyote, followed by the call of an owl. But mixed in with it all he could hear it. The soft cries of a girl. Was it Rose? It had to be. Who else could it be? Slowly he went in search of the girl. Her cries grew louder. At least he knew he was heading in the right direction.

“Rose,” he called again. “Please tell me where you are. I can come and get you. I won't let anything happen to you.”

Just when he thought he had reached her the crying ceased. The air became silent. The crying started up again, but this time it sounded like it was coming some where behind him. How could that be? He knew the sound had been coming from another direction.

Suddenly a scream pierced the air. It was Rose. Raven was certain of it. She was in trouble.

He tore off in the direction of the scream, hoping this time he wasn't wrong. He felt his mind was playing tricks on him. Another scream followed, this time with more desperation.

Raven ran as fast as he was allowed to under the conditions. The brush became thicker the deeper he went into the woods. How did he get himself into this mess? How could one woman cause him so much trouble?

“Raven,” Rose called out. “Help me. Please.” Her voice was pleading. He had to get to her. She was terrified. He could hear it without a doubt.

“I'm coming Rose. Keep talking to me so I can find my way to you.”

“I'm scared,” she said. “I don't know where I am.”

“It's okay,” he replied softly. “I'm right here. I'm not going any where.”

It took him only a few minutes to find her. She was caught in a web of tree limbs that had a death grip around her throat. The branches had snagged her clothes. Raven could see that she was in no real danger. But at the moment he realized it must be frightening for her. She was in a strange place. It was dark because the sunlight barely made it through the trees. The coyote howled again.

Rose cried out. “Hurry, Raven. Please get me out of here.”

He approached her carefully. Slowly he raised his hand never taking his eyes off of her. “Okay, I need to touch you, Rose. I need to get these branches off of you. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Please, I hate it here.”

“I know,” he said with empathy. “I'll get you out of here.”

One by one he detached the branches from her clothes. He plucked them away from her face and throat and hair. At last she was free. When she realized that she had been released from the clutches of the tree limbs, she feel into Raven's arms. She began to sob like a frightened child. She clung to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She squeezed him with a death grip that he found painful. Her body shuddered as he held her close. Raven hoisted her off the ground and began to carry her out of the woods.

Rose buried her face against his chest as she wept louder with each step he took. He was going to go deaf with that wailing. Why wouldn't she just shut up? She was safe now. Didn't she realize that?

He carried her inside the cabin. He turned on the light allowing its brightness to fill the room. He lowered Rose onto the couch. She clung to him with a hopelessness that made his skin burn where she held him.

He tried to pull away, but her grip tightened around him.

Raven realized there was no getting away from her. After a few moments his own arms swept around her shoulders. They became gentle and reassuring. He rubbed his palms against her back in a soothing gesture. He didn't know what had come over him. But he felt himself experiencing something he'd never done before. He was giving someone much needed comfort. Where was that coming from? This wasn't like him. He didn't need this.

Raven liked being alone. And he most certainly didn't need some needy woman clinging to him every minute of the day.

“She was here,” Rose said at last. “Did you hear her? She was crying.”

Raven wanted to shout at Rose, to shake some sense into her. But he couldn't. He knew he'd heard something out there in those woods. He'd been certain it was Rose. Now he wasn't so sure. He couldn't trust his own instincts right now. People would think he was a lunatic. That's what he thought of Rose right about now.

“What happened, Rose? Why'd you run off?”

Rose went limp in his arms. Suddenly she pulled away from him. She became distant. Her expression grew somber, bleak. She looked confused, embarrassed. All at once it seemed as if they were miles apart.

“It doesn't matter, now,” Rose weeped. “You'd only think I was crazy.”

“Try me,” Raven persuaded. “Maybe I won't.”

She met his eyes. They were deep brown. He had a dark mop of black curls framing a face that was quite handsome. Suddenly they seemed to close. She felt the heat of his body surrounding her. She felt uncomfortable and uneasy. She hadn't felt this way about a man in a very long time. If ever. Raven made her very aware that she was a woman. She had to admit she didn't like that feeling at all. She didn't want to feel this way. It was dangerous.

She lunged from the couch and stomped toward the kitchen leaving Raven sitting there by himself. What had just happened?

Raven went after Rose and found her turning on the stove and stirring the stew. She refused to acknowledge his presence in the kitchen.

“Why'd you just run off like that?” he asked roughly. “You acted like you were running from a fire.”

Maybe I was, Rose thought to herself. “It's nothing. I just had to finish dinner. That's all.”

Raven found that hard to believe. He was convinced this woman was crazy. Senile. She needed to be locked up some where. Any where. Away from him. Away from society. She was a threat to human kind.

“Please sit down,” Rose ordered. “I'll have the stew ready in a minute.”

The aroma permeated the small kitchen. He could smell a mixture of seasonings that tantalized his senses. He was ravenous.

After a few minutes, Rose placed a bowl of sizzling stew in front of him. She offered him a spoon. He wasn't sure what was in it, but it looked delectable. He couldn't remember eating anything this good in a long time. Too long.

He took his first spoonful. It was hearty. It was made with beef, potatoes, carrots, and dark gravy. He savored the taste as it went down. It was as close to heaven as he could get.

Rose sat across from him. She didn't seem to relish the meal as much as he was. She was quiet, despondent. She moved the vegetables around in her bowl, but she never actually at them. Instead she just stared at them as if they might jump out at her any minute and bite her.

“Something wrong with the stew?” Raven questioned. “Should I stop eating.”

“No,” Rose replied. “It's fine.”

“How do you know. You haven't even tried it.”

Rose shrugged.

“I make you uncomfortable, don't I?”

Rose met Raven's gaze. How did he know?

“That's ridiculous,” Rose laughed. “No one has ever had the ability to make me feel uncomfortable.” And that was true. She hadn't met anyone, male or female, that could intimidate her.

“You're a sassy little thing, aren't you?”

“I don't know what you mean,” Rose said.

Raven continued eating the stew with relish. “You're sure of yourself. That's all.”

Rose smiled and took a spoonful of meat and potatoes and she began to devour her dinner. “I am no more sure of myself, than you are. I can look at you and see that you are a man full of self-pride. You don't let anyone close to you. And you certainly don't like being told what to do. I'm sorry to say, but you and I are quite alike.”

Raven grinned mysteriously. “You have me all figured out, do you?”

“Yes. I have the ability to read people very well. It's an important facet of my job. I'm rarely wrong.”

“Maybe you are this time.”

“I doubt it.”

They ate the rest of their meal in silence. Rose was fully aware of Raven sitting across from her and his eyes bearing down on her. She tried to hide the quiver of her hands, but she was sure he could see them shaking.

After dinner Rose cleaned the kitchen while Raven went into the living room and turned on the television set. She was glad for the slight diversion. She didn't want to be that close to Raven if she could help it.

Rose could hear the muffled sound coming from the other room, but she couldn't make out what was being said, or what program he was watching.

The clean up was quick. There weren't many dishes to wash. She wiped the table clean and the counter tops. When she'd finished her task, she found there was nothing more left to do. She was forced to join Raven in the other room. There was nothing she could do about that. There was only so much room in the entire house. She couldn't possibly hide from him. That was impossible. So she gritted her teeth and began to walk toward the living room.

As she entered Raven was starring transfixed at the screen. Her face was plastered across the television set. A news reporter sat behind his desk speaking with a voice that rang out with warning.

“Tonight authorities are desperately searching for woman named Rose McKenna. She escaped from Winterpark Sanitarium after a violent episode. It is reported that she attacked two nurses before fleeing the institution. The woman is considered extremely dangerous. Should you see her, do not try to apprehend her yourself. Call authorities immediately, then seek shelter. I repeat, the woman is considered extremely dangerous.”

Dangerous. The word echoed in Rose's mind. She wasn't dangerous. She never had been. She gasped for air. Raven turned and stared at her with a face that had gone pale. His eyes grew dark with anger. The walls began to close in on her. How was she ever going to explain this to the man sitting in front of her. Nothing could possible sound credible. She was sure to make herself sound irrefutably insane.

Raven flipped the television set off and turned toward Rose.

“Do you mind telling me what I just saw there,” Raven demanded.

Rose swallowed hard. She sat down beside Raven and began to tell her version of the story. Whether he believe her or not was up to him. But either way, she had to convince him not to call the authorities. That would be putting her in jeopardy. She couldn't let that happen. She just couldn't.

Chaper 6 Coming Soon