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Sonya searched her memory for details, for some way to explain, but she’d only glimpsed the shadow of a creature. She’d been too busy trying to fend off the attack.
“I’m not sure,” she said in a strained voice. “Some kind of animal, maybe.”
Cohen jammed his lips together. “I’m calling in someone from the state,” he said. “They’ll track down those damn birds and destroy them.” He turned to Brack. “And if I find out that you and your brothers are raising some mutant attack birds or that you’re responsible for these vicious attacks, I’ll lock you up for attempted murder.”
He turned back to Sonya. “If I were you, Ms. Silverstein, I’d stay away from this man, and keep your daughter away from him, too.”
“I tolds you it was a m-monster,” Katie cried. “He wooked wike that picture!”
Sheriff Cohen’s laugh boomeranged through the room as he cut his eyes over Katie, then Sonya. “Honey, that creature is part animal, part man, just like the Falcon men. They don’t belong in this town.” He fisted his hands on his hips. “Now heed my warning, or I have a feeling next time you won’t be so lucky.”
Sonya clutched the sheet between her fingers again, the sheriff’s cold tone sending a shiver through her. Brack stiffened and started to release Katie’s hand, but she gripped him tighter as she watched Sheriff Cohen stalk from the room.
Brack cleared his throat, his voice gruff when he spoke. “I’ll leave if you want, Sonya.”
The way his deep voice rumbled out her name made a tingle travel down her spine. His stiff posture suggested that he would understand if she said yes. That he was aware of his bad reputation.
Yet her daughter was smitten with Brack and afraid of the sheriff. Fatigue clawed at her again. She couldn’t keep her eyes open. And she didn’t want Katie to be alone while she waited on Margaret to arrive.
Still, Brack was big and tough, so intense that he exuded power. And with power came danger.
She should tell him to leave. She and Katie didn’t need anyone but each other.
But Katie had been through so much already tonight. And she looked so small and vulnerable beside him….
“Please stay with Katie until Ms. Margie gets here,” she whispered.
He shifted on the balls of his feet, looking uncomfortable for a moment. Then he gave a curt nod.
Uneasiness speared through her. She didn’t want to trust him, didn’t want him in her life.
And if she was wrong about him and he hurt her daughter in any way, she’d help the sheriff run him out of town and not think twice about it.
BRACK GRIMACED as Sonya slipped back into sleep. Dammit, she was in pain. And it bothered him on a level he didn’t want to explore. Cohen’s intimidation tactics disturbed him even more. Not because he was afraid of the man, but because Cohen had tried to scare the kid with them.
He might not want a family, but he wasn’t a monster, either. And he sure as hell didn’t make it a practice to go around terrifying children.
Katie clung to his hand, and he glanced down to see her yawn. The poor little girl had been through hell tonight and needed some rest. And that babysitter might not be able to drive through the storm for a while.
Dammit. He needed to get going. Itched to hike into the woods and hunt down the creature who’d attacked Sonya. But he’d promised Sonya he wouldn’t leave Katie alone.
Katie’s head lolled to the side against the chair arm, and he scooped her up, wrapped the blanket around her, then sat down and cradled her in his lap. Katie snuggled into his chest and fell asleep instantly. She was so teeny she barely weighed anything at all. So frail that the urge to protect her and slay all her demons hit him.
But he didn’t need any complications right now. He wasn’t Katie’s father and refused to get involved with her or Sonya.
Sonya whimpered then and rolled to her side, her dark hair falling across her bruised cheek, and he fought his baser instincts. Then, hell, he lost and brushed her hair from her cheek, trying to soothe her. She moaned and jerked her eyes open as if she’d been in the throes of a nightmare, and their gazes locked. She had been reliving the attack—he saw the terror in her expression.
Then she looked down at her daughter curled against him, and her expression softened. “Thank you for being so kind to Katie tonight,” she whispered.
“How could anyone not be kind to her?” he asked gruffly.
Pain tightened her features. “The kids…they tease her, can be mean.” Her voice broke. “And others…they don’t understand.”
His jaw went rigid, his body taut as tension vibrated between them. It was none of his business, but he had to ask. “Where’s her father?”
A long second passed, and a chill swept through the room, as if a ghost had passed through. “He’s not a part of our lives,” she said quietly.
He wanted to ask more but bit back the temptation, and Sonya clamped her lips together as if she’d already said too much.
Better they left it that way. He didn’t need to know personal information. Only that something had attacked her tonight, and he’d find out what it was.
Still, as she stared at him, the sadness in her eyes tore at him.
Her husband must have abandoned her and Katie. Bastard.
His gaze fell to her lips. They were so ripe and pink he wondered what they would feel like under his mouth. Would she taste as sweet as she looked?
Suddenly he wanted to soothe away her pain. Make her smile and forget about the man who’d hurt her.
But he barely knew her, or Katie. He didn’t belong in their lives and could not replace the jerk who’d forsaken them.
Hell, his own family had been torn apart when he was small so it was natural that he’d feel compassion for her and her child. After all, he wasn’t a monster.
But he wasn’t a man who wanted a relationship with a woman now, either.
Tomorrow Sonya would go home. And he would return to Falcon Ridge. He’d hunt down her attacker, take care of his birds, and keep Cohen away from them.
And he’d live alone, just as he always intended.
SONYA SLEPT fitfully, waking every so often to search the darkness for her daughter. The nurse had called Margaret again to see what was keeping her. Margaret’s husband had to clear the entrance to their drive before they could maneuver into town to get Katie, but she was finally on the way.
Brack had dozed off himself, but his body was so big he looked uncomfortable sleeping in the chair. Dark beard stubble dotted his wide, strong jaw and his scraggly, shoulder-length hair brushed his collar, looking unkempt. He looked rugged and wild, as if he belonged out in the woods with the animals.
Yet with his head tilted sideways, his arm curved protectively around Katie, he also looked vulnerable. Tears pushed at the backs of her eyelids again, her chest hurting from the pressure. But she blinked back the moisture. The pain and medication were making her sappy. Making her read things that weren’t there.
Brack Falcon was not a vulnerable man.
But God knows, she’d been terrified when she’d been attacked. More so for Katie than for herself, but still…the memory of that creature tearing into her flesh would haunt her forever. If Brack hadn’t come along when he did, she might have died. And so might have her daughter.
Would Stan raise Katie if something happened to her?
A tremor rippled through her. Would he eventually accept her disability and love her unconditionally?
If not, would her mother want Katie?
Sonya choked back more tears at the thought of the chasm between her and her mother. Evelyn Simpson didn’t even know she had a grandchild….
Not that that was entirely her mother’s fault. No, her own stubborn pride and guilt had kept her from turning to her mother after the divorce.
And from confiding about her handicapped baby.
Her mother’s bitter warnings about Stan whispered in her ears. Evelyn had never liked him. She’d tried to convince Sonya that Stan was selfish, that underneath his charm lay the heart of a manipulative man who wanted to control every aspect of his life, including his wife and child.
A man who hated imperfections.
God, if she’d only listened to her mother…
But then she wouldn’t have her daughter. And she couldn’t imagine not having Katie in her life.
But in light of the attack tonight, she should rethink her silence. Katie would love Evelyn, and her mother…she sensed her mother would accept Katie and her limitations.
Brack shifted slightly, and she tensed as he opened his eyes and stared into hers.
“Are you all right?” he asked in a voice husky with sleep.
She nodded, well aware of how intimate the small, dark room seemed. His breathing rattled in the silence that followed, as if he, too, felt the sexual tension between them.
“Do you need something?” he said in a low voice. “Pain medication?”
She shook her head, her emotions ping-ponging in her chest. Why did his soft, husky tone make her want to cling to him?
And why did the thought of doing so terrify her?
The door squeaked open, and Margaret and her husband came in. Sonya sighed in relief, knowing she needed a reality check and for Brack Falcon to leave. He was taking up too much of the room. His scent, his body, seemed to fill it.
Margaret worried her bottom lip when she saw Brack in the room and maintained her distance from him, as if he might bite. Sonya explained about the attack, and Margaret gasped, then hugged her arms around herself.
“I’ve heard about the ghosts that haunt the town,” Margaret said, “and I knew wild animals lived in the woods, but this is awful.”
Her husband frowned, looking worried, then scooped Katie into his arms, and they left, both dismissing Brack’s offer of assistance.
A muscle twitched in his jaw as he stood and worked the kinks from his long legs. “I’ll go now.”
Sonya inhaled, wondering if she should have assured Margaret that Brack was safe. But she couldn’t. “Thank you, Brack. For everything.”
Anger glinted in his eyes. “No problem.”
Sonya told herself it didn’t matter what he thought of her. She didn’t intend to apologize for her friends wanting to protect her daughter. It was better he leave now. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to cross paths again.
Because she had no intention of getting involved with him or any other man.
HIS HUNGER was mounting, growing more incessant, the need to feed more often throbbing within him.
He wanted to taste Sonya again. She had been so delicious the first time that he craved more. But he had to bide his time.
When he saw her, and he would see her, she must never know how he felt about her.
He would befriend her. Earn her trust. Become her confidant.
And hide his dark side.
Until then, he had to find prey elsewhere.
He dipped his talon in blood, drew out a white sheet of paper, and began to write.
Some animals mate only once
You are mine now, Sonya.
You wear my markings
and will for life.
Laughter and lust sang through his bloodstream as he drew a heart on the page with the blood. He wouldn’t give her the note just yet. But one day he would.
Instead, he’d leave her a small present. A token to assure her that he hadn’t forgotten her.
His animal instincts alive, he set off into the woods, eyes piercing the darkness, senses alert for the weak.
First the hunt.
Then the kill.
Then he would spread the blood of his victim on her door so she would know he hadn’t deserted her. That he was coming back.
And that soon she would be his.
Chapter Five
Brack stalked outside, battling irritation at the wary look Sonya’s babysitter had given him. Sonya had looked relieved to have him leave, as well.
Hell, what did he care?
He had a job to do, and he’d damn well do it. Someone or something was hurting the birds he loved, and he intended to put a stop to it.
He phoned Deke and Rex and filled them in while he drove back to the house. A half hour later, he met his brothers in the library to strategize.
“Sheriff Cohen thinks we’re raising mutant attack birds up here,” Brack said.
Deke gave a belly laugh and Rex cursed. “Sheriff Cohen is a moron.”
Brack’s sentiments exactly. “He’s determined to pin these attacks on us, and to run us out of town.”
“We’re not scared kids anymore.” Rex sipped his coffee. “And he’s not running us or our families out of town again.”
“I’d like to see him run out of office,” Deke muttered.
Brack and Rex said amen to that comment.
