"I damn well won't," she muttered, then took a deep breath and gave him a shaky smile. "Try not to yell too loudly. Don't want to wake the neighbors."
Her smile lit her eyes and dimpled her cheeks. He closed his eyes, holding its image in his mind as the warmth of her fingers moved to his arm. White fire twisted through him, a living thing that could so easily kill if it was left too long. He held his breath, waiting, as she tentatively grabbed the shattered end of the arrow shaft. One, two, three.
As if she'd heard his unspoken words, Maddie wrenched the arrow from his arm. Pain ripped through his body, and he jerked sideways, falling against the door, gritting his teeth against the scream that tore past his throat.
"Oh hell..."
Her voice seemed a million miles away, the touch of her fingers suddenly so cold compared to the fire that raged down his arm and threatened to consume him. He gulped down air, battling the urge to be ill—fighting the desire to just let go, to let the darkness in and take the pain away.
Moisture ran down his arm, then he felt the rough texture of a towel pressed against the wound. He bit back his curse and concentrated on the faint smell of roses, trying to build a wall around the pain and shut it away. She began to bandage his arm, and for an instant, the darkness loomed again. He took a deep breath and felt a wisp of magic run through his soul. He suddenly had to stop himself from grinning like an idiot. The white ash hadn't done as much damage as he'd feared.
But there was only one way he was ever going to find out. He had to get out of the truck and leave Madeline.
And he wasn't sure what was going to be the hardest to do.
"Jon?"
He opened his eyes and looked at her. There was fear in her warm amber eyes and blood on her hands. What could he say? Thank you for saving my soul, if not my life?
"Do you need this?" she continued, distaste in her voice as she dangled the bloody shaft between two fingers. "For evidence or something?"
If he touched the white ash again in his weakened condition, it would probably kill him. And whatever clues the shaft might have held had been lost during his plunge into the water.
"Get rid of it."
She opened the door and threw the arrow out into the night. Cold air rushed in, swirling around him. He struggled upright, fighting the lethargy taking hold of his body.
"Thank you," he said, as she slammed the door shut. She smiled wryly. "I'd say you're welcome, but it's not something I'd ever like to do again."
"If I had more time, I'd take you out to dinner or something." It sounded cold, even to him. But the cat was out there somewhere. Even if he couldn't find it tonight, he still had to go back to the inn and get the stuff he'd left there. It might have been easier to stay in Maddie's company, but it wasn't right. Better she thought the worst of him and just left. He grabbed the door handle and pulled it back. "I guess we'll just have to take a rain check, sweetheart."
Maddie stared at him. For Christ's sake, she was still covered in his blood, and here he was giving her a casual brush off! "Don't you dare leave just yet-" But she was speaking to the night.
Maddie blinked. How could an injured man move so fast? She scrambled out of the truck and ran to the passenger side. He was nowhere to be seen. She bit her lip and studied the darkness. He could barely walk ten minutes ago, so surely he couldn't be too far away. She grabbed the flashlight and swept the bright beam across the road. The undergrowth beneath the trees didn't look as if it had been disturbed recently. So where in the hell had Jon gone, if not through there?
"Damn you, Jon! Come back here."
The keen of the wind through the treetops was her only answer. She shivered and watched the shadows uneasily. Something didn't feel right. A twig snapped suddenly, and she swung the flashlight's beam across the thick stand of trees to her right. The undergrowth stirred, and out of the shadows stepped a dark-colored cat, its eyes green fire in the darkness. Not just any cat but a big, black panther.
Something in the creature's jewel-like gaze made Maddie's soul tremble with fear.
She edged backwards, feeling for the truck door. The creature snarled silently, revealing teeth that were long and white. She jumped into the car and slammed the door shut. The engine started the first time she twisted the ignition, and she shifted into gear. Then she hesitated, eyeing the darkness beyond the headlights.
Jon was still out there, injured and alone, with a panther stalking the area. Would the cat smell his blood and hunt him down? Maybe she should find someone and report the panther's presence—only who would believe her? Panthers weren't exactly native to this area, and unless someone had reported one having escaped, they'd probably think she was nuts.
Or drunk.
If only. She took a deep breath and tried to calm the irrational rush of anger. She knew it stemmed more from her need to find Evan than Jon's casual gratitude and sudden disappearance.
But she wished he'd had the decency to stick around, even if it was just long enough to refuse to help her.
He never promised to help me, though. It's my fault I'm here, running from shadows and cats, not his.
And she couldn't leave until Evan was safe.
She drove the truck back onto the road and headed towards the inn. Rain was pelting across the windshield by the time she reached it. She switched off the engine, then glanced across at the inn. The light peeking past the edges of the curtains indicated someone was still up, despite the fact it was after eleven. But the night manager had said he'd wait and let her in. So why was she suddenly wary?
Maybe the encounter with the cat had scared her more than she'd thought. Or maybe it was the way the shadows crowded the building and gave the appearance of skeletal hands creeping across the outer edges of light.