When she reached Carl’s property, she was faced with a new problem, more easily solvable. The tree she’d used to leap the fence was no use to her from the outside. Fortunately, she found another growing on the exterior, and although it didn’t hang nearly as conveniently over the fence, it nonetheless gave her enough clearance to make a leap that put her back within the compound’s boundaries. When she landed, it took her a moment to gather her bearings and figure out where both her guesthouse was and the tunnel’s entrance. At last, she had her orientation figured out and hurried off in the direction she needed.
Inconveniently, she found an obstacle in the form of Carl’s older sons stumbling drunkenly along, arms slung about each other as they returned from a night of carousing. She quickly ducked into the shadow of a shed, silently cursing when she heard one of the young men say, “Hey, did you just see that? There’s someone there.”
“One of the guards,” said another of the brothers.
“No, no,” said the first, whom Mae recognized as Jasper, the particularly obnoxious one. “I swear, I saw someone else.” He came staggering forward, around the side of the building to her hiding spot. Discovered, Mae sprang up before he could see her face and took off across the yard. No point in pretenses now.
“There!” yelled Jasper. “He went that way.”
“Doug!” yelled one of the other brothers. “Get the dogs—there’s some guy breaking in!”
More shouts followed, and Mae ran, confident in her ability to keep ahead of all of them, though less confident about where to actually go. She was moving in the opposite direction of her goal, and the only saving grace was that the property was so big that she could keep out of sight from most of her pursuers—for now. It wouldn’t take long for the whole compound to wake up, and eventually, her hiding spots would dry up.
Carefully keeping track of the sounds of those coming after her— who weren’t being quiet in the least—Mae managed to double back and finally go in the direction she’d initially wanted. She paused halfway there and was pleased to hear that the others were still going off where they’d seen her. She could pull this off after all. And she might have—if Jasper hadn’t stayed behind.
She encountered him in almost the same spot she had before. All the others had left. He drunkenly lurched after her, and she easily dodged him, sidestepping around him to continue her escape. Unfortunately, the maneuver briefly put her in a patch of light, and his eyes widened.
“You!” he gasped. He looked as though he were about to shout for the others, and with no other options, Mae swung out and clocked him with the handgun. He keeled over, and she didn’t wait to see if he was unconscious or not. She ran the rest of the way to the trapdoor hidden at the back of the property and, after first ascertaining no one was around, disappeared down it. The narrow tunnel slowed her a little, and she didn’t use nearly the care she had in her exit of it. She abandoned the gun just before emerging into the bathroom’s closet and paused before emerging. Everything in the house sounded silent, but she could hear the activity outside—and it was getting louder. Louder and closer.
As silently as possible, she shut the closet door and slipped out of the bathroom and back to Justin’s bedroom. He was sitting up in bed, looking as though he’d been abruptly wakened—probably from the exterior noise. He stared at her as she shut the door and leaned against it, as though she might keep her pursuers out by sheer willpower alone. He gave her a once-over, and she realized her clothes were covered in dirt from the hasty trip through the tunnel.
“What have you done?” he asked.
Her answer was pre-empted by the sound of pounding at the guesthouse’s exterior door. “They’re looking for me,” she blurted out. “But only one actually saw me.”
Justin sighed and pulled back the covers. “Take off your clothes and get over here.”
Mae didn’t hesitate. She shed everything in the corner and was in bed with him by the time she heard voices just outside their door. To her astonishment, he pulled her down in a kiss, his body covering hers as he rolled her onto her back. A surreal mix of feelings took hold of Mae as she instinctively wrapped her arms around him, her hands touching his bare flesh. Fear, of course, was her primary emotion. But her body was so on edge, so amped up with the churning of endorphins and other chemicals that it also responded quickly to the feelings of desire being stirred up from having his body against hers. She entangled her legs with his and parted her lips, taking in more of his tongue and mouth. His hands gripped her tighter, and as her heart pounded like some caged animal seeking escape, she couldn’t say if it was from panic or desire.
The bedroom door burst open, shattering the confusing spell. Justin jerked away from her, a look of outrage so convincing that she wasn’t sure it was entirely faked. “What are you doing?” he exclaimed.
A group of Arcadian men poured into the room, flinging on the lights, and Jasper pushed his way through them, a prominent welt on the side of his face.
“Where’s your woman? What is she doing?” he demanded, coming to an abrupt halt.
“Where does it look like?” roared Justin. He climbed out of the bed, pulling most of the covers off of Mae in the process. He’d been sleeping in boxers and crossed his arms over his chest as he strode forward to address Carl, who’d come to join Jasper. “What are you thinking, coming in like this?”
It took Carl a few moments to form any words. “My, uh, son says he saw your woman outside . . .” But as his eyes drifted to the bed, it was clear he wasn’t buying it.
“Does she look like she’s outside?” Justin demanded. None of them answered right away. They were all dumbstruck, staring at her, and as uncomfortable as their attention made Mae, she knew Justin uncovering her in front of this sexually repressed crowd had been an effective distraction. Goal achieved, he turned on her with an expression as furious as any Arcadian man might have in his situation. “Cover yourself!”
Mae obeyed meekly, wrapping the covers back around her, though her hair and shoulders were still uncovered. Jasper finally dragged his gaze from her and looked between Justin and Carl.
“It was her. I saw her outside.” He pointed at his face. “She did this to me.”
Justin leaned forward to get a better look and scoffed. “She did that to you? With what, her fist?”
“I . . . no . . .” Even Jasper looked uncertain now. He started to turn toward Mae again but caught himself. “She had something. A gun, I think.”
“A gun? Where the hell would she get a gun?” Justin fixed his fury on Carl now. “Is this what passes for hospitality around here? Is this some kind of elaborate scheme to see her naked? Don’t think I haven’t seen how you all look at her—especially him!” Justin pointed accusingly at Jasper. “How am I supposed to feel secure, now that he’s seen her? How do I know I can leave her alone? How do I know he’s not going to be secretly—or not so secretly—lusting after her and planning something?”
Jasper paled. “Father, I swear it was her—”
Carl backhanded him, causing the young man to stagger back a good two feet. “Shut up. Don’t say anything else, you drunken idiot. You’ve embarrassed me enough for one night—and you probably let the real prowler get away by wasting our time with this!” He gestured angrily toward the bed and then turned to Justin. “Your woman is safe. You have my word. No one will bother her. Now come on—all of you.” The Arcadian men filed out, leaving Justin and Mae alone. For a few heavy moments, neither moved nor spoke. Then, exhaling deeply, Justin came and sat beside her on the bed. All his bravado and bluster was gone, and to her astonishment, she found he was shaking. She was too, but it was from the implant’s normal letdown as the endorphins metabolized from her body. She rubbed her hands together out of habit, feeling a prickling sensation along her skin as she did.