Chapter 8: Puzzle Pieces

CLARA

Elias pulled me up onto the rock with very little effort on my part, and we sat next to each other, looking over the brook and meadow.

“Sometimes I come here to watch the deer graze,” he said. “They feel safe here to eat and drink.”

“I can see why. It’s so peaceful. Just the sky and the brook, and the way the sun reflects on the water. And the soft breeze ruffling the grass.”

I stared out over the meadow, trying to picture what it would be like spending time here any time I wanted. I hadn’t realized that there could be such beautiful places hidden away inside the forest that scared me so much.

Looking up at Elias, I noticed how his sharp jaw had relaxed. It looked soft in the afternoon sun, as did his eyes.

“You sound like an artist,” he commented without looking my way. “When I don’t know what to paint, I come here to let the forest tell me.”

“That’s kind of romantic, you know? But I’m definitely not an artist like you. My stuff is barely past scribbles.”

Elias’s posture shifted, his muscles tightening next to me. “Ah, so you ~do~ make art, then? What medium?”

His golden eyes locked onto mine, as if I were the most interesting person in the entire world. The intensity of his gaze sent shivers down my spine, and I wracked my brain trying to remember the last time anyone had looked at me that way.

~Sir, you could look at me like that all day, every day.~

“Whatever I have at hand, I guess,” I replied, not giving in to the randy thoughts racing through my head. “Pens, pencils, markers, crayons, whatever.”

I sounded lame—I knew it. But he didn’t seem to care. He nodded along to my words with his face neutral, but his eyes still entranced.

“Will you show me?”

I raised one eyebrow, and my shoulders followed it into a shrug. “I guess that would only be fair. Next time I see you, I’ll bring some of my sketches. Er…well, assuming I see you again. I swear I won’t bother you for another appointment.”

“Then I’ll have to bother ~you~ for an appointment.”

The words lingered in the air, and I felt the urge to stick my finger in my ear and wiggle it around a little to make sure I was hearing properly.

Had Mr. Hottie just insinuated that he wanted to ask me out?

I’d been out of the dating game for a really long time.

Well, I’d never actually gotten my place on the team, if you know what I mean. I had picked “my person” before half the kids my age even realized the other sex existed.

Zero out of ten, do not recommend.

So I really wasn’t sure if Elias meant what I thought he meant.

“Oh, uh, sure?” I replied with all the confidence of a vegan at a buffet. “I literally only work and sleep, so I’m sure I could find the time.”

The answer seemed to please Elias because I caught a twinkle in his eye. He stubbornly didn’t let it reach his face, but I saw it.

“Let’s keep hiking,” he said, offering his hand to help me up.

When I took it, he curled his paw-like palm around my hand and stood us both up in one smooth motion.

I don’t know what kind of leg workouts this guy did, but let me tell you: they were ~effective.~

We followed the stream as it wound its way through the trees, the overhanging branches forming a natural tunnel that made for easy passage.

I marveled at how serene the area felt with the softly bubbling, crystal-clear brook below and the canopy of pine above.

“I don’t even remember why I found the woods so scary before,” I commented when we paused for me to catch my breath. “Now that I’m exploring them with you, they feel so welcoming.”

“They have a wild beauty,” Elias replied, his golden eyes softly floating from tree to rock to bush. “That’s why I come here to get inspiration. And why I paint them.”

I couldn’t help feeling like there was something deeper that he wasn’t telling me, but I wasn’t here to make a solitary man give up his deepest, darkest secrets—no matter how much I found myself wanting to know everything about him.

“They really do. I’m glad I let you bring me out here.”

Rather than reply, Elias just nodded and continued following a trail I couldn’t see.

I stared at his bare back, his muscular arms, and his broad hands.

My imagination took off with me, and I had the urge to slip my fingers into his—just to see what it felt like to hold his hand, you know? Or what it would feel like to be wrapped up in those strong arms, with his tanned skin dominating my world.

But I had to remind my stupid self that I was being ridiculous. Just because Elias was more relaxed and talkative in the woods didn’t mean he had any interest in me ~that way~.

Besides, there was a non-zero chance this beast of a man was dangerous.

And I’d already spent fifteen years with a dangerous monster. I didn’t need another one.

My stomach began to rumble, and I glanced down at my watch. With a start, I realized we’d been wandering around for nearly four hours.

“Don’t you think we should get back? It’s going to get dark soon, and we don’t want to run afoul of the wolf pack. Or packs… I heard a rumor in town that there might be two packs fighting out here. Which we one hundred percent do ~not~ want to get in the middle of!”

“Don’t worry. We’re safe here. This is my territory, and you won’t come to any harm as long as you’re with me.”

I stared at him, a little bit incredulous. “I don’t know that wolves honor human land contracts, Elias,” I said, my voice a little more serious than I had intended it to be.

Elias opened his mouth to reply, then reconsidered and closed it again.

“I suppose they don’t,” he finally agreed. “But I mean it. The wolves in this area would not harm you when they know I’m here. We have…an agreement, of sorts.”

The more he spoke, the more confused I became. But I shrugged it off as some weird man-in-the-woods thing and told myself everything would be fine. Maybe he had the pack trained like a bunch of—

I froze as my mind attempted to snap together two puzzle pieces that I wasn’t sure actually fit but sure seemed to.

According to Jason, Ezra had looked like he’d been mauled. The rumor was that the serial killer possibly had one or more large dogs that helped with the murders.

And the paintings in his house? Had Elias somehow managed to gain the trust of the pack, and did they help him hunt down his victims?

I’m pretty sure the color entirely drained from my face, because I felt my blood pooling down to the bottom of my stomach.

I hung back a couple of steps from Elias, again suspicious of his motives for bringing me into the woods and insisting we stay until after dark.

Elias looked at me, mild confusion on his face. “What’s wrong?”

I stuffed my hands in my pockets to keep them from trembling, and decided I had nothing to lose from asking point-blank.

If Elias was planning to murder me in the woods, well—.

We were already here.