Storm Shades Read Online Free PDF Page B

fall.
    The shock of the impact keeps her still for a few seconds, and she takes stock. Her right knee feels like it’s grazed; but, other than that, she’s pretty sure she’s not hurt. She pushes herself up off of the floor, and the howling brings her back to the here and now. The torch has fallen a few feet behind her. Although she doesn’t want to go backwards, she knows she’s not going to last for long without any light, especially since this rain doesn’t show any signs of letting up.
    There’s another flash of gold, just behind the trees, and Sofie takes a deep breath as she rushes to grab the torch and spins around in one movement. But before she can take another step, she opens her mouth and screams. She hadn’t heard anyone coming up behind her, but suddenly there was a man ahead of her, a giant of a man in the middle of the woods. She shines the light up into his face, wishing that her hands weren’t shaking so much.
    “Don’t come any closer.” She reaches for the Swiss army knife that her dad had given her, one of the only things that the repo guys had let her keep.
    “Easy, running girl. I’m here to help.” The deep voice booms out from the man ahead, and as Sofie’s heart rate slows, she realizes that she recognizes the voice and the face that’s squinting against the bright torch-light currently shining in his face. It was the guy from the morning before, the rock climbing guy with no equipment. The unbelievably beautiful man.
    “What are you doing here?” she asks, wondering if the serial killer idea that she’d had was so far off after all.
    “What am I doing here?” he repeats, laughing at her question. “What are you doing here more like? You’re a long way from home, little lady.” The way he looks at her makes her blush like a teenager.
    “I got separated from my team...my friends.” Sofie cringes at her own misstep, hoping that he hasn’t caught it.
    “Good thing I was passing by and saw the light from your torch. There are wolves in these woods, and they wouldn’t think twice about taking a bite out of a pretty little thing like you.” He folds his arms, appraising her, clearly taking in the huge bag she’s carrying and the way she’s dressed.
    “Wolves don’t attack humans,” Sofie points out, wondering why she sounds so prissy, even to herself. “Besides, there’s no record of any wolves in this area.”
    The big man chuckles like that’s the funniest thing he’s heard in a good long while and then turns around and sets off.
    “Hey, where are you going?” Sofie hurries after him, fully aware that he may be the best chance she has of getting out of this place before dawn.
    “Getting you out of here. If that’s alright by you, of course.” The laughter in his voice is warm, and Sofie decides that this is one of those times that it makes sense not to answer back.
    He walks through the woods, picking his way through, avoiding the roots and stones jutting out from the ground like he can see in the dark. Sofie notices that there’s something about the way he moves; it’s graceful, but he’s coiled like a spring. She gets the impression he could lash out at any moment.
    Sofie isn’t quite as skilled maneuvering through the woods. Her toe meets something hard, and she’s about to go face down in the mud again, but a hand reaches out to catch her. As she steadies herself, she feels the electricity as their bodies meet. His hand feels so warm, but she shivers in spite of herself. Only then does she realize that she’s soaked straight down to the bone.
    “You’re cold,” he says factually. He pulls off his jacket and, ignoring her protests, he drapes it over her shoulders and takes the bag out of her hand in one smooth move.
    “It’s fine. I can carry it.” Sofie makes a grab for the bag, but she’s too slow. The square set of the man’s shoulders tells her that there’s no use in arguing. Besides, she’s grateful that she doesn’t have to carry the