Rogue Alliance

SEVENTEEN



It felt amazing to run. The one thing Brennan did every day when he had the chance was take an early morning jog. There was nothing like it; his legs stretching out, lungs filling up, everything inside of him alive and full of vitality. Usually, he ran down the county road from Victor’s property. But occasionally, to mix it up, he would drive into town and find different parks or trails.

On Tuesday morning, he drove to town and parked in Turtle Bay Park. The Sundial Bridge was infamous around those parts as it was made of glass and ran across Sacramento River. He figured on a sunny morning such as this, it would be a beautiful run.

What he hadn’t expected was that he would run into Shyla. It was six a.m. and he was twenty minutes in, getting up to a good pace, past the burn, and into the euphoria that followed, when he spotted her. Wearing baggy, gray shorts and a tight, pink t-shirt, she was bent at the waist and looked like she was about to get sick.

Should he keep going? Should he stop? He wouldn’t be able to pass by without checking on her and he knew it.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

She glanced up. Her face was bright pink and she was panting heavily.

“No. Yeah. I mean, yeah, I’m fine.”

He stared down at her.

“You don’t look fine.”

With hands on her knees she frowned.

“Gee, thanks,” she said.

He stretched out a hand and offered her his bottle of water.

“Here. Take a swig. But not too much, too fast, or you really will puke.”

Shyla hesitated but finally reached out and snagged the bottle. Ignoring his warning she took down half the bottle before handing it back. She was still breathing heavily and looked uncomfortable under his watchful gaze.

“What? I’m fine already. Thanks for the water. I appreciate it. You can go now.”

“Why are you always rude to me?” Brennan asked.

“Why do you always look at me like I’m a freak or I’m gonna steal something?”

Brennan was taken back. Wasn’t he the freak?

When he didn’t answer, she waved her hand in the air.

“Never mind. I woke up early this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep so I had the brilliant idea to go for a run. Well guess what? I work out regularly, but only with weights. No cardio. I haven’t run since…well, a damn long time ago. I think I about had a coronary just now.”

“I was starting to wonder the same thing myself,” he smiled, amused.

They stood in awkward silence.

“So, uh, do you run here every morning?” she asked.

“No. This is my first time down here. But I do run most mornings. I started a few months back. I felt about like you looked when I first started because I took it too hard too fast. It just felt so good to really run, you know?”

Her eyes narrowed. He knew he probably sounded ridiculous.

“Anyway, I like to run.”

“Yeah, well,” Shyla nodded, “I guess I’ll head back home. I’ve got to get ready for work.”

“My car is on the other side of the bridge. If you want, I can give you a ride.”

“Aren’t you going to finish your run?”

“Naw, I’m cooled down now. I would have to warm up all over again. I’m good for today.”

“Well then I’ll take you up on it. I’m still not feeling quite myself.” Shyla laughed.

On the walk back, Brennan saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. When he turned, he saw a doe and her fawn walking down toward the river. Forgetting everything, he stopped and stared, amazed at the beautiful creatures. Their movements were gentle without disturbing their surroundings. Their ears and tails twitched signaling to each other. He had never seen a real deer. At least, not that he remembered.

Something stirred in the bushes and startled the mother. She bolted into the brush, her baby following close behind.

When he remembered that Shyla was next to him he turned and looked at her. She had an amused look on her face as she stared up at him.

“Did you see them?” he asked, “weren’t they fabulous?”

“Yeah, I saw them. But what was more interesting was watching you. You act like you’ve never seen deer before?”

Brennan realized his mistake. He was acting like a fool.

“Oh. Well…” he said, “I have, but not for a long time. I lived in the city for a very long time. There were no deer around.”

He walked away and hoped she’d drop the subject.

“Yeah, okay,” she said, catching up with him, “but…you look like that a lot of the time. I haven’t known you for very long. I don’t know jack-shit about you. You’re fairly quiet and keep to yourself, but sometimes, something will catch your eye and it’s like you’re seeing the world for the first time, like a kid.”

He didn’t know how to respond. She was so much more observant than he was comfortable with.

“Where did you say you were from?” Shyla asked.

“I didn’t.”

Her head was tipped up and she squinted into the morning sun as she walked with him.

“Yeah, that’s right. You avoid the question every time. I wonder why that is?” She took a step forward and suddenly she was uncomfortably close. He could breathe her in. The scent of female and sweat was intoxicating. Two opposing urges fought one another; one, the urge to take a step back, the other, an urge to step in and close the distance. He resisted both and stood firm.

He looked into her face. Her head was tilted up and she was searching his eyes. It took him off guard when she reached up and touched his cheek.

“You haven’t shaved. It’s nice. I like it.”

Even through his stubble he could feel the softness of her palm. The instinct to take her right there on the running path loomed large in the forefront of his mind. She was toying with him. Why, he wasn’t sure. But she was doing a damn fine job of it.

Gently he put his hand over hers. They stood and locked gazes. Then he wrapped his grip around her wrist and gave it a firm squeeze. The warning was strong in his tone.

“I’m not someone to play your little games with, Shyla.”

Her expression was wide eyed and innocent as she took a step back.

“Well it’s a good thing that I’m not playing games then, now isn’t it? Now are you going to give me a ride or not?”

She flashed a smile but he could sense her serious undertones. He clenched his jaw and kept quiet as he turned down the path.

When they were both seated in Victor’s Acura he tried to make small talk.

“Why couldn’t you get back to sleep?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“You said you woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep.”

“Oh” she said, brows furrowed, “dreams, I had a bad dream. That’s all.”

He could see she didn’t want to elaborate.

“I have a lot of those, too,” he said, “I don’t sleep very well either.”

They drove the rest of the way in silence until Shyla pointed toward a cluster of apartment buildings. “

“That’s it.”

She turned in her seat.

“Thanks for the water and for the ride home, Brennan.”

“You’re welcome. You should keep running though.”

“I’m not so sure about that, but we’ll see,” she chuckled, stepping out of the car, “I’ll see you this weekend.”

“That’s right,” Brennan said, “you’re going down to San Francisco with us. I’ll see you then.”

Shyla shut the door and he pulled away. Of course he had remembered she was going with them. It had been on his mind ever since he’d found out.