He coughed a laugh as he saw her yank off her high heels and throw them aside so she could run faster barefoot down the center of the empty highway. She was chasing the same pull yanking Creed out of his seat to crouch catlike, revving to pounce from the moving vehicle.
Farrow kept glancing at Creed through her rearview mirror and knew he was about to slam open the door and run, so she slammed on the brakes first.
They were still rolling at a clip when Creed burst from the black SUV and ran the rest of the way. He was terrified of what she would do, but he was desperate to hold the girl who still wore his promise ring.
They stopped several feet apart. Creed slid on the gravel in his effort to control his momentum so he didn’t crash into her. He watched her whole body shake with intensity. She stood breathing hard, her slender ribs showing in her chest beneath perfectly symmetrical collarbones arched on either side of her graceful throat. Creed could see the pulse there pounding in the bright lights of the SUV pulling up behind him.
Meg put her hands to her eyes, shielding them from the brightness before Farrow got the hint and pulled the SUV slightly off-center.
With the light still at his back, Creed knew she wouldn’t be able to see his facial features, but that didn’t seem to detour her. He stood as still as stone and let her approach him on her terms. At arm’s length she stood, shoulders squared looking up into the shadowed face of a stranger and said one word, “You.”
She cocked her head slightly, a habit she didn’t remember she got from the dying coydog waiting for her touch in the back of the SUV full of her family and friends.
No one moved to get out of the SUV—instinctively knowing to give Meg time with Creed.
“You,” Creed’s voice cracked on the one, simple word.
“I know you.” It was a statement; A beautiful, perfect statement to Creed’s raw heart.
“Yes,” he nodded once, but couldn’t help the smile pealing across his face.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, as though a sliver of self-doubt crept up her spine chilling her.
“Prove it,” she challenged.
He loved her for her courage. She stood barefoot and bleeding alone in the dark, yet her determination wouldn’t let her fold, no matter what.
Creed glanced down and smiled at the ring still wrapped snugly around the fourth finger of her left hand.
“The ring. I gave it to you.” Creed was dying to reach out and touch her, but knew he needed to gain her trust first. Meg was a creature of emotion; when she felt safe enough, she would come to him.
Meg looked down at her hand, then back to the man standing bare and vulnerable. Now that she could see his face, she was sure she had never seen him before, but standing this close to him was almost exhausting because of the magnetic pull she felt. The force had her leaning in toward the stranger, despite her best efforts.
His military cropped hair glowed like a halo around him. The shadows cast across his chiseled face should have made him intimidating. And if not that, then surely the torn and bloodstained T-shirt should have warned her away. But no matter what he looked like, Meg felt him deep inside and knew she belonged with him.
“It’s just a ring—how do I know you gave it to me?”
Creed couldn’t help but blush happily. His heart was just so happy to have found his dark-eyed fighter. “There’s an inscription that reads ‘My dream came true—M&C’ then an infinity symbol.”
Meg looked down at her hand and removed the ring from her finger carefully so as not to drop it with her shaking fingers. By the light of the SUV’s headlights, she read the engraving the stranger said would be there.
“Who are M and C?”
“We are.”
“What is your name?”
“Creed. Creed Young.”
“What is my name?”
“Meg Winter.”
“Do I belong with you?” Meg waved to the people starting to climb from the SUV one at a time as though afraid to scare away a lost fawn in the woods.
“Yes,” Creed answered simply.
“Why don’t I remember any of you?”
“An evil man erased your memory.”
“Was he the bloody-faced monster in the helicopter?”
“No, but that guy is a really bad guy, too.”
Meg nodded once, accepting these simplistic explanations.
“I feel lost,” she admitted.
“We found you, Meg. You’re not lost anymore,” Alik offered in a smooth voice from behind Creed.
“Who are you?”
“I’m your brother, Alik.”
“I’m your brother, too. I’m Evan.”
“I have brothers?”
“Yes. And there’s another back home with mom and Theo. His name is Danny.”
Meg shook her head as if trying to stop the darting thoughts.
“I just need to know one thing,” she looked directly at Creed when she spoke, her voice soft with exhaustion.
“Anything,” Creed answered sincerely.
“Can I trust you?”
“I swear you can.”
Meg narrowed her beautiful eyes for a moment before letting them widen as though seeing something suddenly.