Encounter - Defeat The Darkness

Encounter 


Guatemala




Kyle. Shelby’s heart lifted in her chest, then dropped.

Being cramped with the surgical
supplies and food stuffs left her knees stiff and shaky when she climbed
to the dock. As he walked from the surgical tent toward the spot where her feet
seemed glued in place, she held her breath. No matter how bad he looked, she
recognized Kyle by his stride.

Her lips moved to greet him, but
nothing escaped—not his name, not the breath she was holding, not the scream
she felt building as she waited. Nothing escaped except the fleeting sense of
relief she’d experienced when she learned he was alive. The breath and the
relief gushed out of her as she watched him approach.

Four hours after receiving the message
from Victor Salazar telling her Kyle
was safe, she found herself staring at the man she loved, thinking this man was
a stranger. Something was very wrong. His coal black hair hung about his
shoulders, and his beard was a dark scruff. The shirt he wore looked a size too
large, and a rope held up his pants. His once full face was thin and drawn over
his broad cheekbones and jaw, and the usual sparkle in his eyes—the one that
always made her insides melt—was missing.

The dock was busy with people coming
and going yet all she could focus on were his eyes. When she finally forced her
legs to move, she had to skirt around the influx of bodies trying to off load
the supplies from the boat, in order to reach him.

She understood his weight loss in this
heat, especially after his experience in the jungle. What she didn’t anticipate
was his angry glare. He was furious—his expression thunderous as he approached.

He paused in front of her and didn’t
even try to touch her. His lack of a welcoming embrace or greeting certainly
didn’t invite hers. She bit her tongue and kept quiet. All she could do was
stare and wait.

“You shouldn’t have come,” he
whispered.

He’s right.

He scanned the camp like a hunter,
never making direct eye contact, searching the area for what? Danger?

This wasn’t the welcome she expected.
The moment was more than awkward. Her chest tightened with apprehension. Not
understanding his behavior, she still felt indignant. She was justified. “Really?
You went missing for almost two weeks. I was concerned.”

He merely shrugged as if her concern
meant nothing to him.

“Can you at least tell me what
happened to you?”

“It was over blown,” he said.

“Over blown? I doubt that. Look at
you.”

“I was a fool. I got lost.”

If she believed this was just about
him feeling foolish, she’d let it go. But there was more. Convinced there was
still something he was hiding, she reached for him and her chest tightened a
bit more when he recoiled. Stepping back, he shook her off as if her touch
repulsed  him. The cold reaction forced her to drop her hand. 

“I’m fine, Shelby.
This trip was a waste of your time. I’m in the process of training a new
surgeon, so I can return next month.”

 “Kyle,
I needed to see for myself that you were all right.”

“Then you've seen for yourself I’m
okay. A phone call would have been sufficient.” His words hardened his already
icy greeting. 

Perhaps his distant response was
because of the people bustling around she thought before an even more uncomfortable
possibility squeezed her heart. While she’d been worried sick, his feelings for
her changed.

He was over her.

No matter how she played out that
scenario, she couldn’t wrap her head around it. Visions of their last few days
together battled with what she was experiencing . The only thing that made any
sense was that he’d already found someone else, but that wasn't something she
would ever suspect of Kyle.

Straightening her back and swallowing
hard, she gathered her reserve. More resolute than ever, she vowed she wasn’t
going home or letting him dump her, if that was his intention, without a better
explanation.

 “You’re fifteen pounds leaner
and you look exhausted.”

“Of course! I’ve been lost in the
jungle for two weeks and working my ass off day and night when I’ve been
here." His voice sounded shrill then he caught himself. "But that’s
not your concern.”

“O-oh. Okay.” Not her concern? The painful rejection  confirmed her fear. If
he wasn’t her concern then they were finished. In spite of her medical training,
she discovered a heart could break. As all her hope dissolved in her stomach,
she wondered if this would destroy her.  How would she face the future,
her plans—their plans, if this relationship was over?

He ran a hand down his face. “The boy
I went looking for still hasn’t been found.”

That explained a lot. She could
understand his  concern for the boy, but the words he snapped out still
felt like a slap.

“I’m sorry about the boy." She
waited for Kylw to say or do something. "They said they found blood all
over your backpack and medical bag—”

“I told them it was the jaguar’s
blood, not mine. I had to stab it.”

Suddenly, the air was too thick to
breathe, the heat too repressive. She struggled to take her next breath. As she
stood facing him with her knees wobbling, he continued to look everywhere
except at her. She wanted to reach out and shake him. “My God, you could have
been killed.”

After a long silence he said, “It’s
more dangerous here than we thought.” His shoulders drooped and his posture
sagged.

The idea of Kyle killing anything, surviving in the jungle, or living in a rough camp
like this would have seemed preposterous if she hadn’t seen it with her own
eyes. But here he stood, paying penance for the lifestyle of his family.

“You don’t have to do this, Kyle,” she whispered,  finally touching his arm.
This time he didn’t flinch. He tensed.

“Do what?” he asked and finally looked
up at her. A light flickered as if he saw her for the first time, and hope
arrowed through her heart. Then his brows drew together into a dark scowl. The
light faded and her hope died.

“You know what I’m talking about.” She
didn’t understand why she persisted except that they'd shared too much for her
to be blown off in a muddy tent city without a good explanation. “There’s no
need for you to die proving that you’re the one member of your family, at
least, who isn’t a leach sucking the life blood from the underclass.”

Kyle inhaled sharply in surprise. His skin
went even paler than it had been, and he looked as if her words  gutted
him. His entire presence vibrated beside her. His jaw clenched, his eyes went
dark, and for a moment Shelby thought he would run. Then he straightened his shoulders and without an
ounce of expression spoke so softly she almost wasn't certain she heard him
correctly. “No. I was mistaken. I’m not different from the rest.”

“What are you talking about?”

“People do what it takes to fulfill
their needs. I discovered I am one of them after all.”

“You’re here, aren’t you?” she asked.
“You’re doing good and helping—“

“Look, you should get back on that
boat and get out of here.” He gripped her shoulders and turned her in the
direction of the river. “This place isn’t set up for a visit.” His voice was
sharp and his words clipped.

In the three years she’d known him, Shelby had never met this Kyle. This
wasn’t the man she’d fallen in love with. She searched his face looking for
some semblance of the man he’d been a few months earlier, but his gaze darted
back and forth. Still, he wouldn’t make eye contact.

“It’s not safe. There are animals,
looters, danger.” His hands shook when he tried to steer her toward the boat.
Despite his appearance he was curiously strong, but she dug in and held her
ground.

“Stop.” She shrugged his hands off her
shoulders. “I can’t leave before morning. They don’t have room.”

He gripped her arm. “They can make
room.”

“Don’t.” She put her hand on his arm
again, and this time it seemed to calm him. “Kyle?
It would mean one less needy patient gets transported to the hospital.”

Desperation flashed in his eyes when
his attention drifted to the local men loading the injured on stretchers into
the boat. A child waved at him. Another smiled. The desperation on Kyle’s face changed—softened. The strain lessened. His
expression grew less paranoid.

One injured man thanked him as they
carried him by. For a moment Kyle appeared more like the doctor she
remembered, more like himself, but only for that brief moment before he turned
his back on her.

“You have to go...but you’re right. Not now. There
are too many injured today.”

Shelby huffed and squared her shoulders. “Surely, you can put with me until
morning. I think I can stay out of trouble for a few hours.”

He merely grunted and refused to look
at her. He started to take her arm then stopped himself. “Stay here. Don’t
move. I’ll be right back. I want to be sure they make room for you tomorrow
morning.”

“Okay. Then do you think you can show
me around the facility?”

“Not much point. You’ll never be back
here again.”

“I might be back. You don’t know what
my plans are.”

He shrugged. His rudeness left her
stunned as he walked away.

The men gestured when they spoke to Kyle as he made arrangements for her. He returned, still scanning the area
like he was looking for someone or something.

“Max never should have let you come here.” He shook his head, and she could
swear he let out a low growl.

“Let me? Max doesn’t say what I can or cannot do.” She poked him in his chest. “And
neither do you. Is there someplace where I can put this bag?

“In my tent.”

“Where will I stay tonight?”

“With me. There’s no other safe
place.”

She wasn’t thrilled by the prospect
after his cold greeting, but maybe it would give her time to find out what was
wrong.

“Here, let me take that.” He offered
to take her bag as if he’d suddenly remembered his manners. Picking up the bag
like it weighed nothing, Kyle walked off in the direction of several
smaller tents on the perimeter of the camp. “You coming?” he asked over his
shoulder but didn’t speak again as they kept up a quick pace all the way to the
far edge. Kyle acted as if he couldn’t wait to get to shelter. At least he didn’t seem
as weak as he looked.

“Make yourself at home.” He held the
flap open for her and followed her inside. She thought he sighed when the flap
closed behind him.

“You have your own tent?”

“I work odd hours. It’s better this
way. I don’t disturb anyone coming or going.”

“Speaking of coming and going, exactly
when are you scheduled to come home?”

“As soon as the new surgeon can take
over. As far as I’m concerned, the sooner the better.”

“Really? I thought you were doing what
you dreamed of here.”

“If dreams are nightmares,” he
mumbled.

She wondered what he meant by that.
"Has it been so bad?”

“Forget I said anything. I’m
physically and mentally drained. Once I get back on my feet, I’ll be okay.”

“Kyle,
maybe you should come home with me.”

“I can’t. Not yet. There's too much
unfinished business.”

“What’s so important that you’d risk
your health?”

“Don’t ask—” he warned, holding up a
hand to stop the onslaught of questions, and glanced around the tent. “Believe
me, it’s very important.”

“Okay, then—”

“Look, why don’t you clean up?” He
pointed to a wash basin and towels. “I have to check in with Dr. Salazar anyway right now. You’ll meet him later.”

“I’d like that.”

He approached her and tilted her chin
up so she had to look at him. His eyes went dark and his voice sounded like
black velvet. “Shelby,
don’t leave the tent without me.”

An uncomfortable compulsion forced her
to consider doing as he asked, but she managed to break through her thoughts to
question him anyway. “What’s out there?”

He shook his head at her with a wry crooked
smile. “It’s dangerous. Trust me. Just don’t leave. We’ll talk when I return.
Deal?”

Shelby nodded. 

“D-deal,” she said, and her response
sounded as shaky to Kyle as the hand
she extended. 

He took it and cringed at the feel of
her warm skin against his. Turning away, he closed the flap behind him as he
left her. He hoped his compulsion effected his strong-willed Shelby.
For her own safety, she had to heed his warning. 

Hurting her this way was the hardest
thing he’d ever done. And there was no doubt he had hurt her. Even
without his new found powers, her body language was clear evidence of
her disappointment. When he’d
finally had the guts to face her, he saw the ultimate pain in her eyes. 

The
late afternoon sun hid in the shadows of the canopy, but the effects were
lessening. Even he felt more energized. Amyra would awaken soon and want to
feed from him, and then she would hear about the red-headed woman who came to
the camp looking for him. She’d wonder who Shelby was to him and when she found
out—and she would find out—she’d use his love for Shelby to
destroy him. There would be no stopping her.

The
fangs in his mouth extended with his anger. He took a few cleansing breaths to
get himself under control before showing up on Victor's
doorstep.

Kyle swore
beneath his breath. He hurt Shelby to protect
her. At first his greatest fear was that Amyra would destroy everything he
and Shelby had
together. 

"Too
late," he hissed beneath his breath. She’d already accomplished that by
turning him into a demon like herself. With Shelby here in camp, his new fear was
that she'd use Shelby
to get to him. He wouldn’t allow Amyra to use Shelby
as a pawn. It was already too late for him

Shelby didn’t
suspect how he felt, how hard it had been for him not to touch her. It had been
almost impossible to act cold and uncaring. His hands still itched to touch
her, to run his fingers through her hair, clasp her close, and kiss her sweet
lips.

He
lifted his fingers and sniffed. Yes, her scent lingered on his fingers from
where he’d touched her chin. Delicious. If he stayed he was afraid the
scent of her blood would drive him mad.  The damn fragrance of her
skin was bad enough to make him forget himself. Almost.

Then
he recalled her trusting eyes and knew he'd never let harm come to her. Never. 






Read the previous chapters of Defeat The Darkness here at the Hearts of Darkness page



To Be Continued Next Week....

All rights reserved. No part of this may be copied or reproduced without the written permission of the author. Copyright 2012, Eliza March