Out of Darkness Ch. 02

"It'll get us there in one piece. Stay below 'til I tell you it's safe. When we make it to the mainland we'll get your passport and get outta Dodge." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and winked.

She sat quietly below deck watching the man who was what? Her kidnapper? Her savior? She didn't know what he was, in more ways than one. The only thing she knew for sure was that she trusted him. Why? Instinct, maybe? He had taken her out of a nightmare in that glass cell. He'd saved her from the smoke that would have killed her. He'd saved her from whatever that madman had planned for her. But what did he have planned for her?

He approached her slowly and sat down on the chair across from her, holding out a candy bar. "Sorry, it's all he has. It'll be a while before we can get anything else. We'll be on the mainland in about ten hours." He saw her look of surprise. "Not as fast as the ferry. This is just a fishing boat." He smiled.

Her fingers grazed his as she took the candy bar. He stiffened and the smile faded, but he didn't move a muscle. She slowly pulled her hand away and watched him carefully. He looked away uncomfortably. He seemed nervous. Here he was, practically acting like a superhero an hour ago, and now he was like a schoolboy, jittery and unsure around a woman.

"Um, so your name is Drago. My name is Kelly." She felt like a teenager. Why was she so nervous? She should be pissed! She'd been kidnapped off the street, no explanations, held against her will for almost a month, and now she was acting like she was at a high school dance! This was one of her kidnappers!

"Kelly, that's a beautiful name. Do you know what it means?"

She shook her head.

"It means war or strife. It's a strong name."

"What difference does it make what a name means?" She'd never thought about what her name meant before.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know; it was important to my parents." Again he flashed her a smile.

"So what does Drago mean, Dragon?" She laughed nervously. "I don't see any fire."

"Actually, it means 'strong as a bear.' My parents said that I was stronger than any cub they'd ever met." He saw her confused expression. "I was adopted. I don't know what happened to my real parents. The boss found me and gave me to a couple from his pack." As soon as the word was out of his mouth he turned away. Cub, pack, what an idiot.

He cleared his throat and immediately changed the subject. "You'd better rest. We'll hit the ground running as soon as we dock. We don't have any time to spare. Once we have your passport, we're on our way." He quickly left the little cabin and went to the deck.

Kelly was so confused. The only good thing about all this was that she didn't have any family to have worried about her. Of course, that also meant no one to call out the cavalry. That made her smile. She had her own cavalry, and he was on deck right now. She lay down on the little bed and tried to get comfortable. She was so tired that it didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

She woke up with a start and bolted upright in bed. What the hell had she been dreaming? The dream was filled with wolves, of all sizes and colors. One reminded her of that bitch who had tried to seduce Drago. And, come to think of it, one reminded her of Drago. She shook her head. Get it together, Kelly, you're losing it.

She looked around for something to use as a hairbrush, but there was nothing. She bent over at the waist and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to get out any snarls. When she stood up and threw her head back he was leaning against the wall, watching her with a silly grin on his face. She stopped for a moment, and then went back to smoothing her hair. "You don't happen to have a comb, do you?"

He laughed as he dragged his hand through his crew-cut black hair. "Nope, sorry." Drago sat on the nearby desk. "We'll be leaving the boat in about fifteen minutes, then we go to your apartment."

"Won't ... your boss be waiting for us there?"

"He didn't know where you'd been living. He hadn't found you registered at any hotel or big apartment building. So I'm assuming you were renting a studio from someone?"

She nodded as she finished trying to tame her hair.

"It looks nice. Stop fussing." He grinned. He stopped when he noticed her staring. "What?"

"Your bandage is gone." She couldn't believe it. There wasn't even a mark!

His hand flew to his face. The bandage had fallen off somewhere. Crap! He sighed and sat down, his shoulders slumped. Now what? He hadn't meant to tell her so soon.

They sat staring at each other, neither saying a word. She had just opened her mouth to say something when they heard the boat's captain yelling down to them in Italian. She could make out enough to know they were about to dock.

He gave her a quick look and jumped up to run up to the deck. A moment later he called down to her. "C'mon, we're here."

He held out his hand to help her off the boat. She hesitated a moment before grasping it firmly. She looked around and realized they were at a private boat dock. Basically, they were in someone's backyard. Drago had the case of money in one hand and took hers with the other and they were off. She had no idea where they were or how to get to her apartment. Drago seemed to know exactly where he was going.

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"How far are we?" She looked around inside the crowded bus. People were staring at them. Was it because she looked so bedraggled? Or maybe they couldn't understand what a handsome hunk like him was doing with someone who was as messed up as she was.

While he spoke rapid Italian with a man sitting across from him, she took a moment to really look at her protector for the first time. If she had to describe the perfect man, he'd be the personification of her description. He was muscular without being muscle-bound, handsome without being pretty, rugged without being crude. She tried to pick him apart, but just couldn't seem to do it. His close-cropped hair was as black as hers, his eyes such a dark brown one might think they were black. Whenever he smiled she wanted to just stare. She had to remind herself that they were running for their lives. She wanted to stop and get to know him. They didn't have the time. For Pete's sake, Kelly, get yourself together.

He glanced over to where she sat looking out the window and caught her looking at him. He smiled, and she blushed, turning her head to look at the sheep grazing in the hills. He laughed to himself. His wolf was overjoyed. She liked them. It was obvious. She just didn't know it yet. He liked knowing he could make her blush with a look. Of course, his wolf had many other things pictured in his mind. Drago and his wolf had been so busy over the past years, they hadn't had time for females. This was all new to both of them. He hoped they didn't make a mess of it.

The thirty-five kilometer bus trip from Ladispoli to Rome was uneventful. They took a cab from the bus stop to Kelly's apartment. Had her landlord reported her disappearance to the police? She wasn't sure if she hoped she had or hoped she hadn't. She was still a little ambivalent about her feelings towards Drago. He was right behind her as they climbed the stairs to the front door. He seemed certain there was no danger nearby. He had some kind of sixth sense about it, she guessed.

Her landlord read her the riot act about worrying her so much. But, of course, now that she had seen Drago, she understood what had kept her American tenant so busy the past four weeks. Kelly had signed a year-long lease, intending to stay and work in Rome. But Mrs. Roselli was more than willing to allow her to break it when Drago came up with the entire year's rent in cash. She counted the Euros as she mumbled to herself about young love and went back to her flat.

Kelly quickly retrieved her passport, still safely stashed in her underwear drawer. At first she wondered what had drawn Drago's interest until she realized he was looking at the assorted lingerie she had pulled out of the drawer. Her friends at her old job had joked about how she had to be ready for the Italian men that would be knocking down her door and had given her a treasure trove of sexy, see-through unmentionables. Her mouth dropped open and she grabbed them all up, stuffing them back into the drawer.

"It's not what you think!." Her face was a bright shade of red now. How embarrassing. I can't believe he just saw all of my underwear. And I can't even kick him out. Without him I'm dead!

"Gifts? From whom?" Drago struggled to control his wolf, who was ready to shred every bit of the lacy garments. But he and his wolf were confused. There was no male scent on them, in fact, no male scent anywhere in the room. He managed to calm himself. No need to scare her unnecessarily.

"From my friends at work. It was their idea of a joke." She plopped down on the bed, humiliated.

He sauntered over to the dresser and opened the drawer a bit to peek inside. He grinned. "I kinda like them."

"Well, then you wear them!" She stood up and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Cranky, are we? Maybe you need some more rest. I'm going to get us some food, since everything here is kind of out of date. Get packed, and I'll be back in a few minutes." He shook his head as he spoke to his wolf. We're going to have to learn about females really fast. His wolf nodded in agreement.

When Kelly heard the door shut, she cracked open the door, looking around the room. "Good, he's gone. I can't believe he could embarrass me like that and not even feel guilty!" She mumbled to herself as she grabbed her suitcase and started figuring out what she could take and what she'd leave behind. Well the lingerie could stay behind.

She kept tripping over Drago's bag full of money. She lifted it onto the bed to get it out of her way, and she just couldn't resist. What did all that money look like? She felt like a little kid sneaking into her parents' nightstand. She carefully opened the bag, staring in awe at the different denominations of bills. Euros always reminded her of Monopoly money. She giggled to herself. She spotted the black wallet and pulled it out slowly and opened it. It was filled with pictures. She looked at them one at a time. Most of them were of a smiling couple, a handsome man with a strikingly beautiful woman. Drago's adopted parents, maybe? There were a few pictures of Drago with his parents. One tiny picture fell onto the floor just as the door opened.

Drago walked in with his arms full of take-out bags from the little restaurant next door. "Dinner's here. I got some..." He stopped in his tracks with the door wide open. He saw her guilty look, his bag open, and his pictures strewn about the bed. He dropped the food in the tiny kitchenette and walked quietly towards the bed, standing over the shamefaced woman, who was frozen in place.

"I'm - I'm sorry, Drago. I didn't mean to pry." She couldn't read his face, it was like stone.

He pulled the pictures from her fingers and carefully replaced them into the wallet.

Kelly reached down to pick up the small picture on the floor but his arm reached out past her and grabbed it first. She looked up into his stern face, so unlike the Drago she had been around the last month. Even at his most serious, he'd always cracked a smile around her. "I'm sorry, really, I am!"

He looked down into the deep blue of her eyes but pulled himself away before he became lost. He turned away from her and went back to the kitchenette. "You'd better eat before it gets cold. I got some bread and cheese, along with some pasta. Figured that would stick to your ribs until we get to the airport."

She stared at his back as he walked away from her. Shit!