Read Online Vision of Darkness by Tonya Burrows - Free Book Online

his chest, the sound of blood rushing in his ears blocking out everything else.
    Probably smarter to run, but his boots were inside the tent underneath Hulk, who was up on his hands and knees, shaking his head.
    Closest building was Pru’s lighthouse, at least a quarter of a mile down the rocky beach. He could make a run for it, but Hulk had longer legs and better traction in work boots than he had in wool socks.
    Hulk lumbered to his feet with a scowl, swaying a little. Now would be the time to run. Alex edged a step backwards.
    Wrong, wrong, wrong , his inner cynic screamed. Coward! Pussy-faced coward!
    Alex cursed under his breath and stood his ground. It just wasn’t in him to run. Maybe he was suicidal. God knew that ran in his family too.
    “You’re trespassing!” Hulk shouted over the wind. “Dad doesn’t like trespassers!”
    Okay, so this guy wasn’t the sharpest knife in the dishwasher. Alex held up his hands in a peacemaking gesture. “Lookit, buddy, I don’t want to fight. I didn’t know this was private property. I’ll leave. All you had to do was ask.”
    Hulk’s face screwed up as if he was having trouble processing the words. “You’re trespassing.”
    “Yeah, I get that now. I’m sorry. Lemme get my stuff together …” Alex crouched down and reached for his broken tent. There was no way he’d win in a hand-to-hand fight with this guy, but maybe if he got hold of his gun, he’d stand a chance at getting out of this situation intact.
    Hulk dropped a shoulder and plowed into him, the blow like a freight train to the stomach. Alex managed to stay on his feet and used his smaller size to slip out of Hulk’s grasp. He made it three steps before he bent double, gagging on the surge of bile.
    Hulk advanced.
    Alex let his body fall forward, caught himself on his hands and tumbled into a line of bushes along the edge of the campsite, leaving Hulk with nothing but a handful of air. Just like the good old days in sniper school, he kept his face, body, and heels flat to the ground, letting the little bit of shrubbery provide cover. When lightning flashed, he paused and used the second of illumination to get his bearings. He’d crawled about twenty feet. Hulk stood in the same spot where he had dropped into the bushes, pounding at the shrubs with his foot, screaming and—
    Shit, was the guy crying?
    Alex wasn’t about to stick around and find out. Inner cynic be damned, he was outta here. He crawled through mud and over rocks as the storm exploded and cold rain lashed his back like stinging pellets of shrapnel. Just like Hindu Kush, without all the snow—
    No. He slammed the door shut on those memories. Afghanistan had been just as bad as Iraq and if he let himself go there, he’d freeze up. He had to stay in the present and get away from the crazy asshole still stomping through the underbrush looking for him.
    Headlights flashed over his ravaged campsite as a Jeep screeched to a halt next to his car. A woman jumped out, dressed in jeans and a red rain slicker. The wind whipped off her hood and sent black hair flying. Alex’s heart made a freefall dive into his stomach, then bungeed back into his throat.
    Pru. What the fuck was she doing out here?
    She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, but her voice was lost in the storm. He couldn’t let Hulk hear her. The guy had a good hundred-fifty pounds and well over a foot on her. She wouldn’t stand a chance in hell against him if he decided to attack.
    Alex got to his feet, but stayed low, using trees and rocks for cover as he made his way in a wide circle, coming up behind Pru’s Jeep. She stood in the high beams, making herself an easy target, calling into the wind.
    Dammit, Pru, don’t draw his attention.
    He couldn’t call her name. The wind would carry whatever he shouted away from her. He hated to frighten her, but he saw no choice. He darted out from behind the Jeep and snagged her around the waist, clamping a hand over her mouth