"I don't. I told you I'm not eating Bambi," she called back.

He gritted his teeth. How did she get on his nerves so quickly? He pushed open the back door leading out to the small, stone patio. "Fine. Rare it is."

Later, when he walked into the living room with two plates of steak cooked to perfection, he was surprised to find Sara already eating. But what she ate was another mystery.

"Here's your steak," he said, handing her one of the plates.

She shook her head and held up a small bar of some kind, its foil wrapper folded down. It didn't look like anything he'd seen before, and he couldn't detect a hint of smell beyond the venison on the plates he held.

"I'm fine, thanks. Sorry you went to the trouble of cooking me filet of Bambi, but I did tell you I wasn't interested. I have everything I need right here." She took a bite of the bar and if he wasn't mistaken, she gagged a little at the taste.

He made himself comfortable on the floor again. "That looks delicious. Well, edible. Well, it sort of resembles some kind of food that was left out way too long and has since spoiled. I'm sure it's tasty. Enjoy."

The taste of steak melting in his mouth made the annoyance of Sara disappear. He groaned quietly after swallowing, then took another bite.

"Can you please be quiet down there? I'm trying to eat in peace."

He laughed. "You actually turned down fresh venison for-what is that, an energy bar? Wow." He cut off another piece of steak and sat on the edge of the couch, holding it out for her to take. "Just taste it and then if you still don't like it, go back to eating that thing."

"No."

"For a girl who says she's prepared to survive the apocalypse, you're not very adventurous."

"Will you leave me alone if I do?"

He nodded, smiling.

"Fine." She opened her mouth, accepting his bite of food. As she chewed, she scrunched up her face.

"You can't tell me that isn't way better than some emergency meal, so what's that face for?"

She glanced back and forth between the plate of steak still waiting to be eaten and the so-called food bar in her hand. "d.a.m.n it. Bambi is delicious. I'll take my steak now, if you don't mind pa.s.sing it to me."

"That's what I thought you'd say."

Chapter Five.

The next morning, Sara woke up more stiff and sore than she'd expected. Dane had been very gentlemanly, insisting she sleep in his room where she'd be more comfortable, while he took the couch. She hadn't slept well despite the soft, welcoming bed.

All night she'd had nightmares about the images she'd seen on the news, waking in a sweat and panic more often than not. She feared whatever the news would tell them this morning wasn't going to be good. In fact, if she were a betting woman, she'd bet her supplies that things were going to be worse today. Much, much worse.

But she was still leaving.

The wooden floor was cold under her feet as she climbed out of Dane's bed. Gingerly applying weight to her leg, she held her breath in antic.i.p.ation of pain. A dull throb bloomed under her kneecap, but otherwise it wasn't as painful as she'd feared it might be. A bandage wrap from her backpack would probably be enough to support her knee so she could make her way to the bunker.

After spending a few minutes wrapping her knee and dressing in the privacy of his bedroom, Sara went in search of her host. She found him in the living room, fiddling with the television.

"Morning. Everything okay?" she asked, crossing the room to get a better look at what he was doing.

"Not really. The TV is out. I'm trying to figure out if it's the signal, the TV, or both." He unplugged the cord running from the TV, then plugged it in again. He pushed the On b.u.t.ton but still the TV remained silent.

Sara twisted the dial to turn on the lamp, but the light didn't click on. "It's the power," she said, feeling her nervousness increase. "That's probably not a good sign, is it?"

"No. I don't think it is."

She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and swiped the screen to turn it on. She punched in a speed-dial code for her mom and hit Call, waiting to hear the call ring through. Nothing. Not even a busy signal or a message that all circuits were currently busy. Just dead air. Hitting End Call, she pressed the Internet b.u.t.ton, only to stare at a gray screen with a message that read, "The page you are looking for is unavailable as you are no longer connected to the Internet."

"My cell signal is gone and so is the web. This is very bad."

Dane stood and raked his hands through his hair, staring at the dead TV. "So I guess things got a lot worse through the night. I left the TV on, but the power must have cut out after I fell asleep. I can't believe I didn't wake up."

She didn't say anything. What could she say? Their situation was all kinds of bad.

"I've got a generator out back. I'll grab an extension cord and get it up and running so we can see if the satellite signal still works."

A grin spread across Sara's lips. Finally, she could be useful. She peered into her backpack looking for the right item. "No worries. I came prepared."

Dane took the small radio out of her hand and switched it on. Static, white noise filled the air as he turned the dial searching for a clear channel.

"Solar-powered. Every now and then I put it in the sun and it seems to hold the charge for a while."

A voice filtered through the room, grainy at first then clearer as Dane adjusted the dial. "This is a message from the Emergency Broadcast System. All residents of the tri-state area are advised to stay in their homes or businesses until further notice. A state of emergency has been called into effect. Shelter in place unless absolutely necessary to leave and wait further instructions. This is a message...."

"That's the exact same thing they broadcasted yesterday. They haven't even updated it with new information. How are we ever supposed to know what the h.e.l.l is going on?" Her frustration rushed out of her.

Things had obviously deteriorated overnight and who knew what state the world was in now? If they left the cabin, would the outbreak get them next? But could they afford to hide out in this room forever and never know?

Tucking the radio back into her bag, she sat on the couch, feeling defeated. "So what do we do now? We don't have any idea what's happened and no way to find out."

"We get the generator going and check the TV." Dane left through the back door. A few minutes later, the rumble of an engine filled the silence.

They'd have to be careful with how much they used the generator. They couldn't afford to run out of gas to power it, nor could they risk the noise of it attracting other people who'd no doubt be in need of supplies.

Dane dragged a cord through the kitchen and plugged the TV directly into it, then hit the On b.u.t.ton again. Sara held her breath, waiting for the screen to flicker to life.

A bright blue background accompanied by the words No Signal Found.

"f.u.c.k." Dane disconnected the cords. "How the h.e.l.l does satellite TV stop working?"

"So what now?" she asked. "We just sit here, blind, with no news from the outside world?"

"We stay put and keep checking the radio and the TV signal. Sooner or later they will update the announcement or someone else will air a new message on a different channel or the satellite will come back again. Until then, we sit tight, here, where we're safe." Before she could contradict that statement, again, he walked out of the room and back outside. Seconds later the generator fell silent. He returned and wandered down the hall, disappearing into the bedroom.

Making herself at home, she found a jug of milk in the fridge that was still cold and a box of cereal in the cabinet. No reason to try and ration the milk to last longer. They probably only had six to twelve hours before the fridge warmed and everything inside it spoiled. They'd have to try to use up as much as they could before that happened. Food was going to be too precious a commodity to waste anything. There was no reason to use all their gas powering the fridge with the generator, when they'd be better off saving it to run other things like the TV when it came back on, or pumping water from the well to drink, flush toilets, and shower.

And it would come back on. It had to.

Her thoughts flittered back to Dane in the woods with his gun and his fresh kill for dinner. Maybe he was right. Maybe she wasn't as prepared for this kind of world as she'd thought. Of course, she hadn't planned on ever being in the wild. She'd planned on going from the comforts of her normal life directly to the comforts of her simpler life in the bunker. Hunting and foraging hadn't factored into that plan.

A creak of floorboards near the front door brought her out of her thoughts. She'd talk to Dane about what their options really were and maybe he'd be able to think of something she hadn't. She hated going out without knowing what was happening in the world, but there was no way she was staying here forever, either. Not when her family was probably already waiting for her and worried about her back at the bunker.

The creak sounded again, followed by the jiggling of the door handle. Sara crept into the living room, careful not to make any noise, and peeked out the window. One guy stood with his ear to the door, listening for movements inside. Out front, just beyond the tree line around the yard, she saw another man crouched behind a bush.

Her skin crawled with suspicion as she backed away from the window, thankful the door was still locked from the night before. She stumbled, stepping onto the remote left in the middle of the floor from when Dane had tried to fix the TV, and b.u.mped into the table against the wall.

"Can you help me? Can I come in? I heard someone in there." A soft knock sounded on the door. "I don't mean any harm. I need some water....my grandmother is already dehydrated. I'm not here to make any trouble. I just need water."

Sara hesitated. What was the right call? She didn't like the idea of one guy waiting in the bushes, but what if they only did that so she wouldn't feel ganged up on? And what if the guy really did need water? Could she really leave him out there thirsty?

It might be difficult times, but no, she couldn't leave someone else to struggle when she could easily provide what they needed. Dane had said he would filter a bunch of water last night, so they must have some to spare. Hopefully he had managed to fill some bottles before the power went out so they wouldn't have to turn on the generator every time they wanted a gla.s.s of water from the well.

Sara cautiously opened the door only to find two men standing before her instead of one. Apparently the other guy had gotten tired of squatting in the bushes. They both grinned, their smiles tinged with something that set her nerves on edge. Seeing them up close, they didn't seem nearly as thirsty or run-down as she'd thought they were. In fact, they looked strong and healthy.

Much stronger than she was.

"Hey there, sweet stuff. Can we come in?" the taller of the two men said, creeping forward.

Alarms went off in her brain. Opening the door had definitely been a stupid idea.

She forced a calm smile to her lips. "I'm sorry, but I don't have anything to spare. Maybe you'll have luck at another house."

She started to close the door, but the shorter man reached out his hand, grasping the edge of the thick wood, and threw it open. "I think this house is pretty lucky," he said, his gaze darting around the room as if in search of something. A grin spread across his face as he spied her container of food supplies still sitting in the corner where she'd placed it earlier.

The tall one grunted in agreement. "You're right. Look at the lucky little find right here at the front door."

Sara stepped back. He was absolutely creepy to the creepiest degree. She scanned the room looking for her bag and the knife hidden inside it. d.a.m.n it. Why hadn't she been smart enough to carry her knife on her at all times?

The tall one looked her up and down, settling his gaze on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She cursed herself for choosing the tight tank top again this morning, not that she'd had many options. "I think you might be the tall drink of water we were looking for all along. Now how about you be a good girl and we do this the easy way?"

"I think your buddy would rather have actual water. Why don't you both wait out on the porch and I'll see if I can find you a few bottles?"

Grabbing the door with both hands, she pulled as hard as she could, trying to bring it away from the wall, but they pushed her backward into the house before she could close the door on them. She stumbled, catching herself against the arm of the couch before she fell.

"Get out of my house," she said with as big a voice as she could muster. "I have nothing to give you."

"I plan on taking what I want, starting with you." The tall one grabbed her arm and pulled her to him while the shorter man stepped farther into the room.

Sara trembled against the stranger for a moment before her fight response kicked in. Her mind raced with scenarios of how she could get free without being hurt, if only she could make her body listen to her will. She wasn't ready to roll over and be a victim, but fighting a man twice her size wasn't going to be easy. Maybe if she could get her knee between his legs, she could hit him hard enough to loosen his grip.

"I think you boys have overstayed your welcome," Dane said from behind her, followed by the distinct sound of a shotgun being c.o.c.ked. Instantly, the hands holding her arms relaxed and she staggered back toward Dane.

Sara squared her shoulders and tried to keep a fearless expression on her face, desperate not to give into becoming the quivering mess she felt simmering below the surface. She fought back the tears that clouded her eyes.

"Hey, mister, we just came looking for some water and she said we could have some but then refused to give it up for us."

"She didn't promise you anything, and she sure as h.e.l.l isn't giving anything up to you." Dane aimed his gun at the tall man who'd held her. "Now you've got until the count of two to get off my property before I take target practice on you and your friend. And I should warn you, I'm a f.u.c.king good shot."

The men backed out of the house, their hands raised. "We didn't mean any harm."

"Good, then you won't be back. If I catch you on my property again, I'll shoot first and ask questions later." He smiled. "Better start running, 'cause I'm about to start counting."

The men dashed into the woods. Dane stood at the door for a few seconds as if to make sure they were really gone, then came in and locked the door behind him. He propped the shotgun against the wall and drew Sara into his arms, wrapping her in his embrace.

She melted into him, her tears dampening his shirt as she clung to his broad chest. His hands caressed a line up and down her spine as she sobbed.

With Dane, she felt safe. Protected. He hadn't hesitated to come to her rescue. And she was confident he wouldn't have hesitated to use his gun to defend them if the strange men had pushed him further.

If he hadn't been here...if he hadn't been armed...she would have been helpless against the two of them. Dane was absolutely right-she couldn't protect herself out there.

She pulled away from his chest enough to look up at him. He didn't drop his arms but continued to hold her, stroking her back.

"You were right," she said, her voice weak and sore from crying so hard. "I can't protect myself the way you can. But you can teach me, can't you?"

He peered down at her, his expression softer than she'd seen before. Or maybe it was just the angle. She suddenly realized how close his mouth was. If she went up on her toes, their lips would meet.

She clenched her jaw, annoyed at herself for thinking something like that in a time like this. It had been a while since she'd been wrapped in a man's arms, but not that long. It wasn't as if she was desperate to be kissed by a man with lips as soft and supple looking as Dane's were.

Or maybe she was in shock from almost being a.s.saulted and this was some kind of strange psychological response to a trauma and had nothing at all to do with the proximity of his lips. Surely it wasn't normal to be attracted to someone right after an almost a.s.sault. Certainly her abnormal response had nothing to do with the fact that an incredibly hunky man had saved her and now stared at her with a look of possession in his eyes, like she was his and he would do anything to protect her. Absolutely she didn't want that. She was no man's possession.

She licked her lips again. d.a.m.n it.

His tongue flickered across his lips, almost as if he was thinking the same thing. "I can teach you if you're ready to learn."

She nodded. "I am. How long will it take you to teach me?"

"It depends on you. A week. Maybe two."

"You have a day. I want to leave tomorrow."

His eyes crinkled up along the edges as if he was holding in a smile. "Can't be done. I need at least a week. Maybe I can rush things a bit and teach you in five days."

"Two, and that's the longest I can commit to staying."

He shook his head. "All right, darlin'. I'll teach you whatever I can in two days, but don't come crying to me if you still can't hit a target when you leave here."

"Deal. When can we start?"

Chapter Six.