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“He won’t find out.” I peer over Leo’s shoulder, admiring the painstaking precision of each line and tiny dial.
Wolf is a truly an incredible artist, and this diagram is priceless.
Denver keeps the plane locked and the instrument panel covered with a sheet. We’ve never been able to steal more than a glimpse of the gauges.
“Can you work with that?” I meet Leo’s eyes.
The anger recedes from his features, just a little, allowing a glimmer of hope to shine through.
“It’s better than anything we’ve ever had.” He folds the sketch and re-tapes it to its hiding place. “But it changes nothing. We were gone for twenty-one fucking days.”
“He waited until day five.” Wolf taps his fingers on his thigh, the tendons straining in his neck.
“That leaves sixteen.” Leo aims his eyes on the door, his expression dripping with bloodlust. “He’s had sixteen days with her.”
“Wait.” I step into his path, heart racing. “We need a plan.”
“Oh, I have a plan.”
“Does it involve all of us dying?”
“The pemmican in the hunting cabin ensures we won’t starve.”
“What?” Wolf scans our packs on the floor, taking in the wraps of meat. “You left some behind?”
“Insurance,” Leo growls. “Good thing, too, because we’re going to need it.”
“There’s barely enough to feed two people through the winter, not four.” I harden my tone. “And what happens after the thaw? We don’t know how to fly the plane.”
“I have the winter to learn.”
“Where’s the key?” Wolf steps between us. “I’ve torn this place apart and can’t find it. I picked the door lock on the plane, but we can’t start the engine without the key.”
“Wolf’s right.” I scrape a hand down my face, my eyes burning with exhaustion. “We need to memorize the drawing, find the key, and make it through the winter doing what we always do—fighting, standing our ground, and protecting one another from Denver.”
“What about Frankie?” Leo sets his jaw.
“She told me she loves me.” Wolf tosses that little nugget out there as if it’s the answer for everything. “What? Don’t look at me like that. I love her, too. Try to stop us.”
Before Leo starts shredding the room into bloody ribbons, I push him backward and say quietly at his ear, “Wolf doesn’t know the first thing about love.”
His only female relationship was with a mother who completely ignored him. He grew up in an abusive environment devoid of love. He’s never seen or experienced genuine love outside of his relationship with his brothers.
There’s no question that Frankie loves him, considering the sacrifice she made, but it’s nothing Leo should feel threatened by.
“She’s one of us.” I look at Wolf then Leo. “We’ll protect her, too.”
“Every breath Denver takes is a threat against her.” Leo points in the direction of the shooting range. “She made the deal. She’s the one taking the risks. I won’t stand by while she—”
“Shh.” I cock my head, my eardrums pulsing in the sudden, deafening silence. “Do you hear that?”
“No.” Wolf watches me. “I don’t hear shit.”
“Target practice ended.” Leo grabs my pack and shoves it at me. Then he hauls on his and strides toward the exit. “From here on out, we don’t leave her alone.”
“Agreed.” I follow him out, bracing for the battle that awaits beyond that door.
45
Kodiak
—
A relentless drumbeat pounds through my veins as Wolf and I chase Leo into the cabin.
I can’t stop the impending confrontation. Leo’s temper is a force of nature that cannot be ignored or underestimated. All I can do is minimize the damage.
We dump our gear in the front room and find Denver sitting before the fire, drinking a glass of whiskey.
“Where is she?” Leo scans the open floor plan, his towering frame seemingly growing bigger, taller, dominating the warm, dimly lit room.
Denver rises from the couch with sinister calmness. “You should check my bed.”
He knows exactly how to push Leo’s buttons, his words like knives, stabbing with cruel precision.
The polished log walls close in on us as Leo’s fury fills the space.
“I’m going to kill you.” His varicolored eyes become pools of blazing vehemence, locked onto Denver.
“He’s baiting you.” I hope. Panic claws at the edges of my composure as I mouth to Wolf, Find her.
Wolf heads upstairs, taking the steps two at a time.
My brothers and I have always been an unbreakable team, so tightly knit we can’t be pinned against one another. No one can come between us.
Until this woman.
This fucking woman.
Since the day she arrived, it’s been a constant battle to keep my emotions in check. Beneath my cool exterior, my soul is a volcano of rage and ruin.
I’m going to beat her ass.
For tempting us with her beauty.
For protecting us.
For being so stupidly heroic.
Because of her, we’re balls-deep in a hostage situation, exchanging our safety for hers. Wolf has already given in. Leo will be next. Jealousy and abuse will destroy us from the inside out. The devil will use that to his advantage, and soon, he’ll have us all under his thumb, doing his bidding.
