Page 19

When the snow stops, would it be possible to get a helicopter or small plane to land? Though much of the hotel is surrounded by woods and mountains, there are areas that are clear—a large lawn at the rear of the property and the gravel driveaway at the front of the building. I have no idea how much space a helicopter or plane would need to land, but surely there are pilots who specialize in landing in small spaces. Don’t they even land on the decks of boats out at sea?

I’m not buying the whole ‘Wi-Fi is broken’ spiel either. Perhaps, before I’d learned the truth, I’d been happy not to have interference from the outside world, and it had suited me that it remain ‘broken,’ but now I’m just thinking that’s bullshit. If there’s no service and the Wi-Fi is broken, Blake must have a radio stashed somewhere so he can contact the outside world in an emergency. He isn’t the kind of man who wouldn’t prepare for something like that.

I haven’t seen one, though, which makes me think he’s got it hidden somewhere. The hotel is vast, and I’ve only explored a small part of it. I’ve looked in Blake’s office previously, and not seen anything useful in there, but I haven’t even been to Levi’s room yet, which seems insane. Now I know the east wing is perfectly safe—not including the strange, almost silent man who stalks the corridors at night—it makes me wonder what else he’s got hidden away in that wing.

I’m not going to be able to search yet, though. Just the brief excursion to the kitchen has left me exhausted, and my head is pounding. My thoughts are foggy, too, but I’m putting this down to a concussion rather than Dov drugging me. I feel as though I’ve had a heavy night of drinking, and all I really want is to climb back into bed and sleep and sleep and sleep.

I reach the entrance hall and draw to a halt.

Levi stands at the bottom of the stairs. He fixes me with those remarkable blue eyes and folds his arms across his chest. “You seem better.”

I don’t want to lose my shit with Levi. Men like him don’t respond well to hysteria, so, as much as I want to scream at him, I force myself to push my emotions down. Instead, I assess him in the same way he’s assessing me, letting my gaze run down his body and back up again to rest on his face. His cheekbones look sharper than ever, his jawline shadowed with stubble. Has he lost weight? Are those bruises of tiredness beneath his eyes? His eyelashes are so dark and thick, I’d think he was wearing mascara and eyeliner.

“You almost sound like you care,” I throw back.

I do my best to ignore the thumping behind my eyes.

Something unreadable flickers across Levi’s face. “Of course I’d care.”

His response surprises me. “You would?”

“If you’d died out there, what the hell would I fuck over winter?”

I keep needing to remind myself not to let my guard down with Levi. He switches from intense and concerned, to intense and an asshole at the flick of a switch. I’m still not entirely sure I’ve even gotten to meet the real Levi yet. He keeps his walls built so fucking high it’s impossible to see over them.

I bristle. “Your fist, Levi. You could have fucked your fist, and then we’d all be happy.”

One corner of his perfect lips quirks. “You know that wouldn’t have been good enough for me. How could I picture you all wet and hot when you were actually frozen in place?”

I shake my head in disgust at him. “You’re an asshole. You’re an even bigger asshole for allowing me to believe I was the one who killed Tobias when it was actually your brother.”

He gives a nonchalant shrug as though I’ve just complained about him leaving a dish in the sink. “That had nothing to do with me.”

“You’re saying you weren’t in on it? I’d say that’s bullshit.”

“Hey, I just go along with what everyone else wants around this place. Anything for an easy life.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I think your life is anything but easy, Levi. I think you battle with yourself so much every day to not feel anything about anyone that you don’t even know who you are anymore. Who hurt you, huh? Your mother? Is that why you act this way?”

“Stop talking, Little Fox.”

I force a crazed smile. “Nope. The three of you have trapped me here with you, so I think I’ll make myself as annoying as possible. I used to think I needed to be the good girl because I’d been so lucky that Blake took me in, but not anymore. I don’t owe any of you shit.”

“Dov saved your life,” Levi points out.

“I wouldn’t have needed saving if I hadn’t been trying to get the hell away from this place and the three of you.”

“So, Blake told you a little white lie. Dov really did think he was doing the right thing when he ended that prick’s life. He did you a favor. Not everyone is always going to do what automatically works best for you, Aspen. People have their own shit going on. Maybe you should stop making yourself the center of everyone else’s universe.”

I gasp as though he’s slapped me. “That’s not what I’ve done!”

“Isn’t it? You created this situation. You brought that man to our home. None of us ever wanted him here. And then when things go badly, and we deal with it, that’s somehow our fault. So Blake didn’t tell you the truth because he was protecting his own flesh and blood over you, the little princess. Get the fuck over it.”

“Get lost, Levi.”

He’s blocking the stairs, but they’re wide, and he can only block so much. I move to get past him, and he steps to one side, bringing his body back in front of me. I step the other way, and he mirrors my actions.

Finally, I jerk as though I’m going one way but then duck the other and get past him. The movement hurts every muscle in my body, and my head feels like it’s going split in two, but I’m past him.