AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I glance around the car. It’s a worn, sturdy-looking truck with dark leather seats. There are winter coats stacked on the backseat next to me, and the trunk is full of cardboard boxes and tools.
I eye them suspiciously. “There’s a gun back here.”
“Yes,” Cole answers.
“And an axe.”
“Well spotted.”
“Care to explain why?”
He turns a corner, and we enter an even thicker patch of forest. The trees are so close together they absorb the car’s headlights, darkening the road.
“No.”
Excellent.
Eli turns and tosses me a grin. “Don’t worry, babe. We’re taking you someplace safe. I promise.”
Cole mutters something under his breath, and Eli rolls his eyes. The men start arguing in rapid Swedish, and I sink down in my seat, closing my eyes against my pounding headache.
I wake up with a jolt as the car cranks to a stop. I must have dozed off. The guys are both unbuckling and slipping into snowshoes.
We’ve pulled up in front of a decent-sized cabin, surrounded by sparse, frozen trees. The walls are made of red-painted wooden planks, and there are gold lights shining in the windows. It’s like something out of a Christmas card.
I sit up in my seat to get a better view, and almost cry out as pain sears down my neck. It’s even stiffer than it was before, and I grit my teeth against the tears that pop up in my eyes.
A blast of freezing air hits me as Eli opens my door. “Need a hand?” He asks cheerfully.
“I got it,” I mutter, sliding out of the car and into the snow. I immediately sink almost to my knees. Freezing water soaks through the fabric of my jeans. Grimacing, I look around, taking in my surroundings.
Snow is falling from the sky, thicker than before. It’s hard to see through the flurry of fat flakes. Apart from a big wooden storage shed, there aren’t any other buildings nearby. I guess these guys must live completely isolated. Alone in the woods. No nosy neighbours hanging around to hear the screams of their victims.
Great.
Eli and Cole both lug crates from the boot of the truck and head for the front door. I try to follow, but when I step forward, my foot just sinks. I yank my back leg out of the snow and push forward again. It’s like wading through quicksand. I only make it about three metres before my foot catches on something hidden under the snow. I lose my balance, tottering, then trip forward. I throw my arms out, bracing myself for a faceful of snow—
And a pair of strong arms wrap around my body. I’m lifted up and pressed against someone’s chest.
I look up to see Cole carrying me, as if I’m as light as a kid. From this close, I can make out the soft blonde bristles shading his jaw. I watch a snowflake melt against his skin. “We don’t have all day,” he mutters, stalking ahead. He crosses the distance from the car to the cabin in just a few long steps, then very, very gently sets me down in the doorway next to Eli.
“Get her inside. I’m going to put her car in the barn,” he says gruffly, then disappears.
Eli pulls open the front door and holds it for me. “After you,” he says brightly.
Swallowing down nerves, I step inside the cabin.
I’m not sure what I was expecting. A blood-spattered abattoir? The bodies of all their former victims hanging from the ceiling on meat hooks?
It’s actually a really lovely little home. The front door leads right into the living room. On the wall to my right is a set of closets and hooks, I guess for shoes and coats. To my left, there’s a squashy-looking sofa and a couple of armchairs clustered around a coffee table. A cheerful fire crackles in a fireplace, and the wooden walls are hung with electric lights that emit a soft gold glow.
I take another cautious step inside, looking around. There are bookshelves lining the walls.
A big dining table, surrounded by mismatched chairs. The living room is open plan, and I can see through to a small, brightly lit kitchen.
“Riv!” Eli calls behind me, pulling off his coat. “Look what we found!”
A man appears in the kitchen doorway, holding a steaming mug. I blink a bit as he steps into the light. Holy crap.
