A snap of something outside.
My entire body seizes, because that definitely wasn’t the beat of wings taking flight, or a branch falling free from the weight of snow and ice.
They’re back, the person who left him here. They walked away with the calm of a skilled predator. With the sureness of someone who knew exactly how to get through the dense forest to their destination. Because it hasn’t beenthatlong, and they’re already back.
Maybe they picked up my trail and turned around.
My head jerks toward the door, my heart slamming so hard it rattles my teeth. My ears ring, terror spikes through my senses, but somehow, beneath it, I catch the groan of the steps outside, one by one.
I totter to my feet. The hut is too small, the walls too close. I have nowhere to go. No closets, no back rooms. Just the stink of someone who doesn’t live by society’s standards and the decay of the place they call home.
Scott’s limp body lies at my feet, still unmoving, and for the first time since I busted through the front door, I’m relieved for that.
My mind screams at me to run, but there’s no exit.
I dart toward the far corner, squeezing myself under the frame to the soiled mattress. It reeks, but I hold my breath as I disappear into the sanctuary it offers. Shuffling as close to thewall as possible, I curl into the corner and clamp my trembling hand over my mouth so hard my jaw aches.
The door swings open, shrieking like a banshee—a slow wail that rives the silence. A draft rushes in, laced with fresh snow that must have started while I was trying to raise the man I hoped would help me get out of this situation alive.
My lungs beg for air, but I hold, praying the thud of my heart won’t betray me.
“Come out, little thorn. I know you’re in here. I can smell your sweetness.”
SIXTEEN
THE WATCHER
I’ve had my eyes on her long before the storm stranded us in the middle of fucking nowhere. Stowing away in her trunk made for a long, cramped trip from campus, but I’d had plenty of time since to stretch out. I’d lucked out when I broke into her car the night before we left, to pop the back seat forward, hoping she wouldn’t notice.
She didn’t, and the heat she blasted trickled through the car, keeping me from freezing to death.
She’s not the most observant. Aloof in a way that I’ve needed to protect her all these months. It’s why I had to come this week. She walks alone at night, keeping her headphones in and her eyes stuck to her phone. She doesn’t notice the way men watch her as she works her way from one lecture hall to another, week after week. But I do.
If it wasn’t for me, something terrible could have happened to her. But I was there, ignoring my own classes to scout her routes. Always watching and removing threats when they got too close.
The cabin has been no different.
The white flakes fell heavily upon our arrival. Gifting me the time I’d been gunning for when I’d decided to tag along on her family vacation.
I knew she was expecting others, but the way the fresh powder clung to the ground, piling higher by the second, made it clear it would cause delays. Which only meant we’d get more time alone.
When sleep stole her away with the lights gone and the whiskey she’d downed running strong in her veins, I slipped into the house. The door didn’t dare resist me. The deadbolt gave way beneath my pick quickly.
I stood over her resting form, huddled on the living room chair, and drank in the warmth radiating from her beauty. In slumber, her face softened into the kind of peace that made me yearn with a hunger I’d only ever felt near her. I had thought myself hollow after all these years, unable to dredge up a feeling for anything.
Ava changed that.
My hands hovered above her hair, trembling with the urge to claim what I’d already decided belonged to me months ago in our last group counseling session. But it wasn’t the right time. She wasn’t ready.
I waited until she started to stir, restlessly fighting against the blanket, soft whimpers breaking through her kissable lips, before I scurried out the front door.
Later, through the window, she moved about the firelit room, unaware of how close we were. How easily we could have been together. Every motion, every breath, tightened the hold she had on me.
I was steady, at first. Happy to watch her a little longer. But thenheentered the picture. Scott filled the cabin and took my place in her presence. I saw that look in his eye. The way hewatched her when her back was turned. The filthy old man wanted her. My stability cracked. My chest burned with a fury I hadn’t felt since Rebecca. Ava was meant for me. She was mine.
I wandered through the woods, putting distance between us before I did something I regretted. Something that made me lose my woman. I needed time to cool off. Reevaluate. Plan.
But when I saw them curled by the fire, naked in each other’s arms, my boot collided with the sturdy front door, like it was Scott’s face. The hit reverberated up my leg, shooting pain straight into my knee. But the physical pain didn’t compare to the way my heart shattered.
