The one that set my body on fire and left me smoldering ever since.
As it turns out, Ocean had succeeded in torturing me after all.
I was just starting to nod off again when I heard a knock at the cabin door. My heart—which knew it could only be him—started pounding, chasing away my grogginess as I stood from the bed. I cautiously entered the main room that wasn’t more than a kitchenette, couch, and fireplace, and looked around before slowly approaching the door.
I had no idea if it was even unlocked or if I was supposed to call out, but I wrapped my hand around the old knob. To my surprise, it wasn’t locked. And then I realized why Abel or Ocean hadn’t bothered.
At the bottom of the narrow porch, two armed guards stood sentry. Across the lake, I could see two more patrolling. There were probably more in the woods I couldn’t see because I was beginning to understand Ocean Kilpatrick.
A tiny whimper drew my attention down, and I gasped at finding a little brown and black pall of fur standing on its hind legs with tiny front paws on the lip of the wicker picnic basket. The puppy was so tiny, its head didn’t even reach the single arched handle. There was a red ribbon winding around the handle and another forming a bow at the front of the basket. It immediately made me think of Coby, who had worn one every day since her parents’ death.
“Aww, hi. Hello, pretty baby,” I greeted as I crouched to get a better look at the puppy. He looked like a tiny teddy bear with the sweetest face I’d ever seen. “Did the bad man leave you here all alone?”
The puppy whined and tried to rest his paw on my knee, but his little legs were too short.
“I guess we have that in common. Come on. Let’s get you inside.”
I let my gaze travel across the frozen lake one last time before lifting the basket and carrying both inside. The puppy was so small that he fit in the palm of my hand when I lifted him out of the basket. There was already a collar around his neck with a gold round name tag, but no name.
Hmm…
“What should I call you?” I asked rhetorically. He licked my palm and then started wriggling like he was restless, so I set him down before I could drop him. The puppy looked sort offierce, like he was always frowning, and his fur was mostly black with pops of brown, but I knew from all my research that he’d change colors after a few months. It also occurred to me that I didn’t even know if it was a boy or a girl. The red ribbon he was currently gnawing on didn’t leave me any clues. “You must be hungry,” I said as I watched him go to town.
I didn’t have food he could eat, and there was only a single toy in the basket, so I fished out the chew toy and tossed it on the floor. The puppy immediately let go of the ruined ribbon and pounced.
After a couple of hours playing with him, I went into the bedroom and capitulated even further by dressing in the cute lounge set—thick heather gray fleece leggings, a matching bra top, and a long cardigan that reached my ankles. There were slippers too with a white fur trim.
Ten minutes later, I was grateful for the clothes when I caught the puppy lifting his leg in the corner and rushed him out of the cabin. Abel had taken my shoes so that I’d think twice about escaping, and the slippers offered little to no protection in the snow, so I ended up hopping around while pleading with the puppy to do its business already. I’m sure we looked a sight to the guards who watched my every move.
At some point, my focus shifted from the puppy, who was currently sniffing a blade of frost-bitten grass as if it held the secrets to the universe, to the grandiose rustic mansion on the other side of the closed lake, with gold light shining through the many windows. I’d never seen anything like it.
Coby was in there.
I was starting to question less and less whether she was safe, while gradually accepting that if she was with Ocean, it was almost certain.
Still…
I discreetly searched the grounds for weaknesses and blind spots—somewhere I could slip through and see for myself that Coby was unharmed, happy, and living her best soft girl life.
It’s what she always wanted ever since she lost her parents and her brother began resenting her.
To be a part of a family again.
Once upon a time, I was dumb enough to believe that I could be family enough for her.
Maybe it was selfish of me to fight so hard to take this away from her if Ocean spoke the truth and it was what she wanted.
I stopped feeling my toes five minutes ago, so it took me too long to notice the puppy had stopped sniffing everything in sight and was now huddled on my slippered feet for warmth as its tiny body shivered violently.
“Time to go, cutie.” Bending down, I lifted the puppy, who climbed up my arm and tried to hide inside the cradle between my neck and shoulder. He was so small that he actually fit. Turning, I came to a stop when I saw that I had an audience. Ocean was sitting on the steps and leaning back with his elbow resting on the porch as if he was watching his favorite show. Abel stood next to him, glaring at me like he was daring me to make a move. I smiled a little, glad to see that the bodyguard knew very well I could end him.
Slowly, I made my way over to the cabin, but neither of them spoke a word as my gaze darted back and forth, wondering why they were here.
Abel was keeping his boss safe. That much was obvious. It was Ocean whose intentions remained unknown. Especially when I didn’t see Coby anywhere.
As soon as I was standing by Ocean’s foot, he spoke. “Good evening, Hunter.”
“Good evening,” I returned amicably. I didn’t want to piss him off and risk him taking my new friend away. I didn’t think hewas that kind of guy, but Ocean was unpredictable. Coby talked about him like he was Prince Charming or something, but I saw firsthand that he could be cruel, too.
