“I told you,” I replied softly, mesmerized by the sentiment in her eyes. “I’ll always protect you, Alexis.”
She smiled and returned to work, cleaning my hand, wrist and the graze on my arm. Once everything was clean, she applied antibacterial ointment and placed bandages over the cuts.
“Okay, I think that’s the best I’m going to do. Florence Nightingale, I am not.”
“You did a good job,” I said, observing the bandages. Expelling a deep breath, I rested my head back on the couch. “I’m wondering if I should leave the bodies here or burn them so they don’t decompose.”
“Let them rot,” she said, her nostrils flaring. “Fucking assholes.” Her tone softened as she gazed at the bodies. “Shit. John’s really not going to like that we killed more of his men.”
“I killed them. You’re just a victim in this shitty situation. Let’s find their phones and see if we can call Michael.”
“I’ll do it,” she said, rising. “You rest.”
I wanted to argue with her, but exhaustion was quickly setting in so I nodded.
She felt inside both their pockets and retrieved their phones. Returning to the couch, she held both up high, searching for a signal, and cursed.
“There’s no signal on either.”
“We’re somewhere in Upstate New York, and the service is spotty here. Lots of rural hunting areas that don’t have cell towers.”
“Let’s find the car keys and get the fuck out of here,” she said, standing again. “I don’t want to be in this place one second longer.
Guilt gnawed at me for not burning the men’s bodies. Even though they were despicable, I thought it honorable to dispose of the bodies so they wouldn’t decompose. But time was of the essence, and they’d mentioned a blizzard was coming, so I understood the need to get on the road.
Alexis searched through their pockets, finding the keys and holding them high. “Found them,” she said, jiggling them. “Let’s go.”
I rose slowly, holding my head as the room spun, and she rushed over to steady me.
“You okay? Slow down, big guy. We don’t need to run.”
“I don’t have any shoes...”
She gnawed her lip as she eyed the body of the taller man. “You’re going to have to wear his shoes, pants and jacket. Sorry, but that’s the best we can do.”
She walked over and tugged off the man’s pants and shoes before grabbing his jacket from the hook by the door. I pulled on the pants and then sat and slipped on the shoes, thankful they were big enough. After shrugging on the jacket, I inhaled a deep breath and stood. “You’re going to have to drive. I think I have a concussion.”
“No prob,” she said, gliding her arm around my waist. “Come on.”
We walked toward the front door and pulled it open as I leaned on her for support.
“Jesus, it’s fucking freezing,” she said as we stepped onto the porch. “And that wind is insane.” Her hair whipped in her face as we began to descend the stairs.
Suddenly, our heads snapped up as we heard a loud creak. The huge tree beside the SUV parked in the driveway seemed to sway in a strange direction as we both observed it. Time felt like it was moving in slow motion as the tree snapped and fell in one huge swoop directly on top of the SUV.
The vehicle was crushed immediately, and the damage was clearly beyond repair.
Alexis’s gaze met mine as a tiny fleck of snow landed on her nose. Her chin trembled as realization dawned on us both.
“We’re fucking stranded here,” she said, fear lacing her features. “Without service, in freezing weather, with a blizzard coming.”
Gliding my arm over her shoulders, I offered comfort as I accepted the inevitable.
“We’re stuck, princess,” I said, kissing her soft hair to soothe her. “I monitored the drive on the gravel, and it would take hours for us to walk to the main road. I can’t chance it with a concussion, knowing how cold it is and that a storm is coming. If we get stranded in the woods in a blizzard, that’s much worse than being stranded here.”
Her throat bobbed. “What the fuck are we going to do?”
Sighing, I gently turned her to lead her back inside.
