We walk in silence. Nearly an hour goes by in angry quiet as I follow that woman through the woods. I pass the time by imagining how damn good it will feel to leave Carbon Ridge behind me and get back to Lone Mesa. Yeah, it’ll suck telling Stone about the cargo we lost, and it’ll sure suck explaining to our customers why we’re days behind schedule, but I’ll gladly take the ire of my club president and the bitching of a whiny customer over Violet Cassidy and her silent treatment any day.
That hour takes us to our first cabin. A rundown thing wit ha moss-covered roof that looks ready to collapse in on itself if even a stray pine cone crashes in to it.
It’s deserted.
“Fuck,” Violet snaps. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
“Keep quiet,” I say. “Sound carries a long fucking way in the woods like this and you never know who might be listening.”
She doesn’t answer. Just turns on her heel and starts toward our next target. I follow, and about every five minutes I think about turning around and just leaving her to her fate. Maybe a night alone in the woods would fix her temper.
The second cabin is even further on, deeper in the valley. And also empty.
The sight of it brings out another storm of curses from Violet. This time, I don’t even remind her to be quiet. The less I have to talk to her, the better.
Another hour passes before we reach the third cabin. We’re past the time we’re supposed to rendezvous with Blaze, but I doubt I could convince Violet to turn around without checking this last cabin. And I sure as hell will not leave her to face these Death’s Disciples on her own. Yes, she might be acting like a bitch, but there’s no way I’d leave her to face even a risk of running into Switchblade.
The third cabin is empty.
And in just as bad of shape as the other two. A neglected relic of some dead hunter’s hideout. Maybe at one time it was a serviceable place, but those days are long gone.
Violet doesn’t react at first. For the longest time, she just stares at the empty cabin, with her back to me and her arms hanging down limp at her sides.
Then, in one sudden movement, she drops to her knees, her head cradled in her hands, and her body shaking with sobs.
I rush to her side. Forget about every angry thought, every single resentment or bit of frustration, and I throw my arms around her and pull her to my chest. She sobs, body wracked with pain and sorrow, and her tears soak through my jacket and my shirt to the bare skin of my chest.
“Where is she?” She says. “Where is my friend?”
For a time, I don’t answer. How can I when I don’t even know what to say to her? With each empty cabin, this feeling of dread and desperation grew, further and further, as the idea that we might never locate Kendra, or that it might already be too late to save her, grows from this nagging doubt at the corner of the mind to a disgusting reality staring us right in the face.
So I do what I can: hold her, give her a shoulder and a chest to cry on, and soak up every bit of pain and sorrow she’ll give to me.
Who knows how long we sit there; I don’t count the time and I don’t think Violet is aware of anything other than the fear of losing her best friend that is gnawing at her heart.
Then the wind changes.
It’s subtle at first, a slight chill that comes as the wind switches from east to west. But that brief moment of peaceful change gives way to a thunderous darkening of the sky, a flash of lightning that tears through the fierce clouds above us, and the descent of soft, pillow flakes of snow.
She shivers in my grip.
Another flash of lightning reflects in her misty blues.
“We should leave, we need to go find…” her words end in a clap of thunder and a howling wind that cuts right to the bone with its frightening frost.
I hold her tighter, for warmth as much as comfort.
“We can’t,” I shout. She’s inches away, but I have to scream to be heard over the violent wind. “He’ll be fine, be we need to get inside.”
Doubt and anger flash through her eyes. Is it anger at giving up the search? Or is it at being trapped with me?
“Where?”
I point at the rotting cabin. “There.”
Shivering takes hold of her so violently she can’t respond. In seconds, the temperature drops another ten degrees, heat chased away by the smothering snow and the screaming wind. My fingers tingle as the first bite of hypothermia sets in.
“No time to argue, slugger,” I say as I heft her in my arms and toss her over my shoulder with a grunt. She’s heavy, but it’s more from her equipment than anything else.
I trudge through the snow that’s quickly piling at my feet.
We need to get inside and we need to stay warm. And, if this storm doesn’t pass soon, it doesn’t matter whether Blaze finds Kendra, because we’ll all be dead.
Chapter Fifteen
Violet
Trapped in a cabin with a man who terrifies and excites me. Who deals in death one second and then soothes me with his hidden tender heart the next. Temptation and fear all combined in one fierce and handsome package. What kind of hell is this?
He carries me into the ruined cabin. I don’t want to be here. Don’t want to be trapped with him. I’d rather be anywhere but here, to be honest. But mostly,
