Chapters (30)
Thanking the lady, I handed the phone over and headed out to the snowmobile. I don’t remember the ride back to the house. Only that when I slid off the snowmobile, I realized I’d left my helmet back at the lodge. I hadn’t even felt the whipping wind of the flight here. I was numb as I stumbled through the snow.
I saw the tracks first. Not snowmobile tracks, but two separate sets of slashes that came from around the side of the house, like the kind skis made or from dragging feet through the snow.
My stomach flipped.
Had Kyler come back while I’d been at the lodge? And had he brought Sasha with him?
I stared at the marks in the snow. No. No way would he be that bold. Unless he just didn’t care. Oh God, I couldn’t even think about that. I pressed a mitten-covered hand against the front of my jacket. If he was in there with Sasha, I was going to kick him in the junk.
The back of my throat burned as a sharp pain sliced across my chest. Blinking back tears, I turned to the garage door. It wasn’t closed all the way, and the gap in the bottom was a lot bigger than I’d left it.
I briefly considered going back to the lodge and waiting however long it took my parents to get here, but since I was a complete idiot, I hadn’t told my parents I’d be at the lodge. They’d come here first and besides, I had to pack up my stuff.
I could do this. I wasn’t going to be a baby and run. It was bad enough that I’d called my parents. I could do this.
Forcing one foot in front of the other, I hastily wiped at the tear sneaking onto my cheek. Knowing with my luck the sucker would freeze on my face, and the whole world would know I was seconds away from bawling like a kid being told Santa wasn’t real.
I’d cried then.
I was about to cry again.
As I reached the garage door, I wondered why Kyler had parked out back. That part didn’t make any sense, but I really didn’t give a crap at this point. The ache in my chest got worse. Lifting the door, I took a deep breath and it got caught in my throat.
I blinked slowly, thinking I’d stumbled into an episode of Law and Order.
Two men were kneeling at the back of Kyler’s SUV, by the rear tire. Black ski masks covered their faces. One held a wicked-looking knife, dragging it through the thick black tire, and the other held a baseball bat. Both were staring at me. They started to rise.
Oh crap.