Chapter 16
MELANIE
That night, I lay in my crib—Jesus—and stare up at the ceiling. There’s enough light for me to see, thanks to the moonlight streaming through the window and the cute little cloud nightlight plugged into an outlet just a few feet from me.
I need an escape plan. As much as it pains me to admit, Axel was right about my initial attempt to get away from them by simply running into the woods. That plan was guaranteed to get me one thing and one thing only.
Dead.
So I need a new plan. According to the lumberjacks, there’s only one road in and out of here, and it’s snowed in for another few days at least.
But that seems… irresponsible of them, at the very least. What if someone really did have a medical emergency? Surely they have some way of getting into town even in the heavy snows.
A snowmobile, maybe? The thought takes root in my mind and refuses to let go. Yeah. That has to be it.
But where would they keep it?
Axel mentioned a barn. That seems like the most logical place to hide a snowmobile, and perhaps other items I can use in my escape.
I just have to get to the barn first.
Sitting up in the crib, I run my hands over the top bar of the side wall or whatever it’s called. Axel lowered it earlier, when he put me to bed, so I know it can be moved.
There has to be a latch of some kind. There!
I resist the urge to crow in triumph when my fingers brush over something metal. It takes me another few minutes to figure out the actual mechanism, but eventually I manage to flip both latches.
The wall slides down with a deafening crash. Or maybe it only sounds deafening to me because it’s so silent in the room otherwise. Either way, I freeze, going perfectly still as I wait for Axel to come barreling through the nursery door to spank my ass.
When several seconds tick by with no angry Daddy storming into my room, I let out a slow, shaky breath and will my racing heart to calm as I climb down out of the bed.
Okay. I’m out of the crib. Now how the fuck do I get out of this room?
There are only two ways that I’m aware of. I can go through the window and take my chances dropping down into the snow from the second floor of this giant house.
Or I can sneak through Axel’s room.
Going through the window presents multiple problems. The first being that I’m not even sure the window opens.
For all I know it’s locked or something.
And even if I can get it open and I can jump down into the snow without getting injured, I’m currently wearing nothing but one of Axel’s giant shirts and a pair of his thick, fuzzy socks.
That snowmobile isn’t going to do me any good if I die of hypothermia before I get to town.
My boots, or rather the boots Auntie Gray let me borrow, are still downstairs by the front door along with all their outdoor gear. It’s all way too big on me, but for my purposes, it could work.
Just have to get downstairs first.
With slow, careful steps, I creep toward the door separating my room from Axel’s and grip the knob. Holding my breath, I give it a painstakingly slow turn, wincing with every creak and scrape of the metal until the door pops open.
His room, like mine, is lit by moonlight, though there’s no cute little nightlight to help guide my way.
Stepping inside, I give my eyes a moment to adjust to the new terrain as I scan my surroundings.
In the giant bed, Axel lays sprawled on his stomach, his bare back glinting in the pale glow through the windows.
My mouth waters at the sight of him. Before now, I wouldn’t have said I had a thing for large men. But there’s something about him, about all that raw, unbridled power locked inside one person that has my heart beating triple-time in my chest.
If I wasn’t currently trying to escape him, I’d be tempted to climb into his bed and…
Stop that. You are trying to escape so get on with it, already.
Right. Forcing my gaze away from the giant in the bed, I creep toward his bedroom door, again slowly turning the knob and praying the sound doesn’t wake him even though it sounds loud enough to wake the dead.
But I make it without disturbing him and with one last look for my so-called husband, I slip out into the hallway.
Toward freedom.
Axel
What is my little runaway bride up to now?
In the dark, I watch her sneak over to the door and turn the knob so slowly I almost wonder if she’s moving at all until it pops open and she slips out into the dark hallway.
Maybe she wants a snack. If that’s the case, she will definitely be going over Daddy’s knee for a stern reminder that when I put her in bed she’s meant to stay in bed.
But if that’s not all she’s after, well…
Throwing off the covers, I slip from my bed and pull on a sweatshirt and a pair of pajama pants.
And, just in case she’s up to something more malicious than just sneaking a snack, I pull the thick leather belt from my jeans before following her into the hallway.
She’s already halfway downstairs, moving just as slowly as she did in my bedroom, and I have to fight back a smile at how adorably Little she looks.
Exactly like a child sneaking downstairs to see if they can catch a peek of Santa on Christmas Eve.
I follow with equally slow steps, careful to not make a sound and alert my little runaway to any potential danger to her bottom. My palm is positively itching to connect with her bare ass again, but I want to know exactly what I’m punishing her for before I make my move.
So I follow her down the stairs but not, to my disappointment, the kitchen. Instead my Little girl makes a beeline straight for the front door, where she plops down onto her diaper-clad bottom to pull on the boots Gray loaned her to play in the snow earlier.
What the hell is she up to?
From the shadows, I watch her lace up one boot and then the other before pushing back up to her feet and reaching for a jacket.
Not the one I put her in to go play this afternoon, but a larger one that falls down to her knees.
Wrapped up in the jacket, she grabs a scarf and then a hat, and reaches for the deadbolt on the front door.
Okay, so whatever it is she wants, it’s outside. Does she just want to go play? Or is this some new harebrained escape plan?
She slips outside, pulling the door shut behind her and I shake my head as I cross the room to turn the alarm off. Last thing I need is the security company calling and freaking everyone out.
Grabbing my own jacket, I shove my feet into my boots and slip out into the night behind my naughty Little girl.
Thankfully for my blood pressure and her ass, she doesn’t head for the woods like I was half worried she would. If she had, I would be cutting several switches and wearing every single one out on her bare bottom for putting herself in that kind of danger again.
But apparently she’s learned her lesson, at least about trying to escape into the woods, because she hugs the side of the house as she makes her way through the snow with clumsy, stumbling steps. Every few feet she pauses, her head swiveling as she scans her surroundings.
Looking for something. But what?
I get my answer when we round the corner of the house and she takes off at what could generously be called a run toward the barn where we keep three snowmobiles in case of an emergency.
Clever girl.
I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out her plan, but I want to be absolutely sure before I decide how severe her punishment should be, so I follow her to the barn.
The lights inside are motion activated, so I have a perfectly clear view of my babygirl, tugging at the large tarp covering one of the snowmobiles.
Schooling my expression into stern lines, I step into the entrance of the barn and fold my arms over my chest. “What are you doing, little girl?”
Lanie jumps, her terrified scream piercing the night air as she spins and slaps a hand over her chest. “Axel! What are you doing out here?”
“I believe I asked you first.”
Even in the dark, I can see the way her cheeks redden. Hands behind her back, she shifts nervously from foot to foot, looking for all the world like a naughty Little girl who just got caught doing something she shouldn’t. “Umm. I was just… exploring.”
“Exploring. Outside. In the freezing cold. Without any pants on.”
“It sounds bad when you say it like that,” she whines.
“Well, how would you say it, then?” I gesture toward her with one hand. “Go on. I’m listening.”
“I put on a jacket. And a scarf, and a hat. And your socks are so big they’re kinda like really thick stockings which are almost like pants.”
“Melanie—” I pause, realizing for the first time I have no idea what her full name is. “What’s your middle name?”
She sighs, sounding so put upon I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. “Brynne.”
“Melanie Brynne Thorne.” I deliberately use my last name to remind her that she now belongs to me. “Tell Daddy the truth right now. Were you going to try and steal one of our snowmobiles?”
“Not steal. Just… borrow.”
“I see. And where were you planning to go with your borrowed snowmobile?”
“Anywhere but here,” she snaps, her eyes snapping with fire as she jerks her chin up to glare at me. “Into town to find the sheriff, probably, so I can tell him all about how you and your horrible siblings kidnapped me and beat me and held me hostage.”
“Sheriff Donnelly would love that story. She’s never quite trusted us. Not sure why.”
“Maybe because you hold people against their will and force them to be your babies?”
“Nah, can’t be it. You’re the first.”
Her frustrated shriek nearly has me losing my fight against the laughter bubbling in my chest. She really is adorable when she’s angry.
But adorable or not, she has also been very, very naughty.
Reaching into the pocket of my jacket, I pull my belt free, letting the leather dangle from my hands as Lanie’s eyes go round with fear.
“Unfortunately, your trip to town is going to have to wait, babygirl. Clearly my lesson on trying to escape and putting yourself in danger didn’t stick the first time.
Daddy is going to rectify that right now. ”