11. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Noah
This day ran away from me. Cassidy should have been asleep over an hour ago and now it was getting dark.
Which means dumb and dumber were sitting in the hunting cabin, either frozen to death or scared out of their minds.
Hopefully the latter. I have something I want to try on them.
It’s not without great effort that I tore myself away from the sleeping form of my girl and headed into my security room to check on the status of my prisoners.
The screens flicker to life as I click through the varying trail cams, landing on the one I want to see.
Not dead. Definitely feeling dejected though, if Mike’s body language was anything to go by. Dana was standing over his hunched-up form, screaming at him and gesturing wildly.
A coil of disgust rolls through me. I can’t believe I entertained the thought of her for those few weeks. She was nothing like my little minx, and everything I despised about the stupid fucks who come here.
Weak. Small. Empty-headed.
And she thought she would be with me?
Pathetic.
I click off the screens, grabbing my hunting knife and some rope I keep back here for special occasions. The kind that is strong and not easy to escape from. My gaze lands on my tranquillizer gun. That could be fun. Grabbing it, I take a few darts. Enough to tranquilize a moose. Quietly, I exit the room, pausing briefly to ensure my girl is long into dreamland.
The tea should knock her out for a while. I put some Valerian Root powder in it, which is pretty powerful as a sleep aid.
I watch her chest rise and fall, a slow rhythm that pulls me in, makes me want to wrap myself around her and never let go. But I have a job to finish first.
Just some loose ends to tie up before she can be mine. Forever.
Our cabin is waiting for us, but I can’t take her there until everything is safe.
Shit, I forgot to check her out of the retreat. Damnit. I make a mental note to do that when I’m done with Dana and Mike.
I grab my flashlight and head out into the woods, the sky growing darker with each passing minute until it swallows the light. The chill bites through my clothes as I make my way up the trail toward the hunting cabin. The wind is fierce, howling between the trees like it’s trying to tear them from the ground. It’s pitch black except for the beam cutting through the mist, illuminating the path only a few feet ahead at a time.
By the time I get close, Dana's screeching is loud enough to hear over the wind. Perfect. I click off my flashlight and move silently through the last stretch of woods, their voices growing louder and clearer.
“How the fuck can he just leave me here!” Dana shrills. “You, I understand, you’re a stupid, weak, spineless fuck! But me? How could he do this to me? NOAH! NOAH! Get your ass back here!”
Finally, something I can give you. My presence. Too bad it won’t be in the way you’d expect.
Mike mumbles something unintelligible back at her, probably trying to defend himself without much success.
Idiots. She actually thought she could come here and take Cassidy’s place? That I’d just abandon everything I’ve worked for because Dana decided she wanted a piece of this?
I slip up behind the cabin, peering in through the window. Mike is slumped on an upturned crate, his head buried in his hands. Dana is pacing in front of him like a caged animal, her breath visible as angry clouds in the cold air. They’re so caught up in their little drama they have no idea I’m watching.
Definitely more scared than dead. Time to show them what being hunted really feels like.
Putting a dart in the gun and placing the gun through the slit in the wall, I aim it at Dana. It’s a tough shot, given my only light is from the small gas lamp one of them figured out how to turn on.
Her screaming has become annoying enough that I cannot wait for it to cease. With precision, the dart flies from the gun, embedding itself in the side of her face. Whoops.
She yells, her hand coming up to grab at it, pulling it out and staring at it. “NOAH! What the fuck! No—”
Thunk.
One down, one to go.
At this point, Mike’s eyes are as wide as saucers, trying to see where I am, cowering in the corner. “Noah, please… let me go. I’ll never come back here. I’ll quit working at the retreat. Just, please. Let me go.”
No can do, sir. You’ve seen too much and somehow, entirely not enough.
I take aim and shoot, his dart finds it’s mark in his leg, as he screams. His scream is even worse than Dana’s. High-pitched. Nauseating.
Fucking pussy.
Pulling the gun out, I lean against the outer wall until I hear his body slump, knocking over the crate in the process.
Ahhhh, blissful silence.
I walk around the front and push open the cabin door. Grabbing Dana by her legs, I drag her limp body away from Mike’s, so I can start my work without bumping into one or the other. Taking the rope from my pack, I get to work, and within a few minutes I have them both tied up so securely that Houdini would have a tough time escaping. I double-check the knots before grabbing onto Dana’s wrists with both hands and pulling her toward the back of the cabin.
They deserve this. They’re lucky they got as far as they did.
The hang room is ready for them. Grabbing the gas lamp, I set it on the stainless-steel countertop, hissing my displeasure at the sight before me. It has stains from previous guests. Ones that Kairo and his friends have toyed with. Ones that didn’t make the cut for being good enough in their rot addled brains. Fucking dolt doesn’t ever clean up after himself. It is disgusting. I actually use this room for real meat.
Heaving, I hoist Dana up with ease, securing her on one of the hooks along the wall by the ropes tying her hands before heading back to grab Mike.
His body isn’t as light, but he still weighs around the same as an adult black-tailed buck. Easy lifting. His clothes catch and tear on the rough wood as I drag him into the room and drop him, making sure his hook is secure. Both of them look pathetic in their slack-jawed states, though Dana moans a little as consciousness starts to creep back in.
I lift Mike up and secure him onto his new resting place before stepping back to admire my handiwork. The ropes dig into their skin, holding them upright, while their heads loll forward like broken dolls.
I wipe my hands off on Mike’s jacket, a smirk playing at my lips as I watch Dana's eyes flutter open. “What… where…”
“Hey there,” I say, leaning against the wall with satisfaction swelling in my chest. “Comfortable?”
Dana struggles weakly against her restraints, panic lighting up in her eyes as she takes in her surroundings. Her voice comes out in a pathetic whine. “Noah, you motherfucker!”
“I’ve been called worse,” I say, letting the words roll off with amusement. “But right now, you’re the ones in a bit of a bind.”
She kicks uselessly, trying to swing herself free. I watch her flail for a few moments, enjoying the show as she spits and curses. Mike is still out cold. He won’t be waking up for a while judging by the twitching in his face.
“You think you can get rid of me like this?” Dana hisses, her voice cracking. “I’ll—”
“Yeah, I do,” I say, cutting her off with a casual shrug.
Her eyes burn into me with sheer hatred, and it’s almost touching how much she thinks that matters. As if she has any power left here.
“Cassidy doesn’t want you,” she sneers. “She’s going to run, just like Alannah. You don’t think I know about what you boys do up here? I know everything , Noah Cross.”
Not smart to admit to knowing my extracurricular activities, but Dana was never the most useful tool in my belt. I step closer, my presence looming over her as I run my fingers over her cheek. “We both know you have no idea what Cassidy wants.”
“She—”
“Try not to tire yourself out too much,” I say, standing back up and turning away from them both. “We’re going to be having all sorts of fun together.”
“She will never accept you for who you truly are, Noah! I have, I will!” Dana's renewed screaming follows me out of the cabin, and I shut the door tight behind me. The wind catches it just as it closes, slamming it hard enough that everything inside rattles. That should keep them occupied until morning. It’s too damn dark right now to do what I wanted to do.
The darkness welcomes me back like an old friend as I head down the trail toward Cassidy and the cabin. The wind wraps around me, and I can almost hear it whispering her name. Cassidy Cross . It’s only a matter of time before she sheds everything that’s holding her back and accepts what I’ve brought her here for.
To be my mountain goddess.
The light from the cabin spills out in a warm glow, a stark contrast to the cold shadows of the forest. She’s inside, passed the fuck out, resting. Tomorrow, I will take her down to the lodge and see how she behaves. See if she’s reformed enough for me to trust her in the company of others. If she can’t behave, then she will be punished. I expect her resistance. Welcome it, even. Seems like she’s going to keep me on my toes, and there’s something invigorating about that.
If she’s a good girl, she can stay at the lodge while I deal with my visitors. Maybe I’ll hire her into Dana’s position. Might keep her busy enough.
I could have had Dana or any number of the women who work for me. Any of the female guests as well. Many of the ones I’d fucked had been married, all in various states of rot. Soul rot. They weren’t worth any of this. The effort I put in here. They were enough to act as bed warmers back in cabin 12, but never quite hit the notes of what I need in the one . None of them were enough to quell the urges that live inside me. They hit on me, tried to seduce me, allowed me to use their bodies, and left disappointed. It was all so predictable. Boring.
But Cassidy… she’s different. Feisty. A challenge. Worth every second of this year-long wait.
I open the door quietly, not wanting to wake her. Setting my pack down just inside the door, I strip down to my boxers and set about making some coffee. She should be out for the night, which gives me time to rearrange her life for her.
The kettle is placed over the fire and I head back to my security room, grabbing my laptop and bringing it out to the living room before flopping onto the couch.
My Wi-Fi is slow as it boots up, but chokes to life and blinks, waiting for me to input my password. I type it out with an annoyed sigh as it takes several seconds to load my desktop. I’ll need to call the satellite company in the morning.
My notifications start piling in as the internet chugs along, and I lean back into the couch, content to sort out what needs to be done next.
Cassidy is an ember waiting for a gust of wind. A boulder teetering on the edge of a cliff. Her files sit on my desktop, and I open them up, flipping through browser tabs. It’s easy enough to change her life from here, to reshape everything she thought she knew into what she’s meant to become.
Message boards, online groups, new contracts, old friends.
I delete her account on a law forum first, then unfollow some of her connections on social media. Her old life starts slipping away, piece by piece. Next is an email from Stuart that makes me laugh out loud. It’s dated the night before I lopped his cock off.
Miss you tons! Call me when you get back from your retreat?
I suppose I should reply, just to give the illusion that I don’t know he’s dead in his bathtub. Checking over his socials, nothing new is posted so it’s safe to assume he didn’t make it.
My fingers hover over the keyboard before I type out a quick reply.
Don’t wait for me.
Then I hit send and watch it disappear into cyberspace like smoke.
She stirs in the bedroom, mumbling something unintelligible as she shifts under the covers. Her dreams are probably taking her places she doesn’t want to go yet. Places where her restraint reigns supreme and nothing else matters.
I smile as I post a picture I took of her on a hike. “Happy in paradise, might never come back.”
The notifications roll in.
You better! I miss you, girlfriend!
Yo! That looks amazing, fuck work, stay out there. That’s what I would do.
Monique’s name pops up and I click her message. Hey, girlfriend, haven’t heard from you in a while, how’s things going? Starting to get worried.
I laugh. Sorry, girl, I’ve been so busy! Met a guy up here. Gonna stay a while longer. Let the office know I won’t be back for an indeterminate amount of time. Chat soon xox
That should stave away any pretense of her coming back on her scheduled return date. Though, Monique is persistent, judging by these messages, and I’ll need to let Cass talk to her, or things might go sideways.
The kettle whistles, and I get up to go pour myself some coffee.
She’s a stubborn one, and it’s going to take time to break her in completely. I take a sip of the bitter brew, enjoying the way each drop burns as it goes down.
As I head back to my spot on the couch, Cassidy moans softly in the bedroom. She stirs again, tossing and turning, confirming what I knew already: she’s not ready to give in yet. She will be soon enough. Hopefully, she’s having good dreams of me, but nightmares will do just fine.
With her connections slowly severed, it becomes easier to imagine how isolated she must feel. How desperate she will become once she realizes there won’t be anything to go back to. Her remaining contacts will reinforce our narrative for her whether they want to or not; there won’t be anyone left who can help her escape me.
I set my mug down on the table and crack my knuckles before diving back into her files. There are still a few loose ends that need tying up, some names that need erasing from her life entirely. Carter is next on the list. He is a partner in her firm, and seeing the lewd emails he’s sent her, he deserves to die.
But I don’t have time to give him the justice he deserves for those disgusting photos he’s sent her, so instead, I screenshot them and send them to everyone in the firm. Because I’m generous, I include his clients as well.
Let it all burn.
Shaking my head, I wonder why the fuck she was holding onto this life so hard. It’s very clear these men don’t value her. They only want her body; they could give two fucks about her mind.
Not like I do.
After an hour, her life has been cleaned. Over the next few weeks, I will slowly phase her out of using socials entirely, leaving the world to believe she’s decided a life in the woods is what she’s chosen.
With a smile, I close my laptop and lean back, shutting my eyes for a moment.
It’s all coming together.
The only thing left is to get rid of my pesky guests and see if Cassidy will be obedient enough to take a trip down to the lodge.
I’d hate to have to kill everyone in the place if she isn’t.
But if it comes to that, I will do what’s necessary to keep her here.
Keep her mine .