14
Santa's House. Somewhere in the North Pole.
Q uinn was not gonna go down today. She had too much life left to live, damn it, and she had a novel to write. More scared and more determined than she’d ever been in her life, she waited.
Holding steady on the trigger, her finger itching to press and let it fly, the sniffing grew closer. When the sniffing gave way to raucous barking, she nearly flew twenty feet in the air. For a brief moment, Quinn’s panicked mind jumped to a wolf, but then sweet relief washed over her when she realized it was a dog. A dog . She could have cried. The bear spray dropped out of her hand as her body slumped with relief. It was a dog barking, and just like that, fear was replaced with hope. It suddenly dawned on her how stupid she’d been. It was winter. Bears hibernate in the winter. The cold must be numbing not only her body but her brain.
A tawny masked face with a black snout poked through the pine boughs sniffing at her and then the head of a German Shepherd nudged past the boughs and excited golden brown eyes took in the sight of her. Quinn’s heart nearly burst. Never had she been so glad to see a dog, and he looked as if he’d found a missing toy, he was so pleased with himself. The sweet furry beast barked excitedly at finding her. She laughed as her body coursed with pent-up adrenaline. Reaching out, she let him sniff her before she ruffled his ears.
“Hello, Beautiful,” she cooed.
“C’mon, outta there.” She heard a man’s voice call. Another wave of relief washed over her. Oh, thank God, a person! Her furry newfound friend rushed off at the call of his master. The wind and snow were still swirling like a tempest, but Quinn quickly got herself out of her makeshift shelter.
“Wait,” she cried out, hearing the panic in her voice. The blessed dog bounded back to her. She could just make out a large dark figure coming towards her. Her mind briefly flew to Mean Hot Cop, but there was no way in hell she’d run into him up here.
“I’m lost,” she called out over the roar of the wind.
The figure approached her, but it was hard to see much other than his size in the blowing snow and darkness of the evening.
“Come.” His voice was calm through the whipping of the wind. It didn’t matter to her that he was a total stranger and could be an axe murderer for all she knew. He was her only hope tonight, so she followed him without question.
The world had become a dizzying snow globe with no clear direction, but somehow, the man seemed to know where he was going. It wasn’t easing keeping up while he moved almost stealthily through thick snow, but Quinn worked hard to stay close on his heels. She wasn’t going to risk losing sight of her only hope of survival tonight.
It felt like they trudged through the blowing snow for ages. Her toes had lost feeling, and she felt exhausted. Quinn looked up as they came across a log cabin. It seemed like a mirage after the hellish hike. Emotion swept through her at seeing a warm light glowing through the window. She could’ve wept at the site. The past couple of hours of her life had been so intense, so surreal. She’d genuinely wondered if she’d freeze to death if this would be her last day on this earth. She shuttered thinking about it. It was hard to process all that had occurred.
“Oh, thank God.” She let out a shaky breath.
The man got the door open and let her in. Quinn almost lost her footing as her dog saviour barrelled past her. The first thing her eyes took in was a modest fire crackling in a stone fireplace. From her current perspective, she was certain that it was the most beautiful and welcoming sight she’d ever laid eyes on. Despite being colder than she ever knew was possible, the relief of being inside this warm inviting cabin spread over her like a drizzle of hot caramel on an ice cream sundae.
“Here come, take off yer coat and warm by the fire. I’ll make ye a hot drink.” Oh, shit. That voice. That accent. The cop. No way . She thought he was supposed to be on holiday. Her stomach sank. God, she was an idiot. She spied him as he pulled off his snow gear. How did she not recognize him sooner? That tall broad frame. His dog. Good Lord, her brain really must be frozen.