Chapter 35 Holly
HOLLY
They're here.
I stand at the window and watch two black SUVs carve their way through the fresh powder, their headlights cutting into the gray afternoon.
A cold, sharp fear lodges itself between my ribs and spreads through my chest like ice water.
The SUVs stop in front of the lodge, and six armed men in black tactical gear pour out like ants. Followed by two men dressed in expensive coats and large fur hats.
The first is older. Tall and wide, with a face carved from granite. Even from this distance, I can feel the coldness radiating from him.
An instinctive recognition slams through me. Even though I've never seen this man before in my life.
But something buried in my DNA recognizes him anyway.
Predator.
Monster.
My grandfather.
The second man is younger, handsome in a cruel sort of way. Less overtly intimidating, but there's something in the way he moves that sets my teeth on edge. Like a predator wearing human skin.
A woman climbs out of the car and joins them. She’s young and glamorous and looks like she’d rather be anywhere but here.
I watch them cross the snow toward the front porch, their boots leaving deep tracks behind them. Then they disappear from view beneath the overhang, and I'm left staring at nothing but falling snow and armed men securing the perimeter.
I'm shaking so badly, I have to grip the windowsill to stay upright.
This is really happening.
I close my eyes and think about my mom. About her wild heart and spirit, and the courage she showed to defy this man. And when I open my eyes again, I know her strength is with me.
Nikolai was right.
Today this ends.
After thirty years, it fucking ends.