Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
FIONA
Somehow, the American customs agent didn’t pick up on my anxiety or Seb’s grumpy aloofness, even though they fill the car interior like smoke.
I never mentioned the exact location of my father’s cabin to Seb, and I think he thought we’d be going somewhere in Canada.
As soon as he realized we were headed back to the States, he tried to convince me to consider another location.
But when I told him that Detective Lin, the VPD investigator who acquired my case from Officer Theo, contacted me before we left and thought going back to the US would be a good choice, Seb conceded.
Even though I couldn’t provide a photo of Dennis, he had a driver license, so after some cross-border paperwork, the VPD was able to get his picture, albeit an older one, on file.
The detective had Dennis’s description sent to every border agency from here to Maine.
I was also cautioned not to tell anyone where we were going, so Detective Lin is literally the only person who knows right now.
Also thankfully, Seb carries his NEXUS card in his wallet so he was allowed to cross the border without his passport. (That was a possible complication I didn’t consider when we left. My bad.)
My left foot won’t stop tapping, nervous energy coursing through my body as I check the mirror every few minutes.
Is someone following us?
We’ve been traveling for about an hour and just made it to Washington. The snowfall thickens the closer we get to Mount Baker. The fields are covered in a pristine white blanket, the landscape much calmer than my racing heart.
“Are you okay?” Seb’s deep voice startles me, and my hands tighten reflexively on the steering wheel.
“I’m fine.” I glance at him, and he raises an eyebrow. “What?” I snap.
“You seem super relaxed is all,” Seb says, his voice somehow dripping with both concern and sarcasm.
How does he do that?
I roll to a halt at a stop sign just as we’re entering the little town of Flurry.
My tires spin in the snow and slush before they catch.
The name feels a little too appropriate at the moment.
Streetlights cast bluish-yellow streaks across the icy road, and the odd person trudges down the sidewalk, stopping to stare as we pass.
“Fuck,” I mutter. “I’m an idiot. Everyone is going to remember a red BMW sliding through the snow in this small-ass town.”
“You probably should have told me where we were going,” Seb says for the hundredth time.
“You knew my dad owned a cabin in the woods.” I crawl through town at a snail’s pace, feeling the snow tug at my tires as the steering wheel pulls against my shaking hands.
Washingtonians are infamous for being terrible drivers in inclement weather.
I wish I could say I was different, but I’m one of those people who has to turn down the radio to see better.
“Fiona, if I had known that we were literally headed up a mountain in the middle of winter, I would have insisted on borrowing Marcus’s work truck.”
I squint at the grocery store. It looks closed. “Guess we’re going to get food tomorrow.”
By the time I reach the road that winds up the mountain, the lights from Flurry are swallowed up by the shadowed evergreen forest, and I have to turn my wipers on high to see through the sleet.
My chest feels tight, and my palms are slippery.
Something flickers across my vision. Probably an animal. I glance left and tap my brakes, but I don’t see anything.
The car swerves, sliding on the snow, and Seb tenses next to me, his arm slinging across my chest like an overprotective parent. I ease off the brakes, letting the car come to a stop on its own.
“Are you okay?” Seb looks at me, his eyes wide. Breathing hard, my gaze drops to where Seb’s forearm is crushing my breasts against my body, and he jerks back quickly. “Shit, sorry.”
I give him a small smile. “It’s okay.”
Honestly, I’m glad he came with me because I’m a mess. My hair is heavy and damp against my neck, so I pull the scrunchie off my wrist and twist the strands into a high bun. Then, I rub my hands on my jeans, take a deep breath, and press the gas gingerly.
My little car begrudgingly inches forward, and I resume the drive, taking a right off of Highway 542 and onto a gravel road.
This cabin is the one spot that I’m sure Dennis never knew about.
My dad left it to Daisy, but I convinced her to put it in my name during one of her sober-ish stints when I was eighteen, so I’m the only one with keys to the place.
My mom owned so many vacation homes that I doubt she remembered this place beyond signing the paperwork.
I have vague memories of my dad. He had brownish-red hair with a beard, and he smiled a lot.
He brought me out here a few times before he left when I was five.
People say you don’t recall many memories from when you’re that young, but I remember helping him stack firewood, roasting marshmallows, and wading through the glacier-fed stream with his strong hand holding me steady.
It’s one of the few places I’ve always felt safe.
Of course, I’ve never come up in the winter because the roads are practically impassable, but what choice do I have now?
I catch another flicker of movement to my right , and I turn the wheel sharply to avoid it.
The car fishtails, and I turn the other way, overcorrecting my trajectory.
The headlights bounce crazily, casting shadows through the trees, making my head spin.
Something crashes onto the hood, and I scream, the sound ripping raggedly from my already dry throat.
Seb’s hand reaches for mine, our fingers tangling together.
The front of the car careens into a ditch, and the airbag explodes against my face and chest. My ears ring and a burning smell assaults my nose. The world goes black.
Someone’s groaning. I open my eyes, blurry shapes sliding in and out of focus. Someone groans again.
Seb.
My collarbone aches as I push down the deflated airbag. A pair of soft, frightened brown eyes meet my gaze. A small rabbit is nestled in a dent in the car’s hood, its little pink nose twitching nervously as it stares back at me.
“Hey little bunny,” I croak.
It must have fallen from a tree?
“Did you just call me little bunny?” Seb asks groggily.
Despite the situation, I laugh.
Now that the engine isn’t running, the outside chill is seeping in, and I can already see my breath. I shove the airbag aside and turn to Seb. He’s also struggling against his airbag, a dribble of blood coming from a small cut above his eyebrow. My stomach twists at the sight.
“Shit, Seb, you’re hurt!” I unbuckle my seatbelt, leaning over to push the hair off his forehead so I can inspect the injury. His eyes widen when I touch him. “Does that hurt?” I don’t know why, but I’m whispering.
He shakes his head quickly and swallows. My eyes drop to his Adam’s apple as it dips with the movement. We stare at each other, our lips inches apart, his breath warm against my skin. My heart beats faster.
Did he just move closer to me?
My hand is cradling one side of his head where I’m still holding back his hair. The strands are so soft.
His eyes catch movement behind me, and he squints. “Is that a rabbit?”
“Uh, yeah.” I sit back, the tension breaking between us. The rabbit spooks and jumps off the hood, disappearing into the darkness.
I glance around, wondering what else is out there besides flying rabbits.
Most predators are probably hibernating, right?
I manage to shove open my door and fall out into the snowy ditch, one of my knees hitting a rock. “Dammit!”
I sit back, panting, and run my hands over my body, checking for injuries while I ignore the cold seeping through my jeans. Nothing seems to hurt too much.
Seb crawls out of his side and stumbles around the car. He extends his hand when he reaches me and pulls me up.
“Are you hurt?” he asks, eyeing me critically, and I shake my head despite the ache in my collarbone and the way my knee throbs.
We scramble out of the ditch and turn to stare at the sad state of my little car.
Seb sighs. “You’re going to need a tow for sure, and who knows if anything else is broken.” He rubs his hands together and blows on them. Flakes of snow cling to his lashes and his dark hair. “I’m not a car guy, but you hit the embankment pretty good.”
Seb pulls out his phone, and I lunge for his wrist, pulling it down, and he stumbles on the icy road. “What the fuck, Fi?”
“Sorry,” I mumble, gripping his coat sleeve to help him balance. “But can we talk about this? Who’re you calling?”
“I was going to call Charlie. Her and the guys are closest to us.”
“No!” My grip tightens, my knuckles whitening. “No one can know where we are. It could put them in danger.”
Seb blows out a frustrated breath. “It’s late, Fiona. Who else is going to help us? Do you just happen to know someone with a truck?”
“Actually, I do,” I mumble, and Seb gives me a confused look while I pull out my phone and pull up Brantley’s contact.
I know that he’ll come if I ask, but do I want him involved in this?
I told him I was going on a weekend trip when I saw him earlier today.
My feelings have been in turmoil since he showed up at the pub the other day.
I can see that he’s concealing so much pain and loss, and while I want to take it all away, I also can’t forget that he broke my fucking heart.
It’s a convoluted emotional mess, but that’s future me’s problem.
I hit the call button before I can overthink it.
Brantley answers almost immediately. “Fi?”
My breath catches on a sob. “B?” The stress of the last day seems so heavy, and hearing his voice is triggering. My emotional dam breaks, and I let out a whimper, turning away from Seb.
“Jesus, Fi. What’s going on?” His voice is pitched high with panic. “Tell me you’re okay.”
I scrub a hand over my eyes. “We’re okay, B. My car broke down, so we just need a ride. That’s all.” I try to keep the quiver from my voice.
Seb lets out a frustrated sigh behind me, and I turn back to him, giving him an apologetic look. I know they don’t like each other, but B is our best option.
There’s a long pause before B speaks. “Who’s ‘we’?”
“Sebastian is here with me.”
There’s another long pause, and this time he sounds a little more upbeat. “Keep me on the phone and text me your location.”
“Okay.” I pull up a text and enter my dropped pin, watching the little blue bar at the top of the screen struggle to send. I sigh with relief when it seems to go through.
“Is this a good idea, Fi?” Seb asks, and I jump when I realize how close he is to my side. “He could be drunk for all we know.”
“I can hear you, Bastian,” B snaps.
I place a hand against Seb’s chest and give him a warning look. His gaze darkens, and his eyes drop to where my fingers are splayed against his pec. “Did you get the text, B?”
“Yes, I got it.” He pauses a minute. “Wait, you’re over an hour away. In Washington? What the fuck is going on, Fi?”
“That’s not really important, B. Are you coming or not?”
He sighs. “Of course I’m coming. I’ll get dressed and leave now.” Then he hangs up. I stare at the screen until it darkens, then glance over at Seb. His expression is skeptical. “Do you have something to say?” I ask.
“He’s coming because he feels guilty, Fi.” Seb is practically yelling, and I take a step back.
“Why are you so upset?”
He pins me with an intense look, his azure eyes giving me chills. “Why are you begging him for help when I’ve been trying to help all along? He’s not a knight in shining armor, Fiona.”
“You think I don’t know that? I wouldn’t ask him if I had a choice. He’s our best option.” I inch closer until my breasts practically brush his chest. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me we should put your sister and her boyfriends in harm’s way instead.”
We stare at each other like a pair of stubborn children before he finally looks away. “Fine. But I don’t have to like it,” he growls. “And he better be sober when he gets here.” Then Seb turns and storms back to my car.