Chapter 31
JADE
Iwake up to a world that's disappeared.
The window is nothing but white. Not the soft, pretty white of yesterday's snowfall, but an angry, churning wall of it, so thick I can't see the trees that were visible just hours ago. The wind howls like something alive and furious, rattling the cabin, making the whole structure groan.
Phoenix is already out of bed. I can hear him moving around the place, and a moment later, the smell of coffee reaches me. I pull the blanket tighter and watch the storm rage outside.
"It's bad."
I turn to find him standing by the kitchenette, two mugs in hand. He's wearing jeans and a thermal henley that clings to his chest in ways I'm trying very hard not to notice. His hair is messy, his jaw shadowed with stubble, and he looks like a model out of an LL Bean catalog.
"How bad?" I ask, sitting up and accepting the coffee he offers.
"Blizzard. White-out conditions." He moves to the window, staring out at the wall of white like he can intimidate it into submission. "I'm going to check the road."
"In this?"
"I'll be fine."
Before I can argue, he's pulling on his jacket and boots. A blast of icy wind tears through the cabin when he opens the door, and then he's gone, swallowed by the storm.
I sit there, clutching my coffee, trying not to worry. It doesn’t go well.
Twenty minutes later, the door bursts open and Phoenix stumbles inside, covered in snow, his face red from the cold. He kicks the door shut and leans against it, breathing hard.
"Well?" I ask.
"It's impassable." He pulls off his gloves and runs a hand through his snow-crusted hair. "The road is buried under at least three feet of snow, and it's still coming down hard. We're not going anywhere for days."
Days.
The word hits me like a punch to the chest.
"Day seven was the deal." I set down my coffee and stand, my heart starting to race. "You said seven days, Phoenix. That's what you promised."
"I can't control the weather, Jade."
"Convenient."
He goes still, his dark eyes narrowing. "You think I’m making the blizzard?"
I cross my arms over my chest, fighting the smile that wants to creep across my face. "I think the timing is suspicious."
"The timing is shit luck." He strips off his wet jacket and hangs it by the fire. "Trust me, if I could control the weather, I would have made it sunny. Trapped in a cabin is one thing. Staying here during a blizzard is something else entirely."
He's not wrong. The storm makes everything feel more intense and more claustrophobic. The cabin that felt cozy yesterday now feels like a pressure cooker, the two of us trapped inside with nowhere to go and nothing to do but deal with each other.
I hate that my first reaction to being stuck here longer isn't panic. It's relief. A shameful, secret relief that I don't have to face the real world yet.
Phoenix is watching me, his head tilted slightly, reading my expression the way he always seems to.
"You're not as upset as you're pretending to be," he says.
"Shut up."
"Admit it. You're happy we're stuck."
"I'm not happy. I'm resigned." I turn away so he can't see my face. "There's a difference."
His laugh follows me across the cabin. Smug bastard.
I wander the small space, restless, stopping to examine things I've already examined a dozen times. The books on the shelf. The old photographs on the wall. The collection of DVDs that look like they haven't been touched in years.
And then, in the corner by the bathroom, my phone buzzes.
I freeze. I haven't had a signal since we got here. The cabin is too remote, the mountains blocking everything. But when I pick up my phone and look at the screen, there it is. One bar. Weak and flickering, but there.
I glance at Phoenix. He's crouched by the fire, adding another log, not paying attention to me.
Before I can think too hard about it, I dial Chloe's number.
It rings twice before her voice cuts through the static. "Jade? Oh my god, Jade, where the hell are you? I've been trying to reach you for days!"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry." I press the phone harder against my ear, keeping my voice low. "I'm in California. Well, technically I'm in a cabin somewhere in the mountains. It's a long story."
"Then start talking, because I have about a thousand questions."
I take a deep breath and tell her everything. The investor dinner. Marcus and his phone call. The confrontation at the restaurant. Phoenix driving me north instead of to the airport.
By the time I finish, there's a long silence on the other end of the line.
"Wait," Chloe finally says. "Let me make sure I understand this correctly. He literally kidnapped you, and now you're sleeping with him?"
"It's complicated."
"That's what every woman in a Dateline episode says right before they find the body."
"He's not going to murder me, Chloe."
"How do you know? He paid off your debts without telling you. He flew you across the country under false pretenses. He trapped you in a remote cabin during a blizzard. These are not the actions of a mentally stable individual."
I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I know how it sounds."
"Do you? Because it sounds insane. It sounds like you've lost your mind."
"Maybe I have." I lean against the wall, watching the snow batter the window. "But I can't stop. Whatever this is between us, I can't make it stop. I've tried."
Chloe is quiet for a moment. When she speaks again, her voice is softer. "Are you sure about this guy? Like, really sure?"
I think about Phoenix. About the way he looks at me like I'm the only thing in the world that matters. About the way he touched me last night, desperate and tender all at once. About the confession by the fire, the photo of our mothers, the years he spent watching me from a distance.
"No," I admit. "I'm not sure about anything. But I can't walk away. Not yet."
"Does your mom know where you are?"
My stomach drops. "God, no. And you can't tell her."
"Jade—"
"I mean it, Chloe. She'll lose her mind. She'll call the police. She'll make everything worse."
"She's probably already losing her mind. You've been gone for days without any contact."
Guilt twists in my chest. Mom. I haven't even thought about her, haven't considered what she must be going through.
"I'll call her," I say. "Soon. Just not yet. I need to figure out what to say first."
"Figure it out fast. The longer you wait, the worse it's going to be."
"I know."
The signal crackles, and Chloe's voice breaks up for a moment before coming back. “Be careful, okay? I love you, but this whole situation scares me."
"I love you too. And I'll be careful. I promise."
The call ends. I'm not sure if she hung up or if the signal finally died. Either way, the silence that follows feels deafening.
I stare at my phone. At the contact list. At my mother's name, right there at the top.
My finger hovers over it.
I should call her. Should tell her I'm okay, that I'm safe, that she doesn't need to worry. But what would I even say? How do I explain any of this without making it sound exactly as crazy as it is?
The signal flickers one last time and dies.
I shove the phone in my pocket and turn to find Phoenix watching me from across the room. His expression is unreadable, but his eyes miss nothing.
"Everything okay?" he asks.
"Fine."
It's not fine. Nothing about this is fine. I'm trapped in a cabin with a man who kidnapped me, and I'm not even sure I want to leave anymore. I'm falling for him despite every red flag, every warning, every voice in my head screaming that this is a mistake.
And I can't tell my mother any of it.
Outside, the storm howls. Inside, the fire crackles. Phoenix crosses the room and pulls me against his chest without a word, his arms wrapping around me like he knows exactly what I need.
I let him hold me and let myself sink into the warmth of him. I love the solid strength of his body and the steady beat of his heart against my ear.
Then I realize that the terrifying part isn't being trapped here with him, but how much I want to stay.