Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Nora
The old ranger station looks exactly like the kind of place women get murdered in documentaries.
That thought hits me the second I kill the Jeep’s engine.
Snow slams sideways through the trees hard enough to rattle the windshield while the abandoned station crouches at the edge of the clearing like something left behind years ago and forgotten on purpose.
Half the roof sags under fresh snow. One window is boarded shut.
The porch light hangs crooked, swaying slightly in the wind.
No other vehicles.
No lights.
No sign of movement.
My stomach twists anyway.
I grip the steering wheel tighter and glance at my phone.
No signal.
Of course.
Rhett is going to lose his mind when he realizes I left the cabin.
Honestly, he probably already has.
The thought should make me feel guilty.
Instead, it makes me miss him.
Which is deeply inconvenient considering I’m currently sneaking around behind his back in the middle of a blizzard after he explicitly told me not to.
“Great choices, Nora,” I mutter under my breath.
I grab my flashlight and step out into the storm.
Cold punches through me instantly, sharp enough to sting my lungs as snow crunches beneath my boots. The wind screams through the trees while I climb the porch steps carefully, every nerve in my body pulled tight.
The door creaks when I push it open.
Darkness waits inside.
“Hello?” My voice echoes through the empty station. “You here?”
Nothing.
The beam from my flashlight sweeps across old desks, broken shelving, peeling maps hanging crooked on the walls. Dust covers everything thick enough to tell me nobody’s been here in years.
Too quiet.
My pulse kicks harder.
“Okay,” I whisper to myself. “This is how people die.”
I should leave.
I know I should.
Then something shifts behind me.
Instinct jerks me around just as a large hand clamps over my mouth.
I scream anyway.
Or try to.
The sound dies against his palm as my flashlight crashes to the floor, spinning wildly through darkness while a body slams me hard into the wall.
“Easy,” a male voice murmurs against my ear. “You’re prettier when you listen.”
Ice floods my veins instantly.
No.
No no no.
I thrash hard, driving my elbow backward, but he catches my wrists easily and pins them above my head.
He’s bigger than me.
Stronger.
And terrifyingly calm.
“You’ve been difficult from the start,” he says quietly.
My breathing turns ragged beneath his hand.
The flashlight rolls across the floor again.
And I finally see his face.
My stomach drops.
Not a stranger.
Not completely.
The deputy sheriff–I’ve seen him around town in his uniform.
Oh my God. A law enforcement coverup.
Recognition flashes across his face when he sees I know him now.
“There she is,” he says softly. “I was wondering when you’d figure it out. Someone’s been missing you in Seattle. Got word to keep an eye out for you before you even set foot in Devil’s Peak.”
My pulse hammers so hard it hurts.
He slowly lowers his hand from my mouth.
I suck in air immediately. “You’re insane.”
His smile widens slightly.
“See?” he murmurs. “That’s what I like about you. Most women panic first.”
“I’m definitely panicking.”
“You’re angry.”
“That too.”
He laughs quietly like we’re having a normal conversation instead of him kidnapping me in the middle of a storm.
The sound crawls down my spine.
“You wrote that exposé on the Harbor Financial case six months ago,” he says conversationally. “Three executives arrested. One killed himself before trial. Remember? You made national news. You also made some enemies.”
My stomach twists violently.
“You ruined people,” he continues. “Careers. Families. Lives.”
“They were laundering money.”
“They were protecting investments.”
“By stealing from people.”
His eyes sharpen instantly. “That’s the problem with women like you. You always think you’re saving someone.”
I jerk hard against his grip. “Get your hands off me.”
Instead, he steps closer.
“You fascinated me immediately,” he says quietly. “The interviews. The way you looked into cameras like you weren’t afraid of anybody.” His mouth curves slightly. “But you are afraid. You just hide it better than most.”
My heart pounds harder with every word.
“You’ve been following me this entire time?”
“You’ve been on my radar since Seattle. Imagine my luck when I got a call from a private security company about your plans to travel to Devil’s Peak to investigate some missing hikers.”
Jesus Christ.
“Felt like I won the jackpot. And you signed your death warrant.”
The room tilts slightly.
“You’re sick.”
“No,” he says calmly. “Just protecting the people.”
The honesty of it terrifies me more than if he’d lied.
“From the truth. You’re protecting them from the truth.”
“Most people can’t handle the truth.”
Snow slams against the windows harder outside while he finally releases one wrist just long enough to pull zip ties from his pocket.
My stomach drops instantly. “Don’t.”
“You should stop fighting me, Nora.”
“I’d rather die.”
His expression shifts slightly at that.
Not angry.
Excited.
That realization turns my blood cold.
“You know what your problem is?” he asks while forcing my wrists together. “You mistake attention for danger.” He tightens the restraint hard enough to sting. “But attention means devotion.”
I glare at him. “You need psychiatric help.”
He smiles again.
“You sound just like Rhett.”
The breath leaves my lungs.
“What?”
“Oh, I know all about the mountain ranger.” His tone sharpens slightly now. “Big guy. Protective. Possessive.” He tilts his head. “You fell for him fast.”
My pulse spikes harder.
“How do you know about Rhett?”
“I’ve been watching you. I know things have gotten…intimate between you.”
The simplicity of it makes me sick.
Every moment.
Every touch.
Every kiss.
Observed.
“You think he can protect you?” he asks quietly.
“Yes.”
The answer comes instantly.
Without hesitation.
Something dark flickers across his expression.
“There it is,” he murmurs. “That look he likes.” He grips my jaw suddenly, forcing my face upward. “You should look at me that way. It might save your life.”
I jerk away from him hard enough to make him curse.
“You’re delusional.”
“And you’re ungrateful.”
He drags me away from the wall abruptly, forcing me deeper into the abandoned station while snow and wind scream outside.
I stumble over broken floorboards. “Where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere private.”
Panic claws higher now.
Because Rhett was right.
About all of it.
Every warning.
Every order.
Every possessive, overprotective instinct that made me furious.
He saw this coming.
And I ignored him anyway.
The thought hits so hard it physically hurts.
Rhett.
God.
He’s going to come looking for me.
The certainty settles into my chest immediately.
Not hope.
Fact.
Because that man would tear this entire mountain apart before he stopped searching.
My captor shoves open another door leading toward the rear of the station where old logging trails disappear deeper into the wilderness.
Snow explodes inward instantly.
“You really should’ve stayed with him,” he says almost thoughtfully. “That was your smartest option. Such a stupid little girl.”