CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Settling herself into the passenger seat of Kade’s black SUV, Lexi followed him with her tired eyes as he made his way towards the driver’s side.
She had found herself unable to sleep after his confessions and was now paying the price.
She thought about asking him to leave her behind so she could rest and recharge.
That thought was short-lived however, once she realized that he had given her the perfect opportunity to escape.
All she needed was the tiniest window and she would be gone.
Opening the frozen door to his Mercedes, Kade slinked his large form onto the driver’s seat and quickly pushed the SUV’s ignition switch.
Shutting the door with a curse, he turned to his love and offered smile as the vehicle’s heater roared to life.
Even with dark circles under her green eyes and her chestnut hair wrapped into a messy bun, she was the most radiant thing he had ever seen.
They hadn’t spoken much since their heavy conversation, but she seemed to be in good spirits.
It pleased him to know that she was slowly coming around.
“We’ll just let her warmup for a few minutes before we head down,” he said, rubbing his bare hands together.
Turning her attention towards the defrosting windshield, she arched a brow and surveyed the winter wonderland surrounding them.
There was at least six inches of fresh snow covering the gravel driveway.
Perhaps heading into town wasn’t the smartest decision, the last thing she needed was to freeze to death alongside a homicidal maniac if they became stuck.
“Are you sure it’s safe for us to leave?” she asked, genuinely concerned.
With a nod, he let out a small laugh and reached over to cover her hand with his own.“You have nothing to worry about, Sweetheart. I’m an excellent driver,” he replied, giving her cold fingers an assuring squeeze.
Pursing her cracked lips together, she hummed a reply. She wasn’t comforted in the least by his words.
“No, really,” he said, moving his calloused hand to rest against her cheek. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Trust me, Lexi. J ust trust me.”
Leaning slightly into his touch, she lifted her gaze to meet his dark stare.
He had a look of absolute sincerity on his handsome face that she hadn’t seen before.
Deep down she knew that what he was saying was true, she was safe in his presence.
It was a sudden awareness that caused her heart to skip and a million butterflies to fill her core.
It was the same feeling she remembered the first time she realized she was falling in love with Leo.
Fuck, she thought, terrified of the new hurdle placed directly in her path.
Fuck, indeed, her alter-ego taunted inside her mind. I must say, your plan is going rather smoothly. Bravo.
Doing her best to ignore the bitch in her head, she grinned at her captor and gave him a small nod.“Ok,” she said in an almost whisper. “I trust you.”
Grinning in triumph, Kade bent over the SUV’s center console and gave her a tender kiss. It thrilled him to hear her meaningful admission. Her stone wall was finally tumbling down, this moment had been worth the excruciating long wait. She was his. Finally.
“Good,” he breathed, brushing his mouth over hers once more before pulling away.
Licking the remnants of the kiss from her lips, Lexi kept her focus on him as he sat back in his leather seat and readied the vehicle to leave. She was skating on extremely thin ice. Why the fuck was she feeling this way now, when she was so close to her goal?
He’s the enemy , she repeated to herself again and again. You don’t love him. You don’t love him.
Oh, if only that were true, her alter teased from the corner of her mind.
Shut up, Nikki! Nothing has changed! Absolutely nothing! she spat back in defense.
Good God, you are so pathetic! But yeah. Ok, keep telling yourself that, Nikki said with a dark laugh.
Unaware of his lover’s inner turmoil, Kade gave her one last glance before putting the SUV into drive and easing it down the snowy driveway.
While the conditions were less than ideal, he knew he would be able to make it into town safely without any problems. After all, he had precious cargo he needed to take care of.
“You know,” he began, clearing his throat. “It will probably take us about forty-five minutes to get into town. Why don’t you close those beautiful eyes of yours and take a nap?”
“Huh?” she mumbled, blinking herself back into the present. “What? Sorry...I guess I kinda zoned out for a second.”
Keeping his eye line glued to the slick driveway, he let out a worried sigh and tightly gripped the steering wheel. As much as he would love to hear her scream his name all night long, they would be turning in early. It was apparent that she was more sleep deprived than he originally thought.
“I know you’re exhausted, Sweetheart. Please get some rest,” he urged as they crossed the property line of his family’s old ranch.
Wiggling her stiff back against the comfortable passenger seat, she allowed her heavy eyes to drift to the side mirror gracing her door.
Noticing a rusted, metal sign pass over the reflective glass, she took stock of the backwards letters.
Reading them repeatedly, she tried her best to place them in the correct order until they finally made sense.
Ho li Wlof Rach. Howlng Wolf Ranch. Howling Wolf Ranch.
Howling Wolf Ranch.
“Mmm...yeah, you’re right. I should,” she agreed, not wanting her abductor to suspect that she had just learned where he was keeping her. “I didn’t sleep much last night.”
“I know and I’m sorry about that. Now, close your eyes and take a cat nap, my love. I’ll wake you when we get to the restaurant. I figured we would have breakfast before running the other errands,” he purred.
Mumbling something unintelligible, Lexi followed his instructions and allowed her eyelids to flutter down. Sleep was a precious commodity, and she couldn’t let this opportunity pass her by. For her to escape, she needed as much strength as she could muster.
Pushing out a long yawn, she eagerly surrendered to her body’s overwhelming exhaustion. Her last coherent thought was that of Kade and how beautiful his broken heart would look in her bloodied hands.
. . .
“Sweetheart, we’re here, time to wake up,” Kade said softly, trying to ease her from her sleep.
Moaning like a grumpy child, Lexi wiggled away from his gentle nudge.
Reluctantly opening her eyes, she righted herself in her seat and looked around her new surroundings.
She knew she had never been to the town before, if you could even call it one.
It was merely a single dilapidated road with an ancient diner and gas station on one side, a tiny mercantile grocery and coffee shop on the other.
No wonder her abductor wasn’t nervous about taking her out in public.
They were still out in the middle of nowhere.
“Where are we?” she asked, her voice froggy with sleep.
“Town,” Kade replied without further explanation. “Now I know this place doesn’t look like much, but they make the most amazing blueberry pancakes. I know how much you love those, Lexi. I’ll make sure to order you a double stack.”
Undoing her tight seatbelt, she couldn’t stop her stomach from rumbling at the mere mention of warm food. Applesauce pouches and granola bars were great, but she needed more sustenance. A carb filled meal was exactly what she needed to fuel up her energy reserves.
“That sounds great, I’m starving,” she said honestly, moving to open her car door.
“Wait!” he exclaimed, reaching into the front pocket of his dark indigo jeans. “I almost forgot...here, give me your left hand.”
Obeying his command, she held out her hand. A look of confused curiosity fell over the features of her face as he placed a delicate gold band on her ring finger.
“What--” she began.
“If anyone asks,” he said, cutting her off. “We’re married. I’m Jon and you’re Emily. We’re here on our honeymoon. Try not to say much, though, that’s my job. Is that understood?”
Unable to verbalize a response, she nodded and watched Kade intently as he placed a similar band on his own ring finger. Married? Sure. Just two crazed murderers out a honeymoon holiday in the middle of the arctic wilderness. As if things couldn’t get any more bizarre.
“Good girl,” he praised before exiting the SUV and walking to the passenger side to help her out of the vehicle.
Taking his hand, she carefully stepped next to her captor as they wove through the icy parking lot.
Casually glancing from side to side, she desperately searched for any clue as to where they were.
Five cars were parked nearby, but each had license plates from different states.
None of the businesses were chain stores, apart from the gas station which sold “Mobile” gas.
It was as if the universe was intentionally trying to drive her insane.
Nothing can ever be easy, she thought bitterly as he opened the door to the diner and ushered her inside.
Giving her eyes time to adjust to the bright interior of the classic fifties’ diner, Lexi moved to the side of the waiting area and allowed Kade to step in front of her.
Before long, they were greeted by a tall, slim woman with silver hair; the name “Peggy” etched onto the bear shaped name tag pinned to her white uniform.
Although the older woman had a stern face, she felt that there was something trustworthy about her.
It made her heartbeat quicken with hope.
“Just the two of you?” Peggy asked, giving the attractive couple a once over.
“Yep, just us,” Kade replied, taking Lexi’s hand once again.