Chapter 12
Emersyn
“What the fuck is going on?” Adam whispers to me as I grab his arm and drag him into a thicket of trees. His blond hair is tucked up under a beanie as he gives me a deplorable glare.
My heart pounds in the side of my head, terror sending a shiver down my spine. “You don’t understand… The guy who lives here… He’s not… stable. ” I swallow hard as Adam’s expression shifts, his hazel eyes widening. “I think he’s going to kill us.”
“ What?! ” Adam whisper yells as Gunner lets out a choppy bark.
I stifle a cry. “We’re not going to be able to outrun him. There’s no way. I don’t… I don’t understand him. But I think there’s something wrong with him, and I think...” My voice trails off as I put it together. “I triggered him,” I say softly.
“What the fuck did you do?” Adam snaps. “What did you do to piss him off?”
“I…I…” I can’t bring myself to say anything to him as his gaze bores into me. My mind replays the heated kiss, the way I wanted Turner more than I ever wanted Adam in that way. “I just?—”
Gunner bays, and I startle, realizing that he’s a lot closer than before.
“I’ll show the fucker,” Adam growls, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a pistol. “He’s not gonna get us, Em. I’ll shoot them both.”
I grab his hand, shaking my head. “I don’t think you understand. Turner won’t miss. He shot my phone out of my hand in the middle of the blizzard.”
Adam curls his lip. “So you’re on a first name basis with this guy, huh? Kind of weird for someone who shot at you. My guess is you’ve been doing more?—”
“You’re really going to point that out right now?” I exasperate, cutting him off. “I seriously thought the guy was easing up until… this. ”
“Right,” he snorts, racking the gun and peering out from behind one of the trees. I stand close to Adam, who I always thought was a bigger guy—but he’s got nothing on Turner, who has to be three to four inches taller and wider. I wrap my arms around myself.
“Don’t shoot the dog,” I say quietly. “Please. It’s not his faul?—”
“Shut up,” Adam growls. “We’re getting out of here. Whatever it takes.”
I swallow hard, the cold seeping deep beneath my parka, chilling my bones. Tears brim my eyes, but for some reason, the feeling is a mixture of fear and grief for whatever is to come. I peer up into the starless sky, wondering if there’s any way for this to end without bloodshed.
“So, your boyfriend is here, Em,” Turner’s graveled voice cuts through the night, echoing around us in a cold haunting tone. “Did you tell him what you did with me tonight? Before you went snooping though my house?”
“What’s he talking about?” Adam looks back at me, confusion in his expression.
“It was nothing,” I lie. “He’s just?—”
“What did you do with him?” Adam cuts me off, his voice breaking from a whisper. “Fuck him?”
“No, we just—we just kissed?—”
“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Adam roars at me. “I fucking braved a blizzard for you, and you were just fine, fucking some guy five seconds after we broke up. I knew you were like this. I knew it.”
Guilt slams into my chest, and suddenly I feel horrible. “I’m so sorry. This has just been the weirdest?—”
“Shut up,” he seethes. “I know you’re a fucking whore, Em. You probably fucked more guys while we were together.”
“No, I didn’t,” I exasperate, my voice breaking with hurt. “I wouldn’t ever?—”
Gunner’s violent bay cuts me off and he tears through the thicket, barreling toward us.
“Fucker!” Adam shouts, raising his pistol. He goes for the trigger, and I shove his arm as it fires, the bullet burying into the ground. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” He yells at me as Gunner stands back a few feet, barking at us.
I open my mouth to say something, but the crack of a rifle silences me… And Adam instantly slumps to the ground, a clear hole right through his head. Crimson soaks the snow around him, and I stifle my scream, clamping my hand over my mouth. My vision grows blurry as I sink to my knees.
I’m next. I’m next.
I hear the crunch of boots in the snow and feel the hot breath of Gunner as he sniffs my head, as if he’s trying to check on me. I cover my face with my hands, unable to look up as I feel the presence of Turner looming above me.
“You didn’t even check him to make sure he was dead,” Turner chuckles wickedly. “Some girlfriend you are, huh?”
My numb hands feel like ice sickles to my hot tears as I wait with bated breath, hearing Turner roll Adam’s body. My stomach lurches violently as I steal a glance, Adam’s face already blueish, his eyes wide with death. Bile shoots up the back of my throat, and I heave, vomiting into the snow.
“Must be your first dead body,” he says flatly as he uses his boot to roll Adam back face down. “I’ll have to get the tractor to deal with this—and the jeep. What a fucking mess.” His tone is so eerily nonchalant that it feels unreal.
My heart pounds in my ears as I wait, my eyes squeezed shut and hidden in my hands again. Finally, I feel the barrel of the rifle dig into my upper back.
“Get up.”
“Just get it over with,” I scream out, finally getting the nerve to look up at Turner. My eyes meet his, and there’s nothing in the dark irises as they peer down at me. I suddenly hate every ounce of empathy I ever gave this man.
“Get. Up.” He presses the barrel into my back with more force.
“No,” I spit fire at him, my fear shifting to anger. “Just fucking do it, Turner.”
His neck warmer is pulled up past his nose, but he jerks it down and then kneels to get eye level with me. He drops his rifle in the snow, and I attempt to shy away as his gloved fingers wrap around my jaw. My teeth chatter as he draws my face to his, our noses brushing, eyes locked—and finally, I see a flicker of something so painful, I have to look away.
“I don’t want to kill you. If I wanted to, I would’ve by now.” His voice is so quiet, I can barely make out his words.
Anger burns in my chest, and I can’t hold back any longer. “Yeah? But from afar, right? Because you wouldn’t have the fucking balls to look me in the eye when you put a bullet in my head.”
His brows raise, and time seems to freeze for a moment, the two of us locked in that position. I swallow hard as his grip digs into my skin, and he then tips my head back. His gaze dropping to my lips. For a moment, I think he might kiss me.
But instead, he drops his hand away and rises. Turner picks up his rifle, slings it over his shoulder, and then disappears into the night, leaving me there. I brush my numb fingers across my jaw, still feeling a burning sensation from where his hand was. I eye the face-down dead body of my ex-boyfriend—who had come to rescue me.
I zone out, my eyes blurry with moisture.
And then it hits me.
He has a phone.
I crawl across the snow to his body, and then hesitate, the blood having melted the snow around him. I take a deep breath and then go for his pockets, fishing for something.
“You won’t find his phone,” I hear Turner from somewhere in the woods. “Or his gun.”
Because you took it, I think glancing up through the trees in the direction of where Turner disappeared. I try to breathe as I stand wearily to my feet, Gunner still sitting and watching me with curiosity. My legs tremble as I wipe the fresh tears from my face.
Should I make a run for it? The thought crosses my mind as I watch the distance grow between Turner and me. Internally, I know that it’s useless, but the desperation and… anger I feel toward Turner makes me want vengeance—or something. I don’t even know how to reason with what just happened.
It was to protect Gunner, maybe. Big maybe.
I grit my teeth as I trudge in the direction of Turner, my fists clenched and Gunner following me closely. As I break from the trees, I see Adam’s Jeep tearing through the now open gate. It’s equipped with snow chains and clearly, Turner knows how to drive in the snow. He stops inside the gate, and goes back, shutting and locking it.
He doesn’t even look in my direction as he climbs back in my dead ex-boyfriend’s car and roars past me, using acceleration and quick swerves to power around large drifts. I stand in knee deep snow, watching the Jeep until it disappears somewhere.
“What do I do?” I ask Gunner, batting away fresh tears. “I’m so fucked now.”
Gunner tilts his head at me, and then bounds off in the direction of Turner. The dog has no idea how big of a monster his master is—and if he does, he doesn’t care. My shoulders slump as I start after him, leaving Adam’s body in the cold. My mind replays the moments before Adam was killed, and the mixed emotions that follow are almost as horrifying as the death itself.
Adam was never the nicest boyfriend, but he wasn’t the worst, either. Sure, he got a little mouthy, but for fuck’s sake, he didn’t deserve to be shot in the head. He was doing his duty, coming to rescue me—and Turner shot him. My stomach lurches again as I crest the hill, seeing the barn door slid open. Turner hops in the Jeep and pulls into the barn.
And just like that, the Jeep is gone as soon as the door closes.
No one will find us out here.
I wrap my arms around myself as Turner steps through the walk-through door, freshly cleared. His face warmer is down around his neck, and at first, he doesn’t notice me. His expression is almost… grim. He runs a hand down his face, and then notices me, hardening his gaze.
“Go inside.” His words are eerily calm. In fact, he appears under the single pole light as fatigued as ever. “ Go, ” Turner repeats when I just stand there, watching him. His gesture toward the cabin gets me in motion. Every step feels heavy, numb, and I’m not sure if it’s the shock or the cold.
Maybe both.
I don’t say a word to him as I make my way to the cabin, lugging myself up the steps. I push open the door, the warmth burning my face. The scent of dinner still hangs in the air, and some soft tune still plays on my laptop. I let it keep playing as I shove off my shoes and head straight for the hearth.
Collapsing on the floor, I leave on my soaked jacket, jeans, and stare into the flames, licking up fresh heat—all the while Adam lays dead in the snow somewhere outside. I don’t know what Turner’s going to do with the body, but I hear a rumbling engine, reminding me of a tractor or some sort of equipment.
And then it hits me.
He could’ve dug me out with that… He could’ve let me go.
I squeeze my eyes shut as fresh tears spill down my cheeks, my nose and cheeks burning. Maybe the blizzard prevented him from letting me go, but now, there’s a murder. I’m a witness.
I’m never making it out of here.
Resting my forehead against my wet knees, I let the sobs break free from my chest. I heard once that letting yourself cry is sometimes a relief. Well, right now, it doesn’t feel like one to me. It only seems to emphasize the shitty cards I’ve been dealt. But still, I let myself cry so hard I can’t breathe.
Until I hear the doorknob of the front door.
Then, I quiet myself, shutting down whatever feelings are beneath the surface. I don’t want Turner to know a damn thing I feel. Ever again. He almost had me. He almost got invited inside my walls to know me.
But now, I’m locking myself away.
And I don’t care if it gets me killed.