Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I’m getting antsy, pacing the safehouse back and forth.
The police did their search, only doing a basic check in the treeline.
If there’s anything to note about the local law enforcement here, it’s that they’re pretty subpar.
There’s not much crime that happens here, and the station is pretty typical for a super small town.
About a handful occupy its department, and they’re mostly checked out, just punching in the clock in order to head home with a paycheck.
There’s another storm coming tonight. I checked the weather when I arrived.
They’ll be leaving soon to make it back before it hits; otherwise, she’d be sharing the cabin with two officers, and that just simply wouldn’t fly with me.
At that thought, both officers exit the cabin and make their way to their patrol car.
I’ve been watching the camera feed from the game cameras surrounding the entire cabin since I got back.
There’s even one with a clear shot of her front door.
Perfect. I’ll give it one more hour, let her calm down from the police presence, make it seem like I’m not coming back, and also make sure they’re not going to come right back to the cabin, before I make my way there.
The hour passes by agonizingly slowly. I almost gave up a few times, but I held my ground.
I want her to think she’s safe before I devour the sweet fear that will radiate from her when she realizes she can’t escape me.
Just as I go to close my laptop, a car pulls up and parks in front of the cabin.
I pause, watching a man slowly get out and shut the door.
He strides up to the door angrily and bangs. Shit. That must be Liam.
I grab last-minute items from the safehouse’s medical kit and head out.
It’s going to take me twice as long to get there as it did to get here earlier.
While the major storm hasn’t hit yet, the snow has been falling consistently over the last few hours.
It’s going to make moving on foot a lot harder.
If that piece of shit even dares to lay a finger on her, I’ll remove each one slowly and painfully.
Opening the door, I head out into the cold, winter night.
I sense a bit of wickedness in the air, and I grin at the thought of a gift awaiting me at my arrival.
I don’t have to seek him out anymore. He brought himself right to me.
What a Christmas miracle. My grin widens, thinking about all the torturous things I’m gonna do to him for what he did to those girls.
The snow is thick on the ground, and I’m having to really hike my legs to move quickly.
It’s dark, but I know my way through these woods.
This safe house is a favorite of mine, so I’m acquainted with its surroundings.
Wolves howl in the distance, igniting the forest with a beautiful song that echoes off the trees. They’re out hunting just as I am.
The cabin grows near, smoke billowing from the chimney.
I get about 500 feet from the door when ear-piercing screams reach my ears.
I sprint the rest of the way, throwing open the front door only to hear pounding upstairs.
Liam bangs on the door, yelling for her to let him in, and she yells back, basically telling him where to shove it.
Her voice sounds like she’s ready to go to war, but there’s also fear there.
And no one is allowed to make my little dove scared but me.
I grab the syringe from my back pocket and take the stairs two at a time.
Liam doesn’t have time to register my presence as he attempts to yell one last time before his words are cut off by the needle I’ve just stabbed in his neck.
He grabs the injection site, eyes widening as he takes in my much taller form, and he stumbles backward before falling to the ground.
I pick him up and throw him over my shoulder, debating where to take him next.
I’m having to pivot from my plan with his presence.
Tonight was supposed to just be a fun night with my little dove.
I won’t be able to take him back to the safehouse.
It’s too far, and I won’t be able to make it back with the storm coming.
So, I take him to the only place I can think of on short notice.
The basement.