Saved by the Blizzard: A romantic winter thriller (Tellure Hollow Book 2) (24 page)

It was incredible how the person standing in front of me looked, talked, and moved like my best friend but was, in fact, a complete stranger. My brain couldn’t seem to wrap itself around everything she was saying, like she was discussing her plans for the weekend. The sound of sirens finally peeled up the hill and her eyes went wide.

“You called the cops, too? Goddamnit,” she sighed. “I’ll just have to think on my feet,” she said lifting the rifle to my chest. I had stepped within a few feet of the barrel, just close enough I could reach out and grab it if I wanted. Her finger fell to the trigger and I knew I had one chance to move. I had to get to the police. She couldn’t get away with this.

With the skate firmly grasped in my right hand, I dove forward and slapped the barrel to my left, exposing her arm. The gun exploded inches from my head but my attack had already been set in motion. With all my force, I brought the blade down diagonally, slicing through the puffy coat and to her flesh. I could barely hear her scream through my ringing ears, but it was enough to make her drop the gun. With her injured shoulder, I don’t think she meant to fire it at such an imbalance. Between my blow and the recoil, she was rocked back.

I didn’t think about anything more than giving myself enough time to get away. The longer I’d stayed there arguing, the greater my chances of dying. If I had to die, then at the very least, I wanted her caught for what she’d done. With a swift shove, I pushed her to the ground, turned on my toes, and went straight out the door.

At first, I headed directly for the forest, hoping I could slink along the trees to the cabin and keep out of sight until I reached the police, but time was of the essence. Running up the slippery, open slope to the house was faster but far more exposed. I knew it was a matter of moments before Kayla recovered and grabbed the gun. The quickest path was straight across the pond.

I sprinted towards the ice, slipping on the third step and falling hard on my knee. I glanced back as I scrambled to my feet and didn’t see her following yet. As I took a few more steps towards the pond, I could see the flashing blue and red lights shining through the trees.
I just have to get to them, I just need to get to safety
.

Struggling to get to my feet, I moved swiftly but carefully. One more slip could be the end of me. With the warm weather, there was a thin coating of water on top, making the surface much more slick. Disregarding the creak I heard as I put my full weight on the ice, I surged forward. Just as I nearly reached the center of the pond, a wordless scream ricocheted around me. I felt the bullet tear through the air by my head before the sound of the rifle reached my ears. Dropping to my knees with a cry, I looked back to see Kayla running onto the ice, screaming in anger.

“Get back here, bitch,” she yelled. She held the gun awkwardly as she ran, her injured arm more of a hindrance than a help at this point.

I tried to climb back to my feet but slipped and slid along the ice uselessly. From this level, I could hear the snapping and groaning of the ice with each impact of her pointy heels. Although I’d never heard the sound before in my life, a deep, instinctual part of my mind knew it was nothing but danger.

She fired wildly into the air as she ran. Prone on the ice, I knew I presented a difficult angle but she was drawing closer.
How many rounds could she possibly have left?
I wondered, as I finally managed to get my footing. Running in a low crouch, I spared another glance back and nearly screamed when I saw how quickly she’d closed the distance. Her face was twisted with rage as she pursued. Weaponless, exposed on the ice, I had no choice but to run and hope she’d miss. There was no pleading, there was no getting her to see reason. She wanted me dead.

I was close enough to hear the bullet lodge in the chamber. Kayla skidded to a stop, pulling frantically at the lever in an effort to release the jammed bullet. “Come on, you fucker,” she said through gritted teeth just before the gun went off in her hands.

The blast opened a huge hole a few paces ahead of her feet, collapsing in on itself at an alarming rate. She had enough time to look up at me with panicked eyes before she disappeared below into the darkness. I stood in stunned silence until she surfaced, clawing at the edge of the ice like a drowning rat, gasping for air.

I’d like to think I’m a compassionate person who would never savor the suffering of another, but I did enjoy the frantic sounds she made. I may have even had a smile on my face as my fear cautiously shifted into relief. The police were at the cabin now, she didn’t have the gun, Bryan was coming, I was safe. The realizations hit me in quick succession. Every time she tried to pull herself up on the ice, the side gave way, crumbling beneath her. Again and again she plunged into the black water. Even in the short time since she’d fallen in, her movements had become slower, more labored. A few times I was sure she wasn’t going to make it back up, but like a cockroach, she just wouldn’t die. If you can believe it, she even pleaded with me to save her. Amazing what people will do when their backs are up against the wall.

I wanted to walk away, leaving her to drown or freeze to death.
Dying is too good for her
, I thought as a bit of ice broke off under her arms. I gritted my teeth and lay flat on my stomach. It was only a quick shimmy out to the hole. Like a panicked animal, she flung herself towards me, grasping at anything she could get her hands on, her eyes wide and frantic.

“Calm down, I’ll get you. I’m not letting you die this easily. You don’t deserve it,” I muttered as I reached out for her. Even the water she was sloshing out at me was frigid.

“Please, please,” she kept pleading.

I put my weight on my elbow and reached an arm out. As I inched forward, the ice made the strangest sound I’d ever heard. Like something out of a science fiction movie, a loud
bloop
reverberated from shore to shore. I froze and, for some reason, pictured a large cable on a suspension bridge springing free. That was the last image I had in my head before the ice gave way beneath me. I plunged into pain and darkness.

Falling into the ice water was like being attacked with a hundred thousand tiny pins. I involuntarily screamed, my mouth filling with water. When I finally managed to claw my way to the surface, I sputtered the water from my lungs. The cold was so intense I couldn’t draw breath. I gasped what little air I could before Kayla grabbed me in her panic, pushing me below once again. In our struggle, I crawled up her body, kicking and punching my way to the surface. I’d kicked off my heavy, loose boots, which I think gave me the advantage. I’m surprised she stayed up as long as she did in those heeled shoes.

I reached a thick part of the ice and tried gaining enough momentum with my legs to pull myself up. With one swift kick, I made contact with Kayla’s stomach, a rib cracking beneath my bare foot. Although I’d never intended to hurt her, I felt a sick satisfaction in delivering the blow. Her fingers released from my jacket and I turned in time to see her dip below the water, the last time I’d see her alive.

Survival.

That’s all that mattered. I’m not sure how I managed it, but I eventually pulled myself out of the water and collapsed on the ice in a shivering mess. I could hear more sirens coming up the hill. I rolled to my side and saw shadowy figures in the light going in and out of the cabin on the hill above. Trying to pull myself further from the hole, closer to the house, I felt my body slipping deeper and deeper into hypothermia.

Maybe it was a delusion, but I thought I’d heard Bryan calling my name. I tried to respond, but my voice was so strangled from the cold and Rick’s violence, I could only manage a raspy, “I’m here.”

Minutes passed and I gave up crawling. A comforting warmth spread through my body. It felt too good, too easy to give into. Resting my face on my cold arm, I promised myself just a small rest, just for a moment, and then I’d continue.

I sat up in bed with a start, gasping, clawing at my throat. The dream was so fresh in my mind, I could almost feel the ice water in my lungs. Kayla pulling me down into the darkness, her hands at my neck. Rick, his lifeless eyes staring up at me, had been pulling my feet from below. With no voice, I couldn’t scream, my vision going dark until I clawed my way free and broke to the surface.

Bryan shot up beside me, rubbing my back comfortingly. “It’s okay, you’re safe,” he repeated. I smiled weakly at him, still trying to catch my breath. The warm morning light filtered in through the single window in his bedroom. He was shirtless, wearing only a look of concern and the splint on his arm. “Are you alright?”

I nodded. “I’m fine, really. Just a bad dream.” I tugged at my tank top, fending off the tears. I’d thrashed so much in my sleep, the damn thing had twisted around.

“I can imagine you’ll have a few of those after last night.” His hand slid up and down my arm. “It is all over, though.”

My heart rate slowed and I flopped back against the mound of pillows with a sigh. I still couldn’t believe it wasn’t just a bad dream. Bryan settled on his elbow looking over to me, pulling the blankets up. “Is it really?” I asked, looking into his gorgeous eyes. “I mean, sure, I don’t have to run from anybody now, but can you really say it’s over?”

He shrugged, seeming to understand what I meant. “Well, now you can start learning how to cope with what’s happened,” he replied. His right hand hesitantly fell on my stomach, his thumb idly caressing my belly. He rested his ear on his shoulder and exhaled slowly. “When I found you on the ice...” his voice cracked.

“Shhh, it’s okay.” Even though I’d lived through it, I knew the moment had affected him profoundly. “We both gave each other scares yesterday.”

He focused on the far distance, pain and fear swimming just below the surface. “I saw all that blood and then we couldn’t find you...” Our eyes met. There was a sadness there, but also hope. After speaking to the police for hours the night before, we hadn’t had much energy to talk to one another. I’d taken a long shower while Bryan sat in the bathroom because I didn’t want to be alone for even a moment. He had been so completely protective, I was sure he was taking this attack personally, like he’d let me down in some way. I knew we’d have to deal with all of that at some point; the fear, the anxiety, the trust issues.

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost you.”

I shifted, sitting with my legs crossed and facing him. “Listen, aside from a few bad dreams and a couple more scars, we’re both safe and healthy.”

“If there’s anything we know, it’s scars,” he laughed bitterly, but at least his smile was sincere.

“I’ve started to change my mind about scars,” I said pulling my knees up to my chest. “Sure, they’re ugly reminders of a shitty time in your life, but they’re a good reminder. They announce to the world that you went through something so difficult, it left a permanent mark on you -- but you’re still alive.”

A surge of joy welled up deep within me. I hadn’t quite put words to my thought, but it was true. We’d survived, not just Kayla and Rick, but all the other stuff we’d had to fight through to get to this moment. We had gotten through something incredibly traumatic and had nothing but the future to look forward to. And the chance to do it together.

Without a word, I pulled his face to mine and kissed him deeply. It was such a complex rush of emotions, this joy. Lust, happiness, a need to celebrate our feelings for one another and the simple pleasure of being alive. I was alive! He resisted for a moment, unsure where this sudden passion was coming from. He sat up, pulling himself physically away but I followed with a hunger I was tired of suppressing. Pressing our foreheads together, his lips parted and wet, he whispered, “Are you sure about this?”

I took his face in both my hands and kissed him softly. “I’m sure. I’ve never wanted something so badly in my entire life.”

It was like a floodgate had been released. We fell on each other in a wild flurry, his fingers clawing under my tank top. I pulled at his flannel pajama pants, laughing as he needed to shift his hips up to pull them down. In no time, we were naked, our hot bodies pressed together under the sheets. I traced the line of his lean stomach muscles down to his pelvis before he stopped my hand.

“Whoa, whoa,” he said with a soft kiss. “My job, in no uncertain terms, is to take care of you. So that’s exactly what I intend to do.”

I relaxed back into the bed, my need for him simmering close to a boil. With his mouth on my neck, his fingers glided across the smooth skin on my thigh, tickling towards the crease in the middle. My skin felt like it was on fire, each nerve super sensitive and yearning to be touched. Every part of me wanted its turn under his hand. Bryan nibbled on the sensitive skin of my neck as his finger slipped along my slick folds. I gasped, arching my back at the touch, aching for more.