by Maine, Miley
However our parents were not swayed by our protests. They told us that they were the parents and if we could basically butt out of their business. Now I was glad that I could call my little brother on his own phone.
“Hey little man, how's it shaking?”
“I don't think that's how the phrase goes.”
“Okay then, bruh,” I said, making my voice deep. That always made him laugh.
“Okay Boomer.”
“Hey!” I yelled. “I am not a Boomer. I’m not even a millennial.”
Jason laughed like crazy at this. I didn’t really understand his humor, but I had learned what was funny. In the background, I could hear explosions and shouts.
“Are you playing Forntnite with your friends?”
“Nope. We’re back on Minecraft. We’re doing cross platform multiplayer in creative mode.”
I had no idea what all that meant. Or even if I’d heard it right. But I enjoyed hearing what he was doing.
“By Jase. I love you.”
“Love you too Bethy!”
As soon as we hung up there was a knock on the door. I raced forward, ready to open it when I remembered Logan's words. I peeked out the viewing window. I covered my mouth with my hand.
Whoever was out there wasn’t him. It was another man. He was fully dressed in ski attire, so I couldn't see his face.
“Open up. It’s Logan.” the man said.
No. Logan would make sure I could see him. He wouldn’t want me to open the door for whoever this is.
Should I say something? Before I could decide, the doorknob rattled. “Open up, or I’m taking the doorknob off.”
The man had some kind of an accent. It sounded Eastern European.
Shit. I could call the front desk. They’d send someone up, but they probably didn’t have a security guard on site. There was probably one for the whole resort. This place is really low-key, and I doubted there was much crime. I could call 911 but it would be quite a while before they got here. If I called the concierge he might come running up.
What if the intruder turned on him? I didn't want to be responsible for anyone's death.
My heart squeezed tight, and then pounded. My breathing went shallow. The man wasn’t giving up. He yanked on the door, and I swear, the doorknob got looser.
What the hell was I going to do?
“Open up you stupid bitch.”
I was pretty sure he was using some sort of tool on it now.
Shit. “Logan,” I whispered. I picked up my phone and dialed his number.
26
Logan
My phone rang. I looked down to see Bethany’s number. I hadn’t told her not to call.
“Bethany?”
“Logan!” Her voice was a strained whisper. “There’s someone here.”
“Hold on. I’m coming.” I was already outside.
Cameron was right behind me. I tossed him my keys. “Take my truck.” I was going on the snowmobile. It would be faster in this weather.
“Tell me what's happening right now.”
“Someone came to the door.”
Johannes. Why was that bastard at her door. How the fuck did he find her?
“What did they say?”
“It was a man's voice. He told me to open the door. He said he was you. But he was dressed in ski attire. I couldn't see his face at all. I knew that you wouldn't do that.”
“You're right. What else?” Thank God she had not opened the door.
“Then he rattled the doorknob. He said he was going to break the doorknob off. I think he has some sort of tool. It seems looser now. I can hear a scraping noise.”
“Did you call anyone else? Police? The hotel manager?”
“No. You said the police would not be a good idea.”
Dammit. Why the hell have I ever told her the truth about that? She didn't understand the context. But there was no guarantee the police could protect her from Johannes. He was ruthless, and would not let law enforcement stop him.
Shit. It was worth a try. “Hang up and call 911. Maybe there's an officer nearby, maybe he or she could get there faster than I can. Tell them he’s armed.” The snowmobile slipped on a patch of ice, but I was able to steady it. I did not go nearly as fast as I wanted to. If I crashed and died, I would be no good to Bethany.
“I think it's going to be too late. Besides. I didn't want to endanger anyone else's life. It sounded like this terrorist might kill a police officer for a hotel manager. Or the concierge.”
She was right about that. Her instincts were good. I just hated that she was having to use them.
“Okay so stay on the phone with me. It's me that he wants. If for some reason he gets in the room with you, tell him I'm coming. Hand him your phone and let me talk to him.”
“Logan no. I can't let you sacrifice yourself.”
“Bethany. This used to be my job. I can do it again. I know how to handle it. But I can handle it much better if I know that you're safe.”
I loved her.
It was the day before Christmas Eve. Was I going to leave someone else that I loved on this wretched holiday?
Should I tell her that I loved her? Would that be a good memory for her when I was gone?
I opened my mouth to tell her how much I love her but I never got the chance.
Her voice was low and frantic. “Logan, he is just about to get this doorknob off, it's almost there.”
“Bethany, if there's room, go ahead and slide the phone under the door. Yell out to him that it's me. I'll talk to him. His name is Johannes.”
“I don't like that plan Logan, but I’m going to do it.”
27
Bethany
It made me sick to my stomach, but I did what Logan asked.
With Logan still on the line, I put my phone on the floor. The gap between the floor and the door was just big enough for me to push it through.
“Hey!” I yelled. “Guy outside the door. Johannes. Logan is on the phone. He wants to talk to you.”
The scraping sound stopped for just a second.
The phone disappeared completely and it sounded like Johannes picked it up. The two of them began to speak in another language. It sounded like Russian, but I wasn’t sure because it was muffled. Did Logan speak another language? I remembered seeing some books in his cabin that were written in Spanish and French, but I hadn’t asked him about them.
There was so much about him I didn’t know.
Then the scraping started again.
Shit. This guy was still trying to get in the room.
I heard Logan’s voice through the phone, on the other side of the door. “Bethany! Lock yourself in the bathroom. I’m almost there!”
I froze for just a second. Then I started moving, like Logan had told me to do.
I ran into the bathroom. I went so fast that I banged my cast in the wall. “Ow. Dammit.” I didn’t have time to stop.
I made it into the bathroom. My eyes raked over the vanity. Surely there had to be something I could use as a weapon.
My dad had given me a pocket knife years ago, but it was at home in my nightstand.
I am never traveling without mace in my purse again.
I didn't have any of my stuff with me. No nail clippers, no curling iron, no heavy hair brush. I grabbed the hair dryer that belonged to the resort. Maybe I could throw it at him if he got inside. My eyes landed on the shower curtain rod. With a quick yank it came down off the wall. I slid the curtain off.
The rod wasn't heavy but it was better than nothing.
The doorknob continued to rattle. It sounded like the guy was trying to unscrew it. The sounds changed to a loud banging. It sounded like he had a crowbar.
I wonder if the hallway was empty. Everyone must be out skiing or surely they've come out to investigate what all the noise was about.
I jumped forward and locked the bathroom door. There was no dresser to shove in front of it, but there was a chair that went with the vanity. I tipped th
e chair under the doorknob. It wouldn't stop him for too long, but it might buy me a few minutes until Logan could get there.
There was after another loud bang, and I jerked. It sounded like the door to the room was busted open. There were several loud bangs and then heavy footsteps.
“Where are you, little bitch? I did not agree to your boyfriend’s trade. I want him, but I want you too.” He laughed. “He believed that I would be willing to leave this room, and abandon you if he just offered himself up to me.” He laughed again. “I find it very amusing.”
Within seconds the bathroom door was rattling.
“Fuck you. Are you going to make me rip off another door knob? I suppose it builds the anticipation.” The scraping started again. And I feared this doorknob was a lot more flimsy than the one on the front door.
“Your Logan will have a nice surprise. You are too good of a surprise to pass up. I cannot believe my luck.”
Oh God, I felt terrible. Logan had wanted to sacrifice himself for me, and Johannes had not taken the bait. He wanted us both. I hated to think of what this guy would do to Logan.
He had sounded so desperate on the phone.
Then the same sounds of metal on metal started back up, but this time they were louder, due to a thinner door. I stood in a crouch, gripping the curtain rod in my hands. I was not going to go down without a fight.
There was a really loud screeching noise and then the doorknob popped off.
The man began to push his way into the bathroom. The chair did slow him down a little bit, but eventually he kicked the door hard enough that the chair shattered.
Pieces of wood flew everywhere. One of the shards hit me in the leg. It cut my yoga pants and sliced my skin. A line of fire burned down my calf where the wood had hit me. Blood began to trickle out. The cut hurt, but it wasn’t dangerous.
I cringed, but I remained standing.
Now I could see part of the man's face. He had sallow skin with deep circles under both eyes that were an icy blue color. His glare was cruel and his mouth was twisted into a sneer. He had a cut across his forehead that looked recent.
“Found you,” he said.
I shrank back against the wall, still holding the shower curtain rod.
Then I heard the best sound I've ever heard in my life. Logan's voice. “Bethany!” He shouted.
And then there was a dull thud. Has Logan crashed into the man who was trying to get to me.
I stayed where I was, not wanting to get in the way.
Logan grabbed the man and dragged him out into the main part of the room.
A gunshot rang out.
Oh God. Had Logan been shot?
My worry boiled over and I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t lose Logan. I realized then that I was in love with him.
I loved Logan.
Then there was another dull thud and some scuffling, but no more gunshots. I stayed crouched in the bathroom. If I didn’t hear from Logan soon, I was going out there. If he was injured, maybe I’d be able to get help for him.
Then I heard him.
I had never been so relieved in my life. I sagged, letting go of the wall. I fell to my knees on the bathroom floor and then toppled onto my backside.
Logan appeared in front of me. “Bethany. Are you okay?” His hands were on my face. “Can you answer me?”
With a shuddering breath, I nodded. “Yes. I’m fine.” My leg was stinging where the wood had sliced it open, so I didn’t try to get up. “Are you?” There was already a bruise forming around his right eye.
“It was nothing,” he said. Logan was running his hands over my head now. Maybe he was feeling for bumps. “Did he touch you? Did he hurt you?”
“No. He had just gotten into the bathroom when you showed up.” I pointed at the broken chair. “I had shoved that under the handle, to try and slow him down.”
He kissed the top of my head. “Wow. That was really smart and it was some quick thinking. Where’d you learn that?”
I had to laugh, even if it was tinged with hysteria. “My brother and sister and I often do that to each other. If you get the right chair at just the right height, then you can keep someone locked in a bedroom or bathroom for several minutes. I thought it could work the same way from inside a room.”
His gaze moved down to my torn yoga pants and bloody leg. “How did that happen?” His voice took on a rough edge. His mouth pulled tight as he pressed his lips together.
“When Johannes busted the door open. The chair finally broke, and the pieces splintered. One of them hit me.”
“That bastard. I should have killed him,” he said to himself.
I put my hand on his arm.
He turned back toward me. “We need to get you to a doctor.”
“No. It’s fine. I don’t need stitches.”
“There’s a medic here. We’ll let her be the judge of that.” He bent down then and lifted me so carefully. “I am so sorry about your leg..”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It is. It’s most definitely my fault.”
We would have to talk about that later. Logan did not seem in the frame of mind to listen to me right now.
As he carried me out, I peeked around the door frame. The guy who’d tried to break in, Johannes, was face down on the floor. He looked unconscious.
He was all tied up with rope. “Did you tie him up?” I asked. Logan
“Yeah. And I need to make it more secure.” He sat me on the edge of the bed, and pulled a set of zip ties from the pocket of his cargo pants and started securing the guy.
“Is he still alive?” Logan’s comments led me to believe he was, but I couldn’t tell from looking. There was no blood, but I couldn’t tell if he was breathing.
“Yes. He's alive.” Logan added more rope to the guy’s ankles and then he stood up. “Unfortunately.”
Once he was done with Johannes, he walked toward me slowly with his hands out. “Bethany.” He knelt on the floor in front of me. “I will never be able to apologize enough for this.”
“You already said you were sorry.”
“Sorry is not enough. I was arrogant enough to think that my plan would work. My plan to stash you here in this hotel and leave you alone was wrong. I should have stayed with you. And then my plan to have you hand the phone to Johannes was also wrong.” He bowed his head. “I can’t believe I put you at risk like that.”
“Logan, you did the best you could.”
“No. I did not. I was blindsided. I was arrogant.” He took my hand. “I’ve known for months that someone was looking for me. I never should have let you stay with me. It was unforgivable.”
“Logan, I --”
Before I could finish, another man burst into the room. I jerked away from Logan, pressing myself against the wall. Then I realized this man knows Logan.
The man's eyes went to the guy on the floor. His eyes met Logan’s. “You ready for me to take him in?”
Logan’s eyes stayed trained on the man. “Yeah.”
The man nudged Johannes’s shoe with his own boot. “You don't want to question him yourself?”
Logan cracked his knuckles. “He won't survive it. It's best if you get him out of my sight.”
The other man patted Logan’s back and then rested his hand on Logan’s neck. Then he gave the back of Logan’s neck a rough squeeze. It was obvious they were close.
Who was he to Logan? He seemed like they’d worked together. But their familiarity was like the kind I had with Emmaline and Mia.
The guy let go of Logan’s neck. “Head’s up. Oliver's on his way.” He clapped his hands together and then pointed at Johanne. “We'll get him out of here.”
The man ran his hands through his hair. “I've already called the FBI. They're going to handle the bulk of the investigation. Should keep the police off your back.”
“Thank you,” Logan said.
It was obvious to me that there was a lot more going on than I realized.
> Then the man stepped forward. He tried to smile but it looked a little forced. “You must be Bethany. I'm Cameron.”
His looks were the opposite from Logan’s. He was blonde, with blue eyes and he was stockier. “Yes, I'm Bethany. It's nice to meet you.”
“I wish we'd met under less exciting circumstances,” Cameron said. “But all the same I'm glad to meet you.”
Then Cameron was gone, and Logan went to find a medic. He took my hand. “Just humor me, please. Let them look at your leg.”
Okay.” I smiled up at him. He leaned down and kissed my cheek. I have to take care of some phone calls. I’ll be right outside the room though.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said.
I could deal with a penicillin shot, or stitches, or some peroxide as long as I knew Logan was safe.
28
Logan
Bethany was safe.
That was the mantra that rolled through my head for the next several hours.
She was safe, but no thanks to me.
I had been a complete asshole. I’d thought I could outsmart Johannes, who was fucking evil.
But I had to put my own feelings aside for now and deal with the fallout from Johannes’s attack.
I had to spend the next few hours dealing with the FBI. The local sheriff came by but he was quick to back away once he saw the FBI, especially when Cameron spoke to him and they realized the perpetrator was not an American citizen.
I couldn't help but worry about Bethany. Her face was white. It was the first time I'd seen it with no color at all. Her complexion was even more pale than it had been when she broke her arm and thought she’d be stranded in the snow for hours.
She sat still for the medic who cleaned up her leg and bandaged it. Luckily it didn’t need stitches, only some butterfly bandages. And she did a good job with the questioning. One of the female FBI officers took her to a separate room to interview her, and when she came back, she had a coffee in hand and she was smiling just a little bit, even though she was limping too.
