But if he was an Aspen resident, he must be rich. He looked like a male model, for crying out loud, so he must be in high demand with the ladies. And yeah, maybe he liked random flings with out-of-state women, because he knew they’d be out of his hair soon.
I didn’t have time for any of that.
“I’m very flattered that you asked,” I began.
He pretended to be shocked. “You’re turning me down? Without even giving me a chance to show you what good company I am?”
I smiled and shook my head. “I’m sure you are, Sawyer. But, I’m not on vacation. I’m working. My boss is waiting for me to find her lost laptop, and I’m in deep trouble if I can’t. The rest of the week will be just as hectic. So I’ve got to say no, I’m afraid.”
Sawyer leaned right in to the window. For a split second, I thought he was going to kiss me through the gap.
“Is that the laptop, right there?”
I spun around to see where he was pointing. There it was. A silver rectangle was on the floor in back, sticking out from under the passenger seat. It must have worked its way out of Deborah’s tote bag on the way back from the airport.
“Oh my gosh! Thank you so much. You just saved me a chunk of time. And, a lot of stress.”
I reached under the seat and pulled out the troublesome machine. It looked like it was still in one piece. What a relief.
“Now you have time to come for coffee with me, at least.”
“You don’t take rejection well, huh?”
He leaned on the car and looked me up and down again. He knew I couldn’t drive off while he was resting on the vehicle. It was a pretty assertive move. Part of me was really offended he was so forward, and so bad at listening to my answers.
But, in truth, another part of me found it kind of exciting. I wasn’t used to hot guys begging for my number.
Still, this handsome distraction needed to stop now. I had work to do.
“I’m sorry, Sawyer. I really need to get back to the house. You have no idea how full my calendar is.”
“I’d love to find out how full it is.”
This guy took boldness to a whole new level.
“I’m closing the window now. I’ve really got to go. Thank you for checking if I was okay.”
I put the car into reverse and turned it around, so I could drive back the way I came. Sawyer just stood at the side of the road, watching me. His muscular silhouette in the rear view mirror made me catch my breath.
What the hell almost just happened?
Before I could think about it any more, I put my foot on the gas and sped away. It was a shame, but like I told him, I wasn’t on vacation.
The figure in the mirror just stood there, getting smaller and smaller.
My mind ran through a montage of pornographic images, all the way back to Deborah’s house. If only I had been on vacation. My cheeks burned red at the thought of the adventures I could’ve had with this sexy stranger, if only I hadn’t been married to the job.
Disappointment came naturally to me, though. I resolved to put him out of my mind.
If only it was that easy.
Open Door
The house was only a few minutes drive away, so I got back pretty swiftly. For every minute of that brief journey, I thought of Sawyer Haines, and his hard, strong body.
Oh my. I was going to need a cold shower, if I carried on like this.
I stepped out of the car, holding Deborah’s laptop under my arm, and stuffed my cellphone in my jeans pocket. With any luck she’d still be working through her list of calls. Maybe then, I could just put the damn laptop in her study. That way, I could carry on with my tasks without another round of quick-fire orders.
Then I noticed something that stopped me in my tracks.
The front door was open. I had definitely shut it behind me.
Was Deborah out here at the front of the house? She knew I had the car, right? She couldn’t have been looking for it?
“Deborah?”
No answer. I peered through the door and called her name again. No reply.
A deep sense of dread washed over me.
I threw the laptop in the back seat of the car. Then I steeled myself, and stepped inside.
“Deborah? Can you hear me?”
Could she have hurt herself? Why would she have left the door open? She wasn’t in the hall, or in the driveway.
It couldn’t have been my mistake, could it? I never left doors open. I was super careful about security. The Rollinsons were a high net worth family, and always double-locked their doors. I kept their safety in mind, always.
Treading as quietly as I could, I crossed the hallway.
Could Deborah have gone out for a walk?
No, she wouldn’t have wandered off alone. She had too much work to do today. Plus, she never walked anywhere. If she’d wanted to go someplace, she would’ve asked me to drive while she worked in the back seat.
This just wasn’t like her.
When I reached the living room, I gasped. The floor lamp nearest the door was on its side, and its glass shade was smashed to pieces.
Broken glass littered the rug. A whole tableful of antique ornaments had been swept to the floor, and the sofa had been moved a little, making it crooked.
There had been a struggle in here. A fight.
My blood ran cold as I tried to imagine what had happened. I ran through to the kitchen, calling Deborah’s name.
Then, I saw something white on the charcoal granite counter. It was a piece of paper.
I ran to it, taking care not to touch it in case I contaminated a piece of evidence. Once a trainee cop, always a trainee cop.
It was written in a childlike print script. Maybe the person had actually asked a child to write it? That’d be one way to do it.
It said:
Hi Edgar! Your wife is safe for now but she might not stay that way. Send $30,000,000 in the next 48 hours to make sure you get her back.
There was an international bank account number listed at the end.
I held up my phone, clicking on the camera function. Then I photographed the note, to make sure there was a record of it. The police would do this anyway, but I was thorough by nature.
Was this really happening? Could Deborah genuinely have been kidnapped?
Suddenly, it occurred to me that the maniac who did this might still be in the house. Shit.
I bolted as fast as I could for the front door.
I needed to call the police, right now. But for my own safety, I should leave the crime scene first. That was rule one of self-preservation.
Leaping back into the car, I sped off down the driveway and back out to the road. I swerved onto a patch of rocky ground to the side of the road. When I was sure I was safe, I parked and reached for my cell.
It rang before I even had a chance to dial 911.
Who the hell was this? The display read ’Unknown number’.
Uh-oh. Could this be the kidnapper?
No. How could he have gotten my number?
Uh…he could’ve gotten it from Deborah?
I gulped back my nerves, took a deep breath and answered.
“Yes?”
“That’s an abrupt way to answer a phone. I prefer the more classic ‘hello’.”
A stab of recognition shot through me. I knew that voice. Didn’t I?
“Sawyer?”
“The one and only.”
I gaped at the phone, speechless.
“Listen, Cadence. I have a confession to make. Back there — I didn’t make a call with your phone. I called my own number. You see, I couldn’t let you go without giving us a way to reach each other.”
Right now, the incredible balls-out nerve of the man was less important to me than my fears about Deborah.
“Sawyer, I can’t talk now. There’s a problem. A big problem. I’m hanging up. I need to call the police.”
“What? What’s happening? Are you okay?” His tone went instantly from flirty
and teasing, to sincere and concerned.
“I’m fine. My boss has been kidnapped. I’m sitting in the car at the end of Wildcat Way, and I need to get help.”
He didn’t ask any more questions. He didn’t express shock, or confusion. He was decisive, and calm.
“Stay where you are. I’m on my way.”
I hung up and called 911. The operator told me they’d send out a patrol car right away.
But, Sawyer got to me first. This time, he was fully dressed and in a car. A Lexus, no less.
“My god, Cadence,” he said, as he opened my driver door.
Without even knowing what I was doing, I clicked out of my seatbelt and fell into his arms.
He hugged me tightly, one hand in my hair and the other around my waist. The world stopped just for a moment, and I was safe right there. Still, warm, and safe, in a stranger’s arms.
He murmured my name into my hair and I pressed my eyes shut, just soaking up the sense of support.
I could’ve stayed like that for hours, hugging someone I’d known for all of thirty minutes.
But blue lights and screaming sirens snapped us out of the cozy moment. We leapt apart awkwardly.
Two cops got out of their vehicle.
“Miss Bradley? Can you run through exactly what you saw at the house?”
I sat in the back of the police car with the older officer, and went through all the details. He wrote everything down. The photo of the ransom note was on my phone, and I showed him that.
“You need to check the house yourselves though. I mean, it’s been smashed up a little. There must be clues all over.”
“We have officers on their way, ma’am.”
Just as he said this, two police cars zoomed by, flashing their lights and wailing.
The cop looked sympathetically at me. “Do you have somewhere else you can stay? The house will be sealed off for at least a couple of nights.”
“I, uh…” My mind went blank. “I should get a hotel room, I guess.”
“Officers, I’ll help Miss Bradley with all that.” Sawyer leaned on the vehicle and peered in. “And Jim, it’s good to see you again.”
He shook the cop’s hand through the open car door. Aspen was a pretty small city. I wondered if it was one of those places where everybody knew everybody.
“Well, now. If you’ll make sure this young lady finds herself a place to stay, then I’ll send you both on your way.”
He ushered me out of the back seat and climbed out himself.
“We’ll be in touch, Miss Bradley. If you hear from Mrs. Rollinson or anybody else, you be sure to contact me.” He handed me a card with his name and direct contact details on it.
“Okay, Officer O’Leary.” Numbness had replaced the dread. “What about Deborah’s rental car, though?”
“We’ll arrange for that to be collected from here,” the other cop said. “Take any personal items you may have in it. You keep us updated on your movements and we’ll talk more tomorrow, no doubt.”
Sawyer put out his arm and I took it, gratefully. I let him guide me to his car.
“I’ll take you home to my place, and we can book you a hotel from there.”
I should’ve objected, but somehow I just felt like this man was on my side. Ordinarily, I’d think it wasn’t at all sensible to go home with a guy you just met. Especially not one who seemed to think clothing was optional on a public highway.
Yet here I was, feeling like that was fine and dandy. Maybe the thin mountain air was making me reckless. Or, maybe he really was solid and dependable. Just like he felt when he hugged me.
“Okay,” I said.
As he drove us to his home, I closed my eyes and tried to settle my adrenaline levels. What a day.
Home From Home
Sawyer’s house sat right at the top of a winding private road, in the lower part of the mountainside. As we turned around the bend toward it, I whistled.
“Wow. That is one heck of a log cabin.”
It looked a lot like a modern log cabin, but enormous. Also, it was much more fancy. Huge glass windows overlooked a river. There was a porch running the length of the house; it included wicker furniture strewn with cushions.
I thought my boss’s new Aspen house was impressive, but this blew it away.
“I hope you’ll stay for a bite to eat before you go to the hotel?” he asked. He leaned over me to undo my seatbelt, which put his face about a quarter-inch from mine.
I slapped his hand away. His beautiful face was even better in close-up, but nobody does that sort of thing for me.
“I can do it,” I said.
“Sure,” he grinned. “I’ll back off.”
We got out of the car. Turning three hundred sixty degrees, I surveyed my surroundings. It was a little slice of paradise out there in the mountains, with nothing but wildlife and landscape for what seemed like miles around.
Then we went inside. The house looked even more luxurious from that angle.
“You live here alone?”
“Absolutely alone.”
“But, this place is huge.”
“I like my space. Space is good.”
“How many bedrooms do you have?”
“Five. Five bedrooms, five bathrooms. Also, some other rooms. Can I get you a drink?”
“Five bedrooms, just for one man? Are you kidding me?”
He shook his head and pointed me in the direction of a huge beige sofa. I sank into it, gratefully.
“I had to buy one with five bedrooms. All the good houses had at least five.”
He handed me a glass with ice.
“I have juice, or I have vodka. I highly recommend combining them, but that’s up to you.”
“It’s four o’clock in the afternoon. Is this cocktail hour up here in Aspen?”
“No. You’ve had a shock and you need to relax.”
“You like telling other people what to do, don’t you?”
He looked confused. “Not at all. I’m offering you a compelling choice.”
“Not really. You’re saying that…” A wave of weariness overtook me. “You know what, never mind. I’ll go with juice and vodka, then. Why the hell not.”
He took our glasses away and brought them back filled with something orangey-pink.
“Mango and peach juice. Here comes the vodka.”
He poured a generous slug into each.
“I shall be giggly in ten minutes.”
“But then I’ll fix dinner and you can haul it all back from the brink.”
I laughed at his wide, easy smile. “You are the most super-confident man I’ve ever met. I bet you don’t doubt yourself, ever.”
He winked at me, and my heart fluttered.
God, I was an easy crowd tonight. Calm down, hormones, I thought.
“You won’t say that when you’ve seen me in the kitchen. A toddler could clean up better.”
I took a sip of my drink. The liquor burned my throat a little, but I soon got used to that.
“I’m so worried about Deborah,” I said. “You think she’s okay?”
“Don’t worry. That note said it all. The guy wants money. He doesn’t intend to hurt her.”
“You can’t know that.”
He looked pretty sure of his opinion. “I know it’s terrifying, but she’ll be fine. Try to stay calm and trust in the authorities.”
“I do trust in the police. I know they have this covered.” I took another sip of my drink. It was good.
“You know, you don’t have to get a hotel room.”
Sawyer’s green eyes skipped over me. As they met mine, I felt a strange jolt of connection. Who was this guy?
“Say what?”
“You heard me.”
“I do too have to get a hotel room. You need your space, remember?”
He shrugged with a half-smile. “I did say that, yeah.” Pulling me up by my hands, he guided me through to the kitchen. “Right, sit your beautiful ass there.” He nodded at a tabl
e and wandered behind the counter.
The vodka made me more assertive.
“Sawyer, tell me something. Why did you take my number? Was it just for the random thrill of the chase? Why are you doing all this? Cooking, and making me drinks, and helping me, and all that. Aren’t there easier lays out there? Why me?”
He froze, just for a second. Just like he had when I asked if he’d seen that mountain lion.
“I’m not interested in easy lays.”
“Okay. So you like a challenge, then?”
He frowned, shaking his head. “You have no instincts about who I am? Who you are, to me?”
I stared at him, trying to make sense of what he was asking. The alcohol wasn’t helping at all. The words were no more meaningful after I’d replayed them in my mind several times.
I gave up trying to work it out.
“What are you talking about?”
He sat next to me and took my hand. Lightning bolts seemed to pass between us.
“Isn’t it obvious? You’re mine.”
I stared at him in amazement.
“Huh?”
“Don’t you feel it, too?”
I looked out of the window for a second. It was starting to snow.
Then, I looked back into his eyes. As I did so, I felt warm pinpricks of arousal flicker through me, yet again.
“How can I be yours?”
“Well, I’m yours, too. We belong to each other.”
“Huh?”
“Stop saying huh.”
“Sawyer, what the hell are you talking about?”
But, he didn’t answer. He just grabbed me and kissed me. Just like that. Without any warning.
And as our lips pressed together, I felt a surge of something like — joy.
Not to mention, the deepest longing for a guy’s body that I had ever felt.
God, I wanted this man. It was insane how much I wanted him.
I kissed him back, hard and hungry. I clawed at his back, needing to be closer, ever closer to him.
Sawyer’s hands were all over me. He gripped my body firmly against him, like he’d never let me go.
And then, a banging noise at the front door brought us back to reality pretty quickly.
Shit. What the hell were we doing?
Shifters in the Snow Page 60
