Cabin Fever

by Felicity Heaton

  As the trees began to thin, she saw the distant cabin and noticed the cars parked near it. There were lights in the windows. Warm, inviting candlelight.

  She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw two men unloading the back of a pickup truck and headed for them.

  "Thank God!” she said as entered the clearing where they were stood, panic making it hard to think as she tried to tell them what had happened. “There's a man after me ... and he had a gun, but he doesn't have a gun now. I think I hurt him pretty badly. He passed out. I need to call the rangers so we can get him to a hospital. Do your phones work?"

  She waited for a response and then froze as she caught a flash of metal in one of the man's hands. Her eyes widened as she realised that what Jack had told her was true.

  He was trying to protect her.

  She hadn't run away from danger, she'd run straight into it.

  Turning quickly, she went to head back into the woods.

  A click.

  She tensed and stopped dead, instinct telling her that the gun was now pointing at her. She breathed in sharply and slowly raised her hands up by her sides.

  Closing her eyes, she swallowed hard as she thought about what she'd done. Jack was lying in the middle of the woods, probably bleeding to death, while she was about to get herself killed, and it was all her fault.

  "Don't move.” An unfamiliar voice warned her and she tensed. “Man with a gun, eh? Our boss will be very interested to hear what you have to say."

  Her heart rocketed, adrenaline making her fear disappear, and before she knew what she was doing she was moving. She made it a few steps before one of the men caught her. He spun her around to face the other one and just as her eyes met his, a sharp pain erupted across the side of her head and her vision swam. She blinked, desperately trying to hold onto the slender threads of consciousness as they slipped through her grasp and disappeared. The man grinned and then he was gone.

  The branches above her wavered and blurred growing darker and darker until an eerie calm engulfed her.

  Chapter 12

  Kate's head ached, a slow throb spreading from her right temple, its hot fingers sending pain pulsing through her skull. She took slow, shallow breaths as she suppressed the nausea that threatened to overwhelm her, and convinced herself that she didn't want to be sick.

  Opening her eyes, she lifted her head. Her vision swam. She blinked repeatedly to clear it and then wished it was blurred again when she saw the man with the gun standing over her, a wide grin stretching his grim features. Next to him, was a man that she'd never thought would hurt her.

  "She wakes at last,” Mr. Donovan said with a broad and too-pleasant smile.

  Her stomach rolled and she had a hard time keeping herself from being sick. Swallowing great gulps of air, she tried to meet his eyes. She noticed that she wasn't tied up, but that wouldn't be an advantage. The man with the gun would stop her if she tried to move and she didn't want to be pistol whipped again. Plus, she could hear more people behind her.

  She looked around to get her bearings. They were on the ground floor in the living room that she'd passed many evenings in with her family and his. The fire in the great fireplace at the end was lit and burning fiercely against the cold. There were men milling around and as they moved into view, she saw they were armed too. It was strange to see the room in this new light, and sickening too. Fear clenched her stomach and her heart. She couldn't shut out her worry about Jack and the dread of what was to come.

  Something told her that this was the reason Jack had been so quick to discount going to the Donovan's cabin to get help.

  He'd known what was happening here.

  How?

  "So, now that you're with us again, do kindly tell us about this man with a gun that was apparently after you.” Mr. Donovan's voice was smooth and calm, and sent a shiver of horror through her.

  Had she really spent evenings in this man's company? Gone on skiing trips together, his family and hers? He was so different now, as though he was someone new, not the man she used to know.

  There was such a cold light in his eyes, one that made him look soulless, a silent threat that he'd hurt her if she didn't talk.

  She didn't doubt that he would.

  Their history would mean nothing to the man standing before her.

  "I said he had a gun. I was panicked. I'd never seen one before.” She kept her face straight, hoping it would fool him. “I'm sure he wasn't out to hurt me. He just wanted to get rid of the mountain lion."

  "Mountain lion?” He gave her a look that said he half believed her.

  "There was one around the cabin. He went out to radio the rangers for help from his car and it attacked. He was defending himself. I guess I panicked and ran.” She carefully avoided mentioning Jack's name.

  "So your little friend had a gun in his car?"

  "I guess so. Don't a lot of people?” she said, her face void of emotions and her voice steady. If she didn't tell them anything about Jack, then they wouldn't go after him. Maybe he could get down the mountain and get the rangers. He was right about everything. He had been trying to protect her, and she didn't know what he was protecting her from, but there were enough guys with guns around her to give her a pretty clear idea.

  Something was going down, and Mr. Donovan was involved in it.

  Mr. Donovan was the ringleader.

  "I mean, you've all got guns.” Her voice quivered this time and she swallowed hard, allowing her fear to surface for a moment so he'd see it. Hopefully he'd go easier on her.

  "Where is this man now?"

  She gave the men around her a panicked look to buy herself time to think. She'd already told the man who had pistol whipped her that Jack was injured in the woods and they needed to call the hospital.

  "I hit him and ran when he fell over. I didn't look back.” She held Mr. Donovan's gaze so he'd believe her. She was never good at lying. Hopefully she'd improved.

  "How did you know he'd need a hospital?"

  "I didn't. I can't remember half of what happened. It was all a blur. He came after me and told me he wouldn't hurt me. I got scared out of my wits and I hit him and ran. I came straight here and wasn't made very welcome. I thought a close friend of my family's would help me.” She narrowed her eyes on his, emphasising the last sentence.

  He turned away from her and muttered something to the man that had hit her. She couldn't hear what they were saying to each other, but she guessed that he was asking for confirmation of what she'd said outside. She couldn't even remember clearly herself. Everything was so sketchy in her mind now and it was aching with each heavy beat of her heart.

  She wondered if Jack was all right. How could she be so blind? She should've listened to her heart when it had told her that Jack wasn't out to hurt her. She should've believed him when he'd said he just wanted to protect her. She wished she was with him, beside him right now, so she knew that he was going to be all right. He hadn't seen the branch coming when she'd hit him with it and she hadn't realised how hard her blow had been until she'd seen all that blood.

  Would the smell of it attract the animals?

  There could be another mountain lion in the area. What if she'd left him alone out there to get mauled and killed?

  "How long have we known each other, Kate?"

  She looked up with wide eyes, shocked back to reality by Mr. Donovan's voice. It was still cold and empty, hard as rock. There wasn't even a fragment of emotion in it, not the slenderest thread.

  "Years ... since I was small."

  "In all the time I watched you growing up, I never thought you'd become a liar."

  She frowned. “And I never thought you'd become a son of a bitch. I guess I was wrong."

  The gun smacked her hard across the temple again, momentarily blinding her and sending her brain reeling. She squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth against the pain. It sent an ache through her bones and then slowly began to subside.

  "That's enough!” Mr. Do
novan shouted at someone. She imagined it was the man who had hit her. Maybe there was a shred of compassion in him after all.

  She fluttered her eyes open and tried to see through the pain that was making her eyeballs feel as though they were going to explode.

  Mr. Donovan appeared in front of her, crouching down so his eyes were level with hers.

  "I never thought you'd grow up into such a troublesome but beautiful woman, Kate.” His voice was honey and she leaned back, away from him, when he tried to touch her face. The side of it was burning fiercely with white hot pain. She could feel her pulse pounding there.

  She expected Mr. Donovan to move, but he stayed where he was.

  "Now, Kate, why don't you make this easier on yourself? Tell us where your friend is."

  "I told you ... I don't know where he is,” she said through gritted teeth. “I don't know."

  "Tell us where he is, Kate. You hit him hard. You said that yourself. He passed out.” Mr. Donovan's voice regained the cold edge and she could see in his eyes that she was beginning to piss him off.

  "I don't know! I was panicked. I might have knocked him out. I don't know. I don't even know where we were when it happened. I just remember hitting him and then running.” She was pushing her luck now.

  Her stomach dropped when Mr. Donovan spoke.

  "Tell me where Jack Darcy is."

  Jack? He knew Jack. Her eyes widened and her expression clearly screamed of shock and confusion since Mr. Donovan grinned at her.

  "We know he was with you, Kate. He's one of our boys and we'd like to get him back. We don't want him bleeding to death because some interfering little girl got it into her head to hit him.” There was something about the look on Mr. Donovan's face that made Kate frown.

  If Jack was one of them, why would they knock her out and question her, wasting time? Why was Mr. Donovan suddenly being so pleasant when before he'd been nothing but the epitome of cold and evil.

  "He's one of yours?” she said, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together so she could make sense of it. Was Jack one of theirs? He'd wanted to protect her and stop her from going to the Donovan's place. Why would he do that if he was one of Mr. Donovan's men?

  "Of course."

  She gave him a sceptical look. “I've known you all these years and I never thought you'd become a liar."

  She closed her eyes before his hand struck, slapping her hard enough across the cheek that she almost fell off the chair. She pressed her hand against her stinging cheek and looked at him, her eyes reflecting her hatred.

  "You made me do that,” he said, a look of sorrow on his face.

  She would've been more convinced of his sincerity had his eyes not remained cold and empty.

  "But you're right. He's not one of ours."

  "So who is he?” she said, wanting to know now that he'd piqued her curiosity. Who was Jack Darcy?

  "He works for the opposition, for our competition. We need to dispose of him before he can hurt anyone else. He's hurt many people, Kate. He'll stop at nothing to get what he wants."

  She couldn't quite bring herself to believe what he'd said. Jack didn't strike her as the kind of man who had hurt people, or would be involved in this kind of game, whatever it was. He'd said that he was protecting her.

  "Your opposition? More people up to illegal stuff?” She wriggled in her seat, trying to maintain her calm façade so she could get some answers.

  "He hurt you, Kate."

  "He didn't. He never hurt me. I hurt him."

  "He would've hurt you. Why do you think he had a gun? Did he tell you he had a gun?"

  She frowned. He hadn't. He'd never said a word about it. He'd killed that mountain lion, slipped the gun into his pocket, and acted as though nothing had happened. She shook her head, trying to clear it. Mr. Donovan was just trying to mess with her head. First Jack was working for him, now he was working for someone else, the competition apparently. What was next?

  She looked at him, closely scrutinising him and trying to see what he hoped to gain. Was he trying to make her give up Jack's location? He didn't want her to trust Jack. Why not? Was Jack a threat to him?

  "No, he didn't.” She decided to play along with him and see where this was all going.

  "I bet he never told you why he was here either."

  "He was on vacation with my step-brother.” She smiled inside at being able to sidestep his attempt to make her distrust Jack.

  "Nick? He's friends with Jack?” His eyes were wide now and finally showing true emotion.

  Panic.

  She nodded. Clearly there was some kind of connection here. Was Nick working for Mr. Donovan? She frowned. It would be just like him to be stupid enough to fall in with this kind of crowd.

  "Is that a problem?” she said, tilting her head to one side and giving him a confused look as she watched him squirm. Something about Nick and Jack knowing each other had thrown him off balance.

  Was it because Jack worked for the opposition? Or did he work for someone worse?

  "Not at all. I just never imagined that Nick would make friends with such an unsavoury character. Jack Darcy is a born killing machine who doesn't care what it takes to get his job done."

  "What kind of job is that?” she said with a sweet smile. One step closer to discovering what Jack was hiding behind his eyes.

  Mr. Donovan gave a nervous laugh and walked over to the drinks cabinet. She watched him down a whisky and waited, wondering what was coming next. He was definitely unsettled now.

  "I want him dead!” He turned on a pinpoint and grabbed the man nearest him.

  Kate jumped and sat bolt upright as Mr. Donovan shoved the man aside and stalked towards her. He grabbed her by the throat and pushed her backwards while lifting her head up.

  "Tell me where he is!” His fingers tightened around her throat.

  Her eyes watered and she choked, desperate for air as he started to strangle her.

  "Why? So you can kill him?” she forced the words out.

  His grip tightened and then he released her. He patted her cheek in an almost loving way and then nodded.

  "You don't understand the kind of man you're protecting, Kate.” He bent over, bringing his mouth close to her ear. She shuddered when he whispered into it. “He's a killer, Kate. He'll stop at nothing to get this mission done. There's no point in protecting him. You're nothing but a complication in his plan. I'm surprised he didn't kill you along with that mountain lion. He'll be sure to kill you now."

  She looked into his eyes as he drew back, smiling at her. It sent a shiver through her.

  Jack wouldn't kill her. Jack was trying to protect her. She'd killed them both. No, not yet she hadn't. If she kept quiet about his location, then it would give him time to come around and escape.

  "I still don't believe you. First he works for you ... then he works for the opposition? He tells me he's protecting me, and you're telling me he wants me dead?” She flinched when he went to strike her again but stopped a hair's breadth from her cheek.

  "Kate ... Kate ... Kate ... didn't he lie to you too?"

  She frowned and looked at him, unsure of what he was implying. Jack hadn't lied to her. He'd never told her what he did for a living. It was none of her business. He'd never lied to her about the gun either. She'd never asked if he had one.

  The only person lying to her was Mr. Donovan.

  Jack was trying to protect her. He was definitely involved in this somehow, she just didn't know how right now.

  "Jack wasn't out to hurt me.” She watched his eyes darken.

  He laughed.

  "You're in love with him!” His laughter increased, the whole room joining in. “What spell did he weave on you to make that happen? It's not real, Kate. Whatever you think he feels ... it's a lie. British Government Agents like Jack Darcy don't fall in love. He's using you."

  She stared at the far wall, trying to take everything in. An agent? Like a secret agent? She blinked. Was this the truth now? The wa
y he'd said it made her feel as though it was. It had just come out. She brought her eyes up to meet his and searched them. He looked panicked again. Was Jack a spy?

  "I've had enough of this,” Mr. Donovan said and signalled to someone. They grabbed her arms. “Take her upstairs."

  She was dragged roughly from the room.

  Just as the door was closing, she heard Mr. Donovan speak and it sent fear racing through her.

  "Go to her cabin. Find Jack Darcy. Kill him!"

  Chapter 13

  It was cold. Freezing spots of water dotted his face where the snowflakes had melted against his skin and were now catching the breeze. Fluttering his eyes open, he frowned at the blurry mess of black trees and pale blue sky. He blinked slowly, trying to force his eyes to focus while at the same time attempting to shut down the riot of pain inside his skull.

  It felt as though she'd split his head open.

  He raised his hand at a snail's pace, feeling sick as he tried to move and his head spun, making the trees above him spin with it. They twisted and turned, distorting into violent shapes that made his eyes hurt and his headache worsen.

  Pressing his fingers gingerly against the side of his head, he brought them away and frowned at the dark blood on them.

  She had cracked his head open, and then she'd left him for dead.

  She was stronger than he'd thought.

  Swallowing down the sickness in his stomach, he raised himself up until he was propped up on his elbows. He blinked again, trying to take in the scene around him as his head continued to throb and ache. He looked down at his body and painfully arched a brow at the light dusting of snow that covered him.

  His eyes moved to his surroundings and he saw that it had snowed again overnight.

  A part of him was thankful that it had. The cold temperatures made his face feel numb, easing the pain, and the snow was like a natural ice pack.

  He couldn't see any tracks, and he knew that it was probably too much to hope that she had gone back to the cabin after hitting him with the branch. She had probably run to the nearest safe place—the Donovan's. He moaned as he realised that she'd run straight into danger.