“I’m the one with the gun here.” Jennie lifted her chin, trying to be brave. “How about you let Emily go and I won’t kill you?” She knew how foolish her words sounded, but she had no doubt the man would kill her if she gave herself up. She couldn’t let him take her.
His gaze narrowed. He let out an evil chuckle. “You’re not going to kill me. You probably don’t even know how to use that thing.”
Jennie lifted the gun higher, pointing it at his head. “Wanna’ bet on that?”
Then Jennie heard it.
Another motor running.
Heading their way.
Coming closer.
Fast.
The man’s black gaze darted back to hers. “I’ll bet that’s Max. I wondered how long it would take him to come after you. Come on, Jennie. It’s time to go.”
His hand snaked out. Jennie jerked away and pulled the trigger.
The gun clicked.
She pulled the trigger again.
Click.
And again.
Click.
No!
Again and again.
Click. Click.
No, no, no! It wasn’t even loaded. She’d snatched it up from the table without bothering to check if it was loaded first.
Idiot!
The man let out an evil chuckle as he leered down at her. Jennie spun away from him in the deep snow. She tried to run.
He tackled her, shoved her face in the snow and held her down. Jennie gasped, inhaling a mouthful of snow.
“Time to go back, Jennie. No more games.” He wrapped a hand around her neck and hauled her to her feet, steering her toward his waiting snowmobile.
Jennie tried to fight, but he only increased the pressure on her neck, his fingers poking into the sensitive area where her neck throbbed. She bit back a cry of pain.
They reached his machine. He shoved her toward it. “Get on.”
The other snowmobile was getting closer. Jennie knew she couldn’t let the man take her. If she did, she was as good as dead. She was supposed to free Emily, not let the man abduct her again. She should have thought this out better, not been so impulsive.
She sucked in a breath, then wrenched out of his hold. Jennie stumbled away, amazed that she’d managed to slip out of his grasp. He let out a snarl and lunged at her. Backing up quickly, she spun on her heel and sprinted toward the approaching snowmobile.
The man hissed out a curse as she slipped out of his reach. He glanced at his snowmobile then behind her at the approaching snowmobile. He glared at her. “I’ll be back for you, bitch. You can count on it.” He hopped on his machine. “I’ll have to punish Emily for what you’ve done.”
He roared away through the falling snow.
Jennie collapsed in the deep snow, breathing heavily, as the cold began to penetrate through her coat. She shivered. I’m sorry, Emily.
Who was that creep and why wouldn’t he leave her alone? Why wouldn’t he free Emily? And how did he know Max?
The approaching snowmobile slid to a stop beside her.
“What the hell are you doing?” Max shouted.
Jennie couldn’t look at him. She’d failed Emily. She knelt in the deep snow as reality crashed home. Her eyes flooded with tears. She’d nearly been abducted. Again. And that creep was going to punish Emily because Jennie wouldn’t go with him. Her breath came in quick pants. Oh God, she was going to hyperventilate.
Max leapt off the snowmobile and dropped beside her in the snow. “Jennie?” His voice softened. “Are you okay? What happened?”
She gulped in a breath. “I...was going to try to find Emily, but I went the wrong way! I’m so stupid!”
“What?” Max leaned back. “Emily’s alive? You know this for sure?”
Jennie wiped at a tear. She nodded. “She called early this morning. It was the call that woke you up. She said to tell you she was sorry.”
Max fell back in the snow, his face filling with shock, and then…hope. He expelled a breath. He ran a hand roughly over his face, knocking his hat aside. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He pulled the hat back over his head, covering his ears.
“I was afraid. A man came on the line and said he’d kill her if I didn’t come alone. He said he’d kill you if I brought you. He wanted me to meet him at the cabin back in the woods.”
Max’s gaze narrowed, disbelief crossing his features. “What cabin back in the woods?”
“He said three miles north of the bridge. I was going to go there and try to free Emily, but I went the wrong way. He must have been watching for me.”
Max stared at her. “Who was he?”
She lifted her shoulder in a shrug. “I don’t know. He was dressed all in white. His eyes were all I could see. Mean black eyes. It was the same guy from last night. I saw the tear in his pants where Gray bit him. But he knew you. He called you Max.”
Max stared at her without speaking for a long moment.
“You’re lying. You met him here for some reason. Why?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m telling the truth. I swear.”
“Then what were you doing out here?” He motioned around them at the swirling snow. “South of the bridge?”
Jennie cringed. “I screwed up and went the wrong direction. I couldn’t tell which way was north in all the falling snow.”
Max huffed out another breath, the air fogging in front of his face. It was obvious he didn’t believe her. He trudged through the snow to the machine she’d wrecked. He grabbed the end and flipped it upright. He turned the key to the “off” position. The motor died.
Jennie rose to her feet. “I’m sorry about your snowmobile. I’ll pay to have it fixed.”
Max ignored her. He withdrew a tow rope from under the hood and attached it to the front of the snowmobile, then tied it to the back of his machine.
“How did you wreck it?” He glanced over at her.
Heat scorched her cheeks. “I ran into a tree.”
He frowned. “Were you hurt?”
She nodded. “I landed on my head. My neck hurts.”
He sighed. “Sounds like you might have a neck injury. Try to keep your neck as straight and still as possible. I’ll have to X-ray it when we get back.”
Jennie lowered her gaze. Her bottom lip trembled. She fought back tears.
“Come on, let’s go.” He hopped aboard.
As Jennie turned toward his snowmobile, she spied the gun lying in the snow at the base of the tree. She hurried over and snatched it up, shoving it back into her pocket.
Max eyed her as she approached. “You took the gun?”
She nodded. “But I didn’t know it wasn’t loaded. If I’d bothered to check it first, that guy would be dead now and we could find Emily. I’m so stupid.” A sob escaped. She hitched in a breath. “I almost didn’t get away from him.”
Max shook his head. He looked disgusted. She couldn’t blame him. She was disgusted with herself.
“I-I wanted to find Emily and save her and bring her back to you so you’d see I was trustworthy. I wanted to prove to you that I’m not a bad person.”
Max let out another sigh. “I don’t think you’re a bad person.”
She climbed aboard, wrapped her arms around his waist. “Yes, you do. You think I’m a liar and you don’t trust me.”
He didn’t say anything in response to that, confirming her belief. “Next time you get some hare-brained idea in your head to go after Emily, tell me about it first, okay? I’ll go with you. You could have been killed.”
“I’m sorry.” Jennie buried her face in his coat. “You told me about the snowmobiles to see if I’d steal one, didn’t you?”
He didn’t answer, again confirming her suspicion that he didn’t trust her. That he’d set her up. She really was a fool.
Max squeezed one of her gloved hands where it wrapped around his waist.
“If Emily’s alive, we’ll find her. Together.”
She sniffled and nodded against his back.
Together.
Did that mean he trusted her now? Or was he just trying to get her to stop crying?
“Hang on,” he said. “We’re going to check out that cabin before this storm gets any worse.”
* * *
They dropped the wrecked snowmobile off at the house and Max dragged it back into the shop. He tried to convince Jennie to go inside where it was warm and relax her neck, but she insisted on coming with him. She said her neck could wait. Though Max was concerned she may have ruptured or compressed a disk in her neck, he didn’t push her. One thing he’d learned about Jennie in the few days he’d known her was she was stubborn. And he didn’t want to waste time arguing with her when he could be searching for Emily.
They found the cabin exactly where Jennie said the man told her it would be. Three miles north of the bridge, back in the pines. Max couldn’t deny he was a little suspicious of Jennie’s story. Was there something she wasn’t telling him?
Not only was the cabin abandoned, but the deep snow encircling the entire property made it apparent no one had been there in a long time. Had the man sent Jennie to an empty cabin on purpose? If so, why? To see if she’d bring Max along with her? To get her to a secluded place so he could abduct her again?
If the guy had told her to meet him at the cabin, why had Jennie encountered him out in the forest several miles in the opposite direction? Had she truly gotten lost and the man had followed her out there? Or had they been planning something until Max showed up and interrupted them?
Most importantly, was Emily still alive? Or was Jennie screwing with him?
Max wanted to believe Jennie was telling the truth. His heart couldn’t take another beating. If she was lying to him, he’d be crushed.
But he still wanted to check out the cabin. Emily might be inside. So while Jennie waited on the snowmobile, he trudged through the deep snow and peered in all the windows. Tried the door.
To his surprise, it was unlocked. Max pushed the door open. He stepped inside. The cabin was dark and empty. No furniture. Nothing but dust and cobwebs. No evidence of anyone being inside for a long time.
He closed the door behind him and went back outside. Jennie was still waiting on the snowmobile. Her gaze searched his.
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
She looked away. “I’m sorry. I was hoping she’d be here.”
She sounded so sincere. But was she?
Max had wanted to follow the guy’s tracks in the snow to see where he went, but the snow was blustering around them and visibility was limited. Not to mention it was below zero out here. His face was already ice cold. He couldn’t feel his nose or the tips of his fingers. It would have been difficult to track the guy in this weather, if not impossible. He would be no good to Emily if he died before he found her. And he’d held on to the slim chance that he’d find Emily in this cabin, so he’d chosen to come here instead of pursue the other man.
Max sighed. Should he have followed the other guy instead of searching for Emily here?
No. Not in this weather. He wasn’t a complete fool. They’d be lucky if they made it back to the house as it was. If they’d gone after the other guy, chances were they’d become lost in the blizzard and never find their way back.
Jennie was injured. He needed to get her home. Get her inside where it was warm. Cursing the weather that prevented him from searching for Emily, he climbed back on the snowmobile. Jennie wrapped her arms around his waist, reminding him that he wasn’t alone. He pushed his frustration aside.
With a heavy heart, Max headed for home.
And hoped they made it back.
* * *
Jennie was really starting to piss him off. Twice now she’d gotten away. He’d told her to go to the cabin because he knew it was abandoned and no one would see them there. He could snatch her up, take her back, and no one would be the wiser.
And because it was in the opposite direction from where he’d left Emily. He hadn’t trusted Jennie to come alone, so he’d sent her far enough away from his place that she wouldn’t be able to find Emily.
But the dumb bitch had gone the wrong direction. His little cabin was only a few hundred yards across the river from where she’d run into the tree with the snowmobile. When he’d seen the snowmobile heading south along the river, he’d decided to investigate. At first he thought it might be cops searching for him. But then decided they wouldn’t be out in this weather. Only a fool, or a man who was completely comfortable in the elements such as himself, would venture out in this wicked winter storm.
He was done playing games with Jennie. He wasn’t going to try to abduct her again. Now all he wanted was to kill her. Rid himself of her once and for all.
She obviously didn’t remember where he lived or she would have already brought Max to his doorstep. Which meant he had more time.
To torment Max. To make him suffer.
And Emily, good girl that she was, would help him torture her father. She always did what he told her. He couldn’t wait to bring Max to his knees.
He detoured around the back of his property before securing his snowmobile in the shed out back. Though he knew the heavy snowfall would quickly cover his tracks, in the event Max followed, he didn’t want to make it easy for Max to find him. He’d have to be careful about venturing out on the snowmobile in the future and possibly leaving tracks for someone to follow.
He headed inside. Jennie’s escape made him want to punish something. But the only thing left to punish was Emily. She was the only innocent one in this whole situation. Sometimes he felt guilty for what he’d done to her. But he’d needed her in order to punish Max and make him suffer. He still needed her. She was the means to an end.
He chuckled.
Max had certainly suffered.
Laura had killed herself a week after Emily had disappeared.
Max’s veterinary business had soon gone under.
Max had turned into a pathetic drunk. Even his own family had turned away from him.
He snickered as he yanked open the door to the basement and headed down the stairs. He wouldn’t hurt Emily too badly, he decided. Not yet. He’d just slap her around a bit. He needed her to have some bruises he could photograph and email to Max. He wasn’t sure if Jennie had told Max Emily was alive. But it was time to torture Max again. Time to reveal to him all the horrible things he’d done to Emily...
And finally push Max over the edge.
Emily’s frightened gaze followed him as he reached the bottom of the stairs and came toward her.
As much as he regretted hurting Emily, it was something he had to do in order to punish the man he’d hated since the day they’d met.
It was all for a good cause.
A very good cause.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
By the time they got back to the house, the snow was falling more heavily than before. For a moment there, Max had feared they’d get lost and wouldn’t make it back. But then they’d crossed over the bridge and a few minutes later they drove onto his property.
He could tell Jennie’s neck was hurting her, for she winced when she climbed off the snowmobile and kept her head stiffly straight as she headed for the backdoor. The wind had picked up on the way back to the house, bringing with it a chill that seeped into Max’s bones. He put the snowmobile up and closed the garage door. Then he hesitated as he glanced around the shop. His emotions were in a turmoil. He needed to be alone for a while.
Was Emily truly alive? After all this time? He so desperately wanted to believe.
He lit the propane heater, cranked it up to high, and lifted the hood of the wrecked snowmobile. The heater slowly warmed the shop and Max was able to remove his gloves as the circulation returned to his stiff fingers. He tinkered with the machine for more than an hour, but he couldn’t get it to start. He’d have to take it into a mechanic to have it looked it.
Realizing he couldn’t stall anymore, Max closed the shop and headed for the house.
&n
bsp; Had Jennie really gone out to try to free Emily? If she had, then he was a bastard for not believing her. For not trusting her. She’d injured herself trying to find his daughter. That didn’t make her a liar. It made her a selfless, caring person. She hadn’t told him about the call from Emily because she’d wanted to protect him. Had wanted to protect Emily.
When Max came in the back door, Jennie was in the kitchen preparing lunch. Lucky rushed to greet him, jumping up and down and running around him while he removed his winter clothes. Gray lay on the floor near the table, watching Max with those knowing yellow eyes.
Max was growing used to having Jennie in the kitchen now. Hell, he was getting used to having her in his house, period. And he liked having her there.
Had he just admitted that?
Shit. He was even getting used to having that damn wolf inside.
He’d been alone for so long. But now…he couldn’t imagine a life without Jennie in it. Which was very bad. Because she would be leaving soon, probably tomorrow. If he let himself care about her, then he’d be left with nothing but a broken heart. But he couldn’t deny he was drawn to her. And damn if he didn’t want to kiss her again.
“How’s your neck?” He came up behind her. She was grilling cheese sandwiches over the stove. “Those look good.”
She turned to face him, keeping her neck straight. “I took some Ibuprofen right after I came inside. It’s still a little sore, but not as bad as it was before. After we eat, you can X-ray it.”
Max took the flipper from her hand. “Let me do this. You sit.”
Her gaze slid to his. Surprise flickered across her face. Hell, had he been that much of an ass before? Suddenly he wanted her to see that he really wasn’t as terrible as he’d been acting. That he really was a good guy.
As he stared down into her pretty blue eyes, he did what he’d promised himself he’d never do. What he’d craved ever since she’d kissed him in the recliner, but had been too stubborn to let happen again.
Abducted (Unlikely Heroes Book 2) Page 12
