stopped on the deck, appearing to listen again, then without warning, swung her up into his arms and took one long-legged step to the corner of the small deck. He lowered her to the ground below.
What in the world?
“Don’t move,” he ordered in a whisper before he jumped down beside her. She watched him break off a limb from a nearby pine tree, urging her to walk across the open space beyond the A-frame toward the darkness. Behind them, he began to brush the fresh snow over their tracks.
Levi stared ahead into the wall of dark pines, cold and sick inside. Where was he taking her now?
Once in the dense trees, he took the lead again, drawing her deeper into their seclusion as the land rose sharply. She climbed until she thought her lungs would burst from the high altitude and cold.
By the time another structure appeared, the cold and the climb had zapped her energy. She was tired and ready to quit walking. He didn’t even seem to be breathing hard, although he’d been the one bucking the deep, soft snow, making somewhat of a trail for her.
The dark edge of a log structure materialized out of the night and the pines. Slowly it took shape. Rustic. Small. Isolated. Barely a shack. More like a four-sided lean-to. Nothing like the A-frame they’d left behind.
She didn’t realize she’d stopped walking until she felt the tug on her arm.
“Hey,” he said, and stepped so close to her that he forced out the night air. She stared down at his gloved hand on hers. “It’s not the Hilton, but it’ll be warmer and drier than out here.”
She didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Her throat felt swollen with the tears she’d held at bay. All she could think about was what he planned to do to her in there. It was the kind of place that might already have bodies buried under the worn floorboards—if it had a floor at all.
Her kidnapper lifted her chin until she was looking directly up under the brim of the Stetson and straight into his shadowed face. She couldn’t see his eyes but she could feel his heated gaze.
“Look, I know you’re cold and tired,” he said, as if she were simply rebelling against the accommodations. He must have felt her trembling. “You can warm up here and rest.”
It was the most he’d said to her in hours. But it was the tone that made her want to cry. Why was he being so nice now?
From inside the backpack, he took out a large flashlight, but he didn’t turn it on.
Levi glanced in the direction they’d come. She could see the lights the cowboy had left on in the cabin below them. They cast a gentle glow across the snow, making the winter scene warm and inviting. Why had he made her walk all the way up this mountainside?
He opened the shack door, seemed to listen for a moment, then motioned for her to follow. It wasn’t until they were inside that he turned on the flashlight.
Her heart sank as she saw that the one room was pretty much as she’d feared it would be: empty, except for years of dust, an old table, a couple of mismatched chairs and a cot.
His look brought the fear back in a heartbeat. “You can lie down over there,” he said, motioning to the cot. He reached into the backpack for a wool blanket and tossed it to her.
She swallowed hard. “What do you want with me?” Her voice broke and she hated the vulnerability she heard in it.
He stepped to her, letting the beam of the flashlight bore into the dusty worn wood at their feet as he gazed down at her. When he spoke his voice was soft, almost compassionate, but behind the words was an urgency, a warning. “I just want you to sit quietly until I tell you otherwise. Do you understand?”
She nodded and stepped past him to the cot, her heart aching for her family, for home. How long would she have to stay in this cabin with this man? Or would he ever let her leave here?
The flashlight went out, plunging them into a chilly, thick darkness. She waited for her eyes to adjust, telling herself this might be her chance. Maybe, if she could use one of the cot legs as a weapon...
She heard him prying boards from the window. A little of the snowy night spilled in. She could see him now, sitting in the chair he’d pulled up in front of the glassless opening. She reached down, feeling around with her hand. If she could get one of the legs free—
“Don’t,” he said.
Her gaze shot up. He wasn’t facing her, but intent on looking through the window opening with what appeared to be some kind of binoculars. Nightvision goggles?
“Don’t be foolish,” he continued conversationally, still not looking in her direction. “You wouldn’t stand a chance against me.” His voice was low and soft and unthreatening, but the words hit her like stones. “Before you can get up and cross the room, I’ll stop you. Because I won’t have a lot of time to deal with you, it might be painful. So I suggest you just do as I ask. Hopefully, we won’t be here long.”
She straightened slowly, holding her breath, afraid to make a sound or move too quickly. Who was this man and what did he want with her? Levi stared at him, sure he was watching the A-frame where the helicopter had dropped them off. Waiting. For what? A ransom drop?
She heard him shift in the chair. She prayed that money was all he wanted. Her father would pay the ransom, even a very large one. Then she would go home.
Otherwise...she could only bide her time. Wait for him to make a mistake. Even men like him had to make mistakes. And she’d be ready when he did.
* * *
THROUGH THE GLASSES, Seth watched the A-frame and the snowy landscape around it. He could see the twin tracks where the helicopter had set down in the snow and the two pairs of boot prints that led up to the front steps of the cabin.
He waited and watched, trying to nail down exactly what was bothering him. The change of plans. He was supposed to have met Wally at the airstrip. He was supposed to have handed over the woman. Job done.
But when he’d gone up to see the pilot, he’d been informed that a helicopter would be waiting to take them to the cabin. He’d told himself he was just being overly suspicious. Or maybe his apprehension just had to do with the woman. That she’d reminded him of Shanna filled him with a sense of dread he couldn’t shake off. Returning to Montana after all these years, facing all the memories and regrets, well, that was also taking its toll.
He squeezed his eyes for a moment to chase away the thoughts. Thoughts of Shanna. Thoughts of this woman. Both were all tangled into a knot of heartache.
Damn. He’d wanted to be back in Texas, this woman no longer his concern. Instead he was in a cold miner’s shack on a snowy mountainside fighting a terrible sense of déjà vu, as if history were about to repeat itself and, like last time, there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it.
Had the woman thrown off his instincts so much that he was jumping at shadows? Seth shook his head in disgust. He was going to look like a damn fool when he had to tromp down this mountain to deliver the woman.
Behind him, she was no longer moving around. He could hear her breathing softly. Had she finally given up and fallen asleep? Or was she sitting, waiting anxiously, wondering what to expect now? Welcome to the club.
He
