lights. You don’t have those here.” She only had the tree.
Still, she hesitated, but he felt her begin to sway.
“Aren’t you tired of running?”
She let out a heavy sigh. “Of course I am. I miss my home and my friends.”
“Then go pack. Let’s get out of here while we still can.”
At last she nodded. “All right.” She stood and walked to the back of the cabin.
Lucas was immensely relieved and a little amazed that he’d actually gotten through to her. She’d agreed to go with him. She never would have done that before she’d been accused of murder. Their rivalry had been too strong. Add to that the fact that she was a Colton and he was a Gage and their feud only grew more intense.
Now, in the short amount of time he’d been alone with her, he began to sense a thaw between them. Certainly that kiss had melted a sizable chunk of animosity. He wasn’t sure it was right to call it animosity, though. Maybe on the surface. Underneath, he had always thought their competition held more playfulness than that. He had teased her, after all. Now he had to face the fact that his attraction to her presented more of an issue than anything else.
What if you end up falling in love despite your best effort not to?
Her question haunted him. He suspected it would continue to haunt him after that kiss.
An explosion rumbled the walls of the cabin.
Lucas drew his pistol and rushed to the front door. He cracked the door open and cautiously peered outside. His truck was on fire. Someone had blown it up. Further, all the tires on the Jeep were slashed.
They had no way out of here. Except on foot.
Throwing on a jacket, Lucas ran from the cabin. He heard a snowmobile. In the woods, he slowed to listen. The snowmobile noise grew fainter. He’d never catch the man.
Running back to the cabin, he saw Demi, armed with a rifle, standing outside the cabin.
“We’re trapped here,” she said, lowering the gun.
Inside, he closed and locked the door. “We’ll hike to the inn a few miles down the highway.”
“Hike?”
He knew she was thinking about Wolf. “We’ll be all right. Dress warm.”
She gaped at him a moment and then went to the rear of the cabin.
Lucas kept watch through the windows. Moments later, he heard the snowmobile return. Devlin emerged from the trees with an automatic weapon. He started shooting at the cabin. Lucas ducked out of sight with his back to the wall. Glass broke. Bullets hit ornaments on the Christmas tree.
He ran to the back of the cabin, grabbing his backpack on the way. Closing Demi’s closet door behind him, he adjusted the hanging clothes to hide the back of the closet and then joined Demi in Wolf’s secret room. He locked the door.
All the while, a hail of bullets struck the cabin and broke more glass and other items in the living room and kitchen.
Demi had finished dressing Wolf and had him in a baby packpack. He began to fret over the noise.
“Shh,” Demi said softly, bouncing him. She had the rifle propped next to the door and he saw a pistol in a waist holster. She’d brought a backpack and winter clothes into Wolf’s room. He commended her for her forethought.
The gunfire ceased.
Lucas exchanged a look with Demi. Where was Devlin?
Shortly thereafter, the sound of the door breaking down preceded more gunfire.
“I know you’re in here!” Devlin shouted.
His booted feet thudded on the floor as he moved into the cabin. Lucas heard him come down the hall and stop at the door to the room next to this hidden area. Then his steps reached Demi’s room. He shot his automatic weapon, tearing the room up for a few seconds before stopping. “Where are you?” he yelled.
Devlin began throwing things. A lamp. He tipped over the dresser with a roar.
“Where did you go?” He continued to rant. “How did I miss you running?”
His boots thudded into the hall. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! How could I be so stupid?”
More thrashing came from the living room. “I should have never drove away on the snowmobile. I should have attacked right away!” He roared again and then his footsteps faded as he left the cabin.
Lucas waited, listening to the snowmobile circle the cabin, then do a wider swath, and then the noise faded altogether.
“All right. Let’s go.”
Demi put Wolf’s hood over his head and covered his head with a blanket. She herself had on a heavy winter jacket, a hat and gloves, and winter boots.
Lucas opened the window bars and the window. Demi had put a stepladder before the window. Lucas picked up the two backpacks and used the ladder to climb up and out. Dropping the packs, he took Wolf from Demi and she climbed out. He hung one backpack on his back and hooked the other over one shoulder while Demi put the baby pack back on. She followed him through the deep snow toward the front of the cabin. Flames devoured his truck. He’d loved that truck, his 2500 Laramie Crew Cab.
Once they reached the long, winding driveway, he slowed to allow Demi to catch up and walk beside him. He kept an extra-careful watch on their surroundings, listening for the snowmobile and searching for signs of anyone lurking in the trees. The snow wasn’t as deep under the tree canopy.
“Why does Devlin want to kill me?” Demi asked as she hiked alongside him.
“Got me.”
“The evidence is against me. He framed me.”
He thought while he walked and kept vigil. “He must know police are after him. Even without solid evidence against him, he’s now a suspect.”
“Then why kill me? Why not just make a run for it?”
“He has. If you’re asking why he’d like to kill you, you should ask why he wanted to kill all those grooms.”
“His obsession with Hayley. He killed Bo so he wouldn’t have her, and he probably killed all the others because he couldn’t marry the woman he loved so therefore no one else could.”
Lucas thought some more as he walked, glad to have something to focus on other than kissing Demi. “You were supposed to go to jail after he framed you. Instead, you went on the run. You got away. Now he’s a suspect. His plan is failing and he likely blames you. You should be in jail, according to him.”
“I guess we’ll never know for sure. I can’t
