I tried in vain to hate her. Things would be simpler if they were black and white. But there simply was no argument to be made for Natalie as a villain, like we could for her father. She didn’t deserve to be punished. She deserved to be saved, and forgiven.
I blew out a deep breath, and the final straw came when I asked myself the question I sometimes did, when I needed guidance: What would Louisa do?
I fought back the tears that welled when I ran that mental model through my brain. I could hear Louisa’s voice whispering inside my head. Like really hear the tone of her voice.
Forgive her, Shane. You must forgive to truly move on.
That pushed me over the edge. If Bob and Jared were out for—whatever revenge they sought—I would be against them. My loyalty lied with Natalie, now. Not because I was incredibly attracted to her. Not because she offered her virginity to me.
But because it was the right thing to do. Adrenaline coursed through me. I would do whatever it took so that another innocent life wouldn’t be harmed in the wake of the pain that this town had already been through.
I’d protect Natalie with my own life. Even if I had to chain her up against her will to save her from herself.
Hopefully she’d be reasonable when she woke up. Though after being told that the one man you know in town once plotted to kidnap you? Well, I could understand how that could make a girl mad. I’d have a chat with her over coffee and explain everything as best I could as soon as she woke up.
I left Louisa’s room, then checked on Natalie once more. She was sleeping quietly, softly. I kissed her forehead, then headed downstairs to see what else I could find in her father’s journals.
20
Natalie
When I blinked my eyes open that morning, I felt like I was living in some twisted horror movie.
But no, alas, this was real life, and my right wrist was attached to the top bedpost.
My left, thankfully, was free. I was half-surprised he left me alone in the bed.
He hadn’t tried to make a move last night. That didn’t surprise me, because although Shane might have been a liar—a sexy liar—he wasn’t creepy.
I weighed the possibility of just staying here. I could wait it out per Shane’s instructions and…what, exactly?
If Jared and Bob were as much of loose-cannons as Shane said, I needed to just get the hell out of here.
I played with the cuff on my right for a few minutes, and then slid out like no big deal. Ha. Should have used real cuffs, buddy.
The cuff on my left hand annoyingly wouldn’t come off, though, no matter what I tried, and I had to be quick to put my plan into action.
I tiptoed into Louisa’s room and tried the knob.
Alas! It was open this time. Jackpot.
I found wool socks, long underwear, snowpants and a coat. She had gloves up there, too. I kept listening for Shane downstairs, all the while. He was quiet.
My damn phone was all the way in my abandoned rental car, I realized. Even if I got away, where would I go?
The priest’s house, I decided. The church. They’d have to help me. If I couldn’t trust the cops.
I pulled a ski cap over my head—the one with three holes—and sighed at the ridiculousness of this all.
Not twenty-four hours ago, I’d offered my virginity to Shane after he blew my mind, and Mr. Hottie from the north refused to take it. Instead, he decided to come clean with me about…concocting a plan to kidnap me?
And then he technically *did* kidnap me. If I wasn’t in survival mode last night, and if he wasn’t such a liar, I might have actually *let* him cuff me to the bed to have his way with me.
Whatever we had was tainted now though, and there was no way we were going back to whatever messing around we were considering doing during this trip.
My eyes landed on something shiny in Louisa’s room. I picked the iron up and felt its weight. I might need a weapon at some point, so I grabbed it.
I slid the window up, opened the screen as well, then put on my gloves, grabbed the iron, and stepped out onto the roof.
I had only one goal now: and that was to get back to Florida alive, and never come back to this town. I’d get the closure I needed with my father some other way.
My heart raced, and I looked down at the fluffy white snow below. I estimated about a fifteen foot drop. Padded by the snow it wouldn’t be a big deal.
I let out a big exhale and jumped.
WHOMP.
The landing wasn’t bad, but not as fluffy as I thought it would be, like jumping onto clouds. I dropped and rolled, then picked up the iron and stood up.
The snow was taller than I thought it would be. My head barely poked above the snow to see anything. I walked toward what seemed to be the street until I found a path that had been shoveled this morning.
A door creaked behind me that sent chills down my spine.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
Shane’s voice sounded deep. He’d never looked as menacing as he did in that moment.
He wore jeans, boots, and a ribbed maroon tank top that hugged his washboard abs. I could see every rippling muscle in his arms as he stalked toward me.
“So you escaped. Bravo. Where are you going now?”
“I’m getting the hell out of here,” I snipped. “Away from you.”
I swallowed as he came closer, holding the iron behind my back. Maybe he didn’t deserve what I was about to do. Maybe he really had tried to “help” me.
“I’m the only damn one here who’s able to protect you.”
Ten feet from me. My heart raced. My palms sweated underneath the gloves.
“What you did last night, cuffing me to the bed, was so degrading, so dehumanizing. I don’t even know where to start.”
“What don’t you understand about the fact that if you left last night, you would have died in that snow storm. Happens every year—some poor soul thinks they are better than Mother Nature and they freeze to death. Get locked out of their house, and so forth.”
He stood right in front of me, hands on hips. His blue-gray eyes, like a wolf’s, were laser-focused on me.
“What would you do if you were me?”
“I wouldn’t be so trusting, first of all.”
“Trusting?” He laughed. “I tied you up.”
“You did. And you should have tied me up better.”
He barely saw it coming. I brought the iron around and swung it as hard as I could. He partially blocked it with his left arm, but part of it knocked his head and he fell to the ground.
Shaking, I turned and ran.
I ran as fast as I could in Louisa’s boots toward the street. My heart hammered faster and louder than the beat of a night club.
The street had been plowed just enough that I was able to run down the middle of it.
I smiled, relief pouring through me. I still knew these streets like the back of my hand from the days when I would ride around on my bike. I was going to be fine.
And then I slipped.
If any outsiders had seen me, I probably looked like one of those slapstick Disney falls where someone trips on a banana.
I landed smack dab on my ass with the wind knocked out of me.
As I ached, I lay in the sun and basked in the rays.
Until they were blocked out a few moments later by an ominous figure.
I’d never seen Shane with such an expression.