by Amy Deason
Seth sat back, an unreadable expression on his face. His mouth formed a grim line and his eyes narrowed dangerously. “You’re right. I wasn’t always this much of an asshole.” He tore his blue eyes away from her for a moment before looking back, their depths dark and filled with a dull painful sheen. “What do you want to hear? That after my father left, my mother married an abusive alcoholic? Or that I nearly killed him one night for beating my younger brother before my mother jumped in to protect her husband? Or how about that I ended up on the streets and nearly spent the rest of my life behind bars?”
Madison was speechless. This wasn’t exactly what she’d expected and she didn’t really believe he would open up to her this way. But he had. His words carried such bitterness and rage that she had no doubt he was telling the truth. Oh, this poor man. “Seth, I…I’m so sorry. I didn’t know,” she mumbled, not sure what to say by this sudden revelation.
“There’s nothing for you to say. It happened a long time ago. And of course you didn’t know. How could you? That part of me is in the past, hidden. And that’s how it needs to stay.”
“Why?”
“Because that boy is long gone. Now there is only me. The asshole trying to keep you alive. And the more observant you are, the harder that is for me to do.” His voice was sharp with displeasure.
“I don’t understand.”
Standing abruptly, he put his hands flat on the table and glared at her, his eyes blazing. “Damn it. Don’t ask so many questions and don’t pay so much attention. That is a good way to get yourself killed.”
“Oh, as opposed to being ignorant and naïve?” Madison retorted hotly. So much for being nice to this guy. “Tell me something, Seth, why do you give a flying fuck if I die anyway?” she yelled, standing up herself. She was absolutely livid and to her utmost shame, she was on the verge of crying in her anger. Which only made her more furious.
Seth stared at her, his eyes stormy and unyielding. “Because I…” He stopped, the muscles in his jaw working violently as he clenched his teeth “Hell, I just do. And it’s too dangerous for you to know anything about what’s going on here or about me. So just forget it. Forget all of it,” he demanded, the turbulent look in his eyes disappearing underneath a more placid sheen.
“Why does it matter what I remember? It’s not like I am going to tell anyone. Nobody would believe me anyway.” Madison asked, her frustration winning out over her sensibilities.
Stepping around the table, Seth stopped, resting his hands on either side of the chair she sat in. “Don’t you get it? You are in very deep shit right now. You don’t understand what you’ve gotten yourself mixed up in. It’s much bigger than you realize.”
Anger raged through her, making her more bold than usual. She stood, forcing him to step back. “Then tell me! For God’s sake, let me know what is going on. My best friend is dead and some sick billionaire is trying to kill me. What could be worse than that?” Madison asked, her voice ragged with emotion.
He was standing so close to her. Close enough to touch. But she wasn’t going to do that again, no matter how much she wanted to. It would only make things more complicated and who in the hell needed that? She didn’t that was for sure. Things were so fucked up right now it was making her head spin. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the clean scent of the man in front of her and stepped back, pushing her chair away as she did.
“Listen, I’m obviously in your way so why don’t you do us both a favor and just take me back home? I have no problem forgetting about you. And I’m sure I’ll be out of your mind before you know it.”
“You know I can’t just drop you off at home.”
“I’m pretty sure I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”
“Oh yes, as we’ve both seen so far. You are an absolute force to be reckoned with,” he replied, switching to his typical smartass grin. “No, it’s better that you stay here with me.”
“Nothing about this is ‘better’ for me.” She threw her hands up in frustration. “Don’t you get that? But none of that matters, does it?” she asked, glaring at him disgustedly. “I mean, I don’t have a choice in any of this.”
“This never was a democratic situation, Maddie. You never had a say.”
She sighed deeply. “Maybe not, but either way, I’m destined to lose. I guess I should just accept that. But not you. You always win.”
Seth looked at her before turning away, his blue eyes pained, his handsome face grim and shadowed. “No, not always.”
Damn woman!! Seth cursed as he slammed out the front door. Madison was too smart for her own good. She’d learned too much in the short time she’d been with him. And it was information that would get her killed. While he hadn’t actually told her anything of real value, she was by no means stupid or naïve and the fact that she had put two and two together was no real surprise. But her unwillingness to forget that information was. Given her situation, most people would be more than eager to forget everything just so they could go back to some semblance of a normal life. But not Madison. She was afraid of him but she was also intrigued by him and continued to try and dig down to find out what he was about and what was going on.
And even more than that, she couldn’t seem to keep her mouth shut. If he had been anyone else, her sarcastic remarks probably would have gotten her into a lot of trouble. Like she needed her mouth to do that. She was neck deep in trouble now and somehow she just kept getting deeper. And he wasn’t helping matters any.
What in the world was he thinking telling her about his past? That was something he thought he’d gotten over, something he’d buried in a deep, dark hole. But she’d dug it up. Fuck, he’d dug it up for her and presented it to her on a silver platter. Holy hell.
Grabbing the shovel that was leaning against a nearby tree, he stomped through the knee-deep snow down to the stranded Explorer. His anger was a living, breathing thing. Hot and wild, it ran through him, lighting every thought aflame. Silently, he ranted and raged, pissed at himself and the decisions he’d made. Why the hell had he went so far to save her life, risked so much just to keep her safe? Why couldn’t he have just taken care of her while he had a chance? A chance? Shit, he’d had several chances to kill her but each time he put it off, shied away from it like some fucking novice hit man whose morals were still in place. Made one excuse after another to avoid the inevitable.
It wasn’t his decision whether or not she died. He didn’t make the orders to execute someone, that’s what Charlie was for. But it was his job to follow through, do what needed done and so far he had done everything but that. He wasn’t being paid to watch over some photographer that just happened to get in the way. What was he, a fucking babysitter?
He needed to get his head back to where it should be and not be distracted by Madison Sinclair, no matter how much she appealed to him. No matter how much she intrigued him and made him wonder about a normal life and how it would feel to be a part of the real, ordinary world again. But that wasn’t for him anymore. Hadn’t been in a long time. He had worked too hard to become invisible, to disappear, to become a man who didn’t exist for all of it to be destroyed by one annoying woman. One annoying woman that was cracking him and beginning to catch a glimpse of him. The real him. The person that he had thought was long gone. It was disturbing.
Time was drawing short for them and the longer he kept her here, the more he was risking. He couldn’t keep dragging this out like some sort of game. He didn’t mind playing cat and mouse, he was quite skilled at it actually, but now wasn’t the time and Madison wasn’t the prey. It was time for him to do what was necessary so he could fall back into the role he was meant to play. And it wasn’t one of hero or savior. This was no fairytale and he was not a knight-in-shining-armor set out to rescue the fair maiden from the fire-breathing dragon. This was real life. The sooner he remembered who and what he was,
the better off he would be. And he couldn’t do that with her here, snowbound in the mountains like some sort of retreat or vacation.
Attacking the ground, he began to dig out the white powder in long, wide scoops, flinging it behind him. With each swipe, his anger retreated a little. Faster and faster he shoveled until he was sweating and out of breath. Sticking the end of the shovel into the ground, he leaned on the handle, resting his clammy forehead on his hands. Sucking in enormous, deep breaths, he let the cold sear his lungs. He had to get rid of her. If he wasn’t going to kill her, then he had to make her disappear so no one could possibly find her. Not even him.
Chapter 17
Madison’s anger, fear, and frustration had hit the breaking point. She was tired of the games when it was obvious that she was never going to win against Seth or whoever he was. It was just too exhausting trying to figure him out. He was an enigma, the ultimate puzzle box. One she would never unravel. Maybe with enough time, she could but she sensed that time was running short. And besides, he obviously didn’t want her to know anything vital about him. It was like pulling teeth to get him to open up. And she was a photographer damn it, not a dentist.
She was so tired of being trapped in this house with nothing to do but wait to see what was going to happen next. She had to do something, anything to distract herself from the extremely graphic scenarios racing through her mind. She was getting out of here, even if she had to beat against the windows until her arms screamed. There had to be a way out and she was going to find it.
Decision made, she went to the bedroom and rummaged through the closets pulling out a pair of blue jeans and a soft purple sweater. Tugging on a pair of heavy hiking boots, she grabbed the wool coat and stocking hat hanging just inside the closet door.
She grabbed the poker from the fireplace, intent on bashing the hell out of one of the windows. Abruptly she turned and decided to try the door one last time although she expected it to be locked tight. Gripping the door knob tightly, she was shocked to find that it turned easily in her hand. She stared at the open door in absolute shock, not believing her luck. This had to be a trick. There was no way it could be this easy. Or could it be? Had Seth Reynolds, the great and powerful, forgot to lock it on his way out? It seemed impossible but yet here she was standing with the door open to the world outside. Should she try it? Should she just shut the door? Her indecision only lasted for about five seconds.
Cautiously, she stuck her head out of the door, warily looking for Seth. He was nowhere to be seen. There was no sound other than the minute chirping of small birds. This was so much more than she dared to hope for that it didn’t seem real. But just because she couldn’t see Seth didn’t mean he wasn’t somewhere nearby watching her, waiting to sneak up on her. That didn’t seem to be the case time. She was never going to know until she tried. Stepping out, she tried to look everywhere at once.
The snow surrounding the cabin was deep, at least a foot and a half in some places. But apparently Seth had done some shoveling this morning because there was a narrow path leading from the cabin down to the driveway. She was definitely not going that way. To her left, stood a dense line of trees, their limbs heavy with snow. Her chances of escape would be significantly better if she could just make it to them. She would have to trudge through the knee-high snow but that was her best bet.
Drawing in a deep breath of frozen air, she plunged out into the snow, running full tilt, not willing to look behind her. The snow was powdery and she instantly sunk to her knees in the cold, wet stuff. Running like this was not easy and it seemed to take forever for her to reach the tree line but at last she made it. She stepped into the shadowy shelter of the woods and looked behind her, sure that Seth was right on her heels. But he wasn’t. Grateful that her luck was holding out, she leaned over, the fire poke still clasped in her hand and took a minute to catch her breath, ever watchful for him to appear and give chase.
Once she could almost breathe normally, she turned back around, studying her surroundings. The forest was thick with different types of trees, birch, cherry, spruce, and sugar maple among others she didn’t have names for. Snow covered the ground but thanks to the canopy of trees, it wasn’t as deep here and she would be able to move quicker than she had out in the open. There was no obvious path so she would just have to make her own.
Starting off in a straightforward direction, she headed toward safety. Or at least she hoped that’s where she was headed. Anywhere had to be safer than back at the cabin with Seth. If she got lost, she could just turn around and follow her footprints in the snow until she returned back to the cabin. She had no plans of going back there but getting lost out here in the middle of nowhere didn’t exactly hold any excitement for her either.
The beauty and quietness of the woods kept her attention for a while. It was so peaceful here. The tension ebbed away the further she walked and soon, she lost all track of time. She didn’t know how far she had gone when her legs began to ache but she was determined not to stop, pausing only long enough to retie the soggy laces of her boots. Laying the metal poker down, she had to force her frozen fingers to work. At first, they refused to form the necessary bows but finally, feeling only slightly retarded, she managed. Standing, she reached for the poker, inhaling the cold air and started to walk again.
She trudged through the woods for nearly thirty more minutes before she realized that the trees were growing thicker and denser. Several times, she had to duck and dodge the snow-laden limbs and make slight detours to avoid the scraggly bushes that seemed to grasp at her ankles. Looking left and right, there seemed to be no end in sight. Only more trees, each one looking exactly the same as the last hundred or two before them. She began to think that maybe this wasn’t such a hot idea and random images of spending the night in the woods plagued her. The fading light, the dropping temperatures, the wild animals . . . Not exactly her idea of heaven.
“Oh stop it,” she said out loud. Her voice was the only sound there was except the crunching of the snow under her feet. “Stop worrying so much. Suck it up and keep going.” She should have felt strange talking to herself but instead it gave her the motivation to keep moving. Walking faster, she kept her eyes focused straight ahead, never seeing the old log half buried in the snow until the toe of her boot struck it, tripping her. Barely having time to suck in a surprised breath, she caught herself on the trunk of a nearby tree, saving herself from a tumble in the snow.
“Fuck me!” Her curse didn’t necessarily make the pain in her toe go away but she felt a little better having said it out loud. Leaning against the tree, she caught her breath and tried to refocus. She had no idea how far these woods stretched. For all she knew, they went on for miles. One thing she did know was that she didn’t want to still be wandering around when the sun went down.
She was just about to push off again when out of nowhere, she was struck hard from behind. Totally unprepared, she lost her balance and tumbled to the ground, the cold, wet snow filling her nose and mouth. The fireplace poker, the only thing she had that closely resembled a weapon, flew from her hand and was lost amid the snow and the trees. She struggled to get up but whatever had knocked her to the ground was heavy and held her in place. Holding her breath, she could only pray that she wasn’t about to be killed out here in the middle of nowhere.
Abruptly, the weight on her back lifted and she was able to move. But before she even had a chance to rise to her knees, she was hauled rudely to her feet, and spun around, nearly causing her to fall again. The all too familiar blue eyes bored into her, a violent light flashing in them making them appear almost black in their anger. The handsome mouth disappeared into a thin slash as his smooth jaw clenched into stone. Rage flowed from him in waves, each one hitting her with a force that nearly made her collapse. She probably would have fallen if he hadn’t been holding her by her shoulders, keeping her upright.
“Just what the
fuck do you think you’re doing?” Seth roared.
Teeth bared, he looked like the dangerous animal she assumed him to be. Her heart almost exploded from her chest and she tried to jerk away but his hold on her was too tight. So she did the first thing that came to mind and kicked out at him instead. Her foot connected solidly with his shin but instead of letting go, he only held on tighter, hurting her. His fingers dug into her shoulders and she knew there would be bruises later, marking his tight grip.
“I said, ‘what the fuck are you doing’?”
“Leave me alone!” she screamed breathlessly. Her face was cold from the dive she had taken in the snow and the palms of her hands hurt as she tried to catch herself. Worse than that, her pride was injured, leaving her feeling completely and utterly defeated. It was impossible. She was never going to get away from him. This had been her last and best chance and now it was gone. A deep and cavernous weight settled on her, erasing almost all of her anger. A tiny bit still lingered, flaring up with a dying breath. He would take her back to the cabin and do whatever he wanted to with her and she couldn’t do a damn thing about it. God help her, she just couldn’t win!
Seth scowled at the infuriating woman in front of him. He just wanted to shake her. Was she completely crazy? Did she have absolutely no sense of self-preservation? Wandering these woods by herself with no clue where she was going? There was no telling where she might have ended up. Probably walking off one of the cliffs if he hadn’t been watching out for her. She could have been killed and that was the last thing he wanted. He hated to admit it but that thought scared the hell out of him. And that fear, that rush of emotion, made him so furious that he just wanted to shake her. What was she doing to him? “When are you going to stop trying to get away? You’re only wasting your time and mine. Frankly, I’m getting tired of chasing you down.”