by Nic Saint
No, he wouldn’t go there, would control himself, and find a way to avoid her as much as possible.
Which was very hard when you were living together.
The thought both terrified and exhilarated him.
They continued north, and when the Catskills came into view, she stirred beside him, her eyes drifting open.
“How much farther?” she murmured.
“We’re almost halfway there,” he assured her. “Only a couple of hours more.”
She nodded, and when they rolled into the village of Catskill, a smile formed on her lips. On all sides, mountains encircled them, but they didn’t stop to admire the view. This wasn’t a vacation, after all. They were fleeing to safety.
Soon, they passed Schenectady, and then were crossing the Mohawk River.
As she continued to stare out the window, he wondered how she truly felt about all of this. Mom said she’d talked to her, and had made things very plain. Said Laura had finally resigned herself to a fate she hadn’t chosen. From the looks of her, he thought she still hadn’t fully grasped the extent of her predicament. He wasn’t surprised.
“How are you holding up?”
She shrugged, then bit her lip. “Not sure.” Then she sighed, and turned to face him, apparently having made the decision that as long as they were forced to shack up, she might as well make the best of it. “How long has this lodge been in your family?”
“My father built it,” he said, glad for this return to the mundane as a topic of conversation. “He and his brothers, actually.”
“Your father has a lot of brothers?”
“Oh, yes,” he grinned. “Plenty. The Petrovs are a sprawling clan. No idea how many of us there actually are, but enough to populate a small town, I should think.”
“They all live in New York?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Spread out all across the States.”
“Do you see much of them?”
“Not really. There’s a big gathering every year in the summer, but apart from that, each family pretty much keeps to itself. Though, if there’s something wrong, we’re always there for one another.” He stared out ahead, thinking about his cousins. “The Petrovs take care of their own. Always have. Something happens, we’re there. Like now.” He smiled at her. “All pitching in, doing our bit.”
“I’m so sorry this has happened,” she said softly.
“Not as sorry as I am.” His lips tightened, as did his fingers on the wheel. “This is all my fault,” he growled. “If I hadn’t slugged that slime Boris…”
“I wouldn’t be here,” her soft voice reminded him.
He relaxed. She was right. He’d done what he had to do. No regrets.
“Your mother told me she used to work for Boris. She said that’s how she met your father.”
He smiled. “She told you about that?”
“Is it true?”
“Sure. Mom used to be the prettiest dancer in Brooklyn. People came from all over just to see her perform.”
“Your father amongst them.”
“He hated it. Hated having to watch all those men ogle my mother. He was in love with her, and wanted to kick and punch every single guy who laid eyes on her. Of course, he couldn’t. He worked for Boris, same as she did.”
“Did Boris ever try…”
“I don’t think so. Dad would have punched his lights out if he had.”
“Just like you did.”
“Just like I did.”
She reached over and placed her hand on his arm. It felt good. “Don’t blame yourself, Alex. I know you do, but it was just an accident.”
He merely nodded. An accident that had caused irreparable damage to his family. An accident he would probably regret for the rest of his life. He tangled his fingers with hers, and squeezed them in a gesture of comfort. He didn’t care that the pig was dead. He deserved everything he got for what he did to Laura. All he was sorry for was the trouble it had caused his family. And Laura.
She rested her head on his shoulder. “I never got to thank you for what you did. If not for you…” She shivered, the memory of what had happened still too fresh, the wound too raw.
“Try not to think about it—put it behind you if you can.” Easier said than done, he knew.
She merely nodded, then returned her eyes to the windshield, as the mountains rose ever higher around them.
The first flecks of snow had started drifting from a pewter sky, spreading white across the world. He flicked on the wipers. It wouldn’t be long now before they reached their destination. Only a few more hours, and they would be at the lodge. Their new home for the next couple of weeks. Safely tucked away in a place no one would ever come to look. At least, that’s what he hoped.
CHAPTER 21
There was much to be said for a quiet winter retreat, but not when it was sprung on her like this, nor when there were so many other things going on in her life. So much at stake.
She’d given everything for her studies, and now that she’d almost made it to the end, she was forced to let go. She’d been on the cusp of obtaining her degree, finals only a few short weeks away. It was the culmination of something she’d slaved at for years. The dream that had kept her going. Years of cramming and racking her brain over impossible dilemmas and mathematical problems…
And now her whole life had abruptly fallen apart.
Still, she was resigned to make the most of it, not allowing her disappointment and regret to make matters even worse. She knew that Alex was doing all that lay in his power to turn this situation around. He was keeping her company, not out of the goodness of his heart, but out of a sense of nobility that was rare in this day and age. Perhaps as rare as a knight in shining armor steering his faithful steed up Fifth Avenue in the middle of rush hour.
He’d vowed to keep her safe, and she wouldn’t pester him with her regrets.
Remembering the man who’d invaded her room last night, it didn’t take much imagination to know that if she didn’t play by the Petrov family’s rules, her life might be over.
The mountains rolled out in front of her, the heroic majesty of the Adirondacks, with their snow-capped peaks, and the lodge somewhere hidden at its heart. The Ford pickup sped along the road, and the last few miles were cloaked in silence, neither he nor she induced to speech. They were, after all, two strangers, forced to spend this time together through a twist of fate.
But then the nagging doubts and fears reared their ugly heads again. “Do you think we’ll really be safe out here?” she questioned after a while.
“Absolutely,” he assured her with conviction born of experience. “Only my family knows about this place, and they would never divulge its secret to outsiders.”
This was sufficient reassurance for her, and she accepted it at face value, the same way she’d accepted Anna’s announcement she was going to disappear for a while.
She felt like the wife of a Mafia Don, all of a sudden. Lying low. Hiding from the world. For some reason, her life had suddenly turned into an action movie, or a crime drama. She accepted it, perhaps for the first time, because she was tired of being a nuisance. Straightening her back, holding her head high, she was resigned to accept the unacceptable, the same way Anna would have.
Then, suddenly, as they drove past a small convenience store, she saw the man. He was dressed all in black, just like he was last night. And he was staring after them, his face a mask of terror!
“That man!” she cried, pointing out the window. “Did you see him?”
Instantly alarmed, Alex pulled the car onto the shoulder. “What man?”
She craned her neck. He was gone! Had she merely imagined him?
“T-t-there was a man,” she stuttered. “In front of the shop. All dressed in black. His face… it was the same man from last night! The man who was looking in through my window!”
Alex cursed under his breath, then put the car in park. As he exited, he harshly admonished, “Stay here!”
&nbs
p; Locking the doors behind him, he quickly jogged to the convenience store. She stared after him, fear gripping her once again, the sensation like a vise around her heart. What if the man was following them? Worse, what if he knew exactly where they were going and had set a trap?
But how could it be? If what Alex said was true, then no one was supposed to know about the lodge. Only Petrovs. She shook her head in confusion. This was too much. She was simply seeing things. Perhaps the man was simply a figment of her imagination.
She’d heard about things like this. People suddenly breaking down, and starting to see things. Especially after a traumatic event, the mind can spin off its tracks and start projecting things onto reality.
She turned in her seat. She hoped Alex was all right. It was hard to see with the swirling snow. It was really coming down hard now, a blanket of white quickly covering the car, and making it impossible to see more than a few feet. Then a shadow appeared out of nowhere, and she screamed again. The door was yanked open, and to her relief she saw Alex’s familiar face loom up.
He shook the snow from his hair, dusted it off his shoulders, and stepped in.
“Didn’t see a thing, honey. Are you sure you saw this man?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m sure of anymore, Alex. I really…” She felt herself breaking down again, the tears welling up. She was a basket case, she decided. She fought it. Fought the panic and the tears. She didn’t want to be a sobbing mess each time Alex turned his back.
“What did he look like? Can you describe him for me?” he urged, taking her by the shoulders.
She was shaking her head, as much in answer to his question as in a bid to retain her sanity. He placed his hand on her cheek, warm and comforting against her skin. “Look at me, Laura. What did he look like, this man? Tell me.”
She stared into Alex’s green eyes, and felt the return of something of the calm that had eluded her. She swallowed convulsively at the thought of the dark man, first outside her bedroom window last night, now by the side of the road. “I’m not even sure of what I’m seeing anymore, Alex,” she sobbed.
He smiled a comforting smile that did much to dispel her confusion. “You’re not seeing things, honey. You’re a mathematician, remember? The smartest and most sensible woman I’ve ever met. If you say you saw this man, I believe you. Now tell me more about him. His build, his height… any distinctive features.”
She focused, and when his image flashed in her mind, she shivered, her whole body suddenly cold. She blinked, Alex’s hand warm and tender on her face as he caressed her cheek, coaxed her to return to the memory, safe in the knowledge he was here with her, and no one could harm her now.
She frowned, throwing her mind back. “He wasn’t very tall, I think. He was very skinny, with a long pockmarked face. His eyes…” She trembled at the recollection of those horrible eyes. “They were feverish, wide and a little…crazy, I guess. His hair was like a helmet to his skull. Black, slicked back. And he stood with a stoop, his back hunched.”
Alex’s face tightened at this description, and instinctively she knew. “You’ve seen this man, haven’t you?”
He nodded, then folded her into his arms, his voice thick when he spoke. “Don’t worry about a thing, honey. He won’t harm you as long as I’m here.”
She nodded against his shoulder. She felt that too. For some reason, this man was afraid to come near unless she was alone. Now all she had to do was make sure she never was.
“Don’t leave me,” she urged, tears once again flowing freely. “Don’t ever leave me, Alex.”
“I won’t,” he promised, and when his mouth found hers, she didn’t know whether he’d instigated the kiss, or if she had, but she reveled in the warmth of it, and the heat of the moment. When she opened her lips, allowing his tongue to explore, the wetness was a comfort, and then they were taking the kiss deeper, the fire simmering beneath the surface coming to a blaze in one feverish moment of insanity.
She gripped at him, her hands circling his neck, drawing him closer. She needed to feel him, needed to have him take possession of her, and then his hands were roaming her body, spreading their warmth and the passion of their embrace to ever higher plains. Cramped in the front seat of the car, she sighed as his lips floated along her neck, exploring the satiny skin of her throat. His teeth nibbled her ear lobes, sending shivers of delight coursing through her veins.
When he found her lips again, the moist sensation was all she needed to dispel the horror of the moment. As his hands lingered on her breasts, she reached under his shirt to feel the heat of his skin under her fingertips. Then she spread her hands on his wide back on a desperate urge, and reveled in the feel of him, the width of his corded muscles under her hands.
When he abruptly retreated and broke the spell, she stared up at him, not comprehending what had suddenly induced him to sever the connection, her eyes wide and brimming with tears once more.
He sat back in his seat, raking his fingers through his mane, and refused to meet her gaze. When he started the engine and brusquely moved the car up the road again, she slumped, not understanding what had just happened. All she knew was that once again she’d been brutally rejected by the one man who could offer her what she needed.
She turned her face away from him, and when the tears flowed, she was committed that he not see the emotions he’d instigated in her—not know the power he held over her.
CHAPTER 22
The snow was really coming down when they finally arrived at the lodge. It had become nearly impossible to see the narrow road, and it was a miracle that Alex managed to keep the car on track and not slide into a ditch. Or, worse, down a ravine. It was obvious he’d navigated these treacherous trails before.
The headlights of the car swept across a silent landscape of pure white, only swirls of snow reflecting the swerving beams, the macabre skeletons of bare trees surrounding them. This place was as devoid of life as anything Laura had ever seen. Then the contours of a human-built structure finally loomed up ahead, hardly visible in the raging flakes of white, and when the car pulled to a stop, and Alex grunted, “We’re here,” she felt only relief.
Wherever they were, it was hard to imagine anyone finding them here, even if they did know where to look. This place was so remote that even a person familiar with the area would have to track through miles of snow even to catch a glimpse of the lodge.
If she hadn’t known the structure was out there, she would have missed it, discreetly blending into the landscape as it did.
In absolute silence, they crunched through pristine snow. It already reached to the knees, and she was glad Alex had offered to cart what little luggage they had brought. Then he swung the door wide, and she stepped inside, staring into darkness.
“Let me just…” mumbled Alex, then disappeared into the heart of the cabin, flashlight in hand. She heard him rummaging out in the back somewhere as she stood still, surveying the space as her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness. Then there came the sound of a generator starting up, and lights flickered on, first feebly, then projecting their light across the space.
She let out a soft yelp of surprise.
From the outside, the lodge didn’t look like much, but once inside, the A-frame structure projected a homeliness that she prescribed solely to Anna Petrov’s womanly touch. She let her eyes roam over the high ceiling of exposed beams, the rough wooden stairs leading to a balcony lining one side of the structure, and the stone fireplace. She quickly kicked off her sodden shoes when she realized she was soiling the handwoven rug covering the dark pine floor.
She took a deep breath as she stepped deeper into the rustic, wood-dominated room, surprisingly pleased with her new home.
She noticed the vases dotting tables and cupboards, anxious to be filled with fresh flowers once spring chased after the winter, and automatically found her feet wandering to the large hearth, which was cold now, but would soon roar with heat and dispel the chill from her bones.
She blew into her hands, and was glad when Alex came waltzing back in, carrying firewood and kindling. Without a word, he knelt down, and started work on the fire. With expert skill, he soon coaxed sparks from the split logs, and when flames licked at the wood, he grunted, “Should be warm soon.”
Then he gestured to the left. She followed his gesture, and saw that a door led into another room. “You’ll find everything you need in there.”
She walked over, her initial enthusiasm dampened by his gruff demeanor. She opened the door, and discovered a small bedroom, a single cot placed in the center, a small window offering a glimpse at the storm raging outside. It was utilitarian but she loved it, then wondered where Alex would sleep. When she heard him rummage on the other side of the wall, she had her answer.
It was comforting to know he would be near.
Before long, the fire was crackling in the hearth, and the lodge had warmed up sufficiently for them to remove their coats, scarves and hats. She moved to the kitchen, opening cupboards and drawers while Alex brought in the crates filled with foodstuffs Anna had prepared, and plunked them down on the counter.
Stocking the pantry, she saw that the Petrov matriarch had supplied them with enough food to last them at least a week. As she turned, a rustle behind her had her look up. Alex was leaning against the jamb. “I’ll go into town once a week to stock up, so you don’t have to worry about starving to death.”
“I’m not worried,” she stated a little haughtily, peeved by his tone.