Burn: Book 3 (The Heat Series)
Page 50
This was how he spent his afternoon. Drinking and staring into the fireplace. At one point his emotions got the best of him and salty tears slipped down his face until his body shook. No one understood his pain or even tried to understand.
By 3:30 PM, the daylight was starting to fade and he was feeling dizzy. The last glass of whiskey he poured was still in the glass. He put it down on the raised hearth and began rocking and humming one of Nina’s favorite tunes, Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” It wasn’t his type of music but he sang it for her.
He must have dozed off because when he awoke, the only light in the cabin was the fire and it was slowly dying. He got up to stoke it and put another log on. Bear was scratching at the door and whining. Dammit, poor dog probably has to go again, it’s been hours.
Then he heard it. It was faint at first, banging, than it got louder.
“Shit, I bet one of the shutters got loose from this wind.”
He pulled on his coat, gloves and boots slowly opening the door so the wind wouldn’t push it back and out of his hands. Bear surged forth, ahead of him. He expected the dog to go bolting down the stairs but instead ran the length of the porch to a huddled form. The banging continued and Julian cautiously picked up a log from the container near the door.
He approached the form and called Bear away, but the dog was stubborn. He remained hovering over whatever or whoever it was and whined. As Julian got closer, he was sure the shape belonged to a woman or a child, the outline was so small and petite. It was facedown and wearing inappropriate clothing for this type of weather. A thin white windbreaker, moccasins and sweat pants covered the body.
The windbreaker’s hood was pulled over the person’s head and he could not see their face. The banging continued and he quickly secured the latch on the shutter that had slipped free. Dropping the log on the floor, he knelt by the body and touched it. It felt almost frozen and he scooped the form into his arms, turning it so he could see the face.
He almost dropped her. It was a woman and not just a woman, it was Nina.
He practically tripped over Bear rushing to get her into the house. The dog was at his heels as he entered and slammed the door. Julian pulled the hood off her head and her lids fluttered, her beautiful dark eyes fixed on him and said his name, “Julian.”
They closed again and he brought her to the fireplace and began stripping off her clothing. It was frozen in places and as he worked, the warmth of the cabin softened them so they could be easily removed. When she was naked, he brought her to the bed they had shared and wrapped her in a blanket. Then he brought her back to the fireplace and sank onto the hearth stone.
She was cold, like ice and her face was wind burned. He held her in his arms using his heat to gently warm her and as he did, he began to sob. Bear stood guard, every so often, licking her face and softly whining. Julian could feel her in his arms, she was thin and when he had undressed her, he noticed how her bones protruded.
Whoever had taken her had starved her and God knows what else. All the pain he had endured over the past few months was over, but at what price?
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