Page 37 of Pucking Snowed In with the Enemy

Taking his drink with him, Nathan walked over to the massive window, and his reflection was chilling.

“My father dictates when he dies, not me.” His eyes found mine in the glass. “He wants me to kill you.” I shivered, and the hairs stood on the back of my neck. “If you take this to your superiors, I will not be able to protect you, Savannah. I won’t come for you, but I can’t stop my father’s men. They will hunt you down, and I will be punished for giving you this information.”

This was why you didn’t get your dick wet where you made your money, as Nathan had put it. Complicated was the understatement of the century. Could I be okay with letting them do whatever they wanted to Alex? Could I live with myself?

“Would your decision be easier if I told you Alex has already killed one of your family members?”

My head snapped up, eyes locking with his. “What? Who?”

“One of the videos I found was…well, it was a snuff film, Savannah.” My pulse was in my throat and threatened to choke me, as I could scarcely take a breath. I couldn’t remember anyone in my family dying except…no…no, not her.

“Please, don’t say it,” I said and covered my mouth as tears that I hadn’t spilled in years flooded to the surface. “No.”

Nathan turned and stared at me. “You were fourteen when you lost your eight-year-old sister. Elle drowned in the pool, and that was why Alex had an aversion to water, right?”

I stood and backed away from Nathan, not wanting to hear this. Losing my sister had driven me to become an FBI agent. I wanted to save lives, I wanted to help people, and stopping those who hurt others had seemed a perfect way to do it. Losing Elle had haunted me for years. I blamed myself for going out with friends and not being home when she drowned. I watched Alex cry, and almost two years later, my family fell apart.

“No, Nathan….” I shook my head and didn’t care if I looked weak. Tears streamed down my face, and I held my hand out like that would somehow stop the words from leaving his mouth.

“She was his first, it did happen in the pool, and your step-father watched,” he said, and I broke down even though I knew what he was going to say. “They covered it up, said it was an accident, but they kept the evidence for their own amusement. That is who your family really is.”

Falling to my knees, I gripped my locket that held the picture of my sister and me and let out all the emotions. I thought I’d dealt with them, but it was a lie. They were there all along, just waiting for the reveal and for me to find out the truth.

My mind raced back in time, and as much as I didn’t want to, I was able to pick out little moments that I took for granted as normal. Sibling quarrels, picking on one another, and the time I’d caught him leaving Elle’s room late at night. I had dismissed it because they had loved watching cartoons until late. Were they really? Every single moment was scrutinized, and each time, I didn’t have an answer, and that terrified me more.

Warm arms wrapped around me as Nathan pulled me into his chest. “I’m sorry, I had to tell you.” He kissed the top of my head as I clung to his shirt and mourned the loss of my sister all over again. “I needed you to understand the kind of monster he is. I will not let him out, and he is not worth losing your honor to save his soul from what is coming for him. Letting Alex go free into your custody puts us all in danger, and I won’t do it. I can’t do it.”

Wiping my tears, I looked up, and the compassion and conviction in Nathan’s eyes helped me pull myself together.

“I want to see him,” I said, as thoughts of death danced behind my eyes.

“I’ll think about it, but you need to agree right now that he stays with me,” Nathan said.

“I agree,” I said without hesitation and didn’t feel a single drop of guilt.

The boy I thought I knew was not who he was. The woman I thought I was just died an emotional death as surely as my heart was ripped from my chest. Nothing would ever be the same again. I would never be the same again.

CHAPTER

FOURTEEN

NATHANIEL

Ihelped Savannah into the shower and gave her privacy to grieve. My phone dinged while I was cleaning up the paperwork and putting it in the safe. The message was from the front desk.

FD: The two men you sent images of just walked into the lobby.

I growled. What the fuck was Fat Ricky after? We had no business together, and he was pissing all over any courtesy between our families by coming here unannounced. Not once, but now twice.

N: Put them in room 633.

FD: Will do, Sir.

Grabbing my gun, I marched for the door. Taking the elevator down, I got off on the sixth floor and let myself into the room I’d given the front desk. The rooms on either side of this one were empty for renovations. Slipping into the closet, I waited for them to arrive. My body tensed as the door beeped and then clicked.

“This is a fucking nice place. I could live here,” the unknown guy said as he stepped into the room.

“I bet you wouldn’t get half the ass you get now, though. Unless you plan on cuddling a bear,” Fat Ricky said, coming into view.