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“I’m going to get food.” Leven broke the silence and was on his feet and damn, if he wasn’t taller and broader than Tatum. I swallowed the thickness in my throat. No way in the world did I stand a chance against him if things went south.
“I’m coming too,” I piped up, needing to get away and see what my escape plan looked like.
Leven twisted to look at me with an incredulous look. “No.”
He headed toward the door, and I marched after him.
“If I’m stuck here, I need my own room,” I insisted.
“All other rooms are booked. Plus, you need money,” Tatum said from across the room.
I halted in my tracks. “I can ring up home and find a way to pay.” Jana could help out with her credit card, as my wallet was back in the van somewhere in the woods. And the memory had me remembering that devil that had attacked me. The whole incident felt surreal. My inhale rattled on the way down to my lungs. I couldn’t deal with those confusing thoughts when it hurt my head.First, leave behind these men, sort out my thoughts, and find a way to get home to Britta.
No one said a word or tried to stop me as I crossed the room, though there was the low peal of the stupid bells sewn to my pants as they jingled. I was clearly with crazies here. But no one had laid a hand on me, so maybe this was normal Austrian behavior andIwas the one overreacting?
Leven drew open the door, and an intense gust of icy winds slammed into me, sending me several feet backward. The air whistled, and before me stood a small parking area with several cars caked in snow.
“Take this.” Tatum was at my side, pushing my wet and torn coat into my hands, and I hurried to drag it on and chase away the frostiness. He handed me my gloves too.
“Thanks.” I turned to look up into the greenest eyes that pushed away the worry about the storm and reminded me spring would follow soon. I liked the way the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled, and I found no malice behind his gaze. He was telling the truth about having helped me.
Leven licked his top teeth and looked at me before staring outside.
Right, we were headed out. I zipped up my jacket and bent my head forward to meet the onslaught as I stepped outdoors into a biting, stinging wind. The snow fell sideways, hitting my cheeks like tiny bullets. With hands deep in my pockets, I stayed near the wall and marched right. I passed several rooms; each window had lights on and voices leaked out from inside. Maybe this motel was booked up, but there was bound to be others in town. Up ahead was a sea of white. Pines. Posts. Fences. Icy dust hugged them and they loomed in my vision, then disappeared, swallowed in white and the encroaching night.
How long had I been passed out? And the three men still hadn’t taken me to the hospital?
When a whistle came from behind me, I twisted around to find Leven standing feet away, his arms stiff by his side, not trembling like mine.
With a flick of his hand, he strode in the opposite direction, and I tracked after him. My direction had led to nowhere anyway.
Around the corner, we crossed a road filled with a handful of stores and homes. A few streets branched out on either direction. The wind pelted against my jacket, jeans, and face. My eyes teared up, and all could think about was home, a fireplace, and a hot drink.
My boots sunk into drifts up to my ankles. My ears were icicles, as was my nose, and what I wouldn’t give for that warm Santa’s hat. Well, right now, it lay somewhere in the woods, as that creature had ripped it off my head. Maybe it was a deformed animal that hated the color red. That could explain why it had gone ballistic all of a sudden. Yet, it had carried a goddamn chain. What kind of animal did that?
Leven seized my wrist and hauled me closer to him, buffering me against the ferocity of the weather. With an arm around my waist, he pressed me close to his side and practically carried me as we marched faster down the sidewalk. No one was outside, and the moment we stumbled into the diner, I let out a frosty exhale.
“Holy hell, the weather’s insane.” I shook myself and stared up at Leven, who brushed his hand through his hair, sending snowflakes everywhere. We both removed our coats and placed them on the hooks provided on a wall near the door.
“And this is why you won’t make it home in this storm.” His words were clipped and direct, and he might as well have saidtold you so.
I walked deeper into the diner that was practically empty with the exception of two people sitting in the corner eating their meals. Leven followed behind me. My jeans jangled with each step I took, drawing the waiter’s attention.
Leven grabbed a couple of menus from the counter and took a seat at a booth while I approached the counter where a young man with a blue apron was changing the filter on the coffee machine.
“Excuse me,” I asked, and he looked up, greeting me with a practiced smile that carried no emotion. “I’m looking for a place to stay in town. Any recommendations?”
He pointed his chin toward the door. “Pine Motel. Full.” His English was broken, but I understood.
“What about another place? A room above a bar perhaps?”
He shook his head. “No. Pine Motel.”
I huffed and gave my thanks, then turned around. Through the window, the snow traveled sideways, and the buildings across the street were barely visible. The door rattled, yet in here warmth from the open fireplace against the back wall wrapped around me. If the weather were better, I’d search through the town, but now, I’d freeze.
Leven studied the menu, not watching me in case I ran away, not that I’d get far. Maybe they knew this and didn’t bother trying to keep me prisoner, or was I overreacting? They’d offered me shelter and cared for my shredded arm, had brought me to town, which meant they had a car. A vehicle to take me home in the morning perhaps. Why hadn’t I thought of that earlier? Well, because my head was a tangled mess of confusion. I was the one needing to thank them for offering to let me stay in their room. I’d offer to pay them once I got home again.
I took a seat across from Leven. I bent a leg and tugged on the bells on my pants. “Why did you sew these to my jeans?”
