Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 106090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
The gunfire stops.
Michelle heads outside to talk to the locals. Through the window I watch her move among them, shaking hands, clapping shoulders, her curls bright against all the dark winter gear. They clearly know her, respect her. One grizzled old guy actually picks her up in a bear hug that makes her laugh.
Knox, Liam, and I stay inside.
I set the rifle down carefully—my hands are shaking now that it’s over—and lean against the wall. Slide down until I’m sitting. Liam sits beside me. Knox follows.
“She’s still out there,” Liam says.
“I know.”
“She’s not going to stop.”
“I know.”
I pull the Snowflake Diamond from my pocket and hold it up. Even here, it catches the light.
“So what do we do with this?”
Knox looks at it. At me. At Liam.
“Later,” he says. “Right now I just want to sit here and be alive.”
I lean my head against his shoulder. Liam’s hand finds mine.
The door opens and Michelle steps back in, stomping snow off her boots. “RCMP’s twenty minutes out now. Locals are going to stick around until they get here, make sure your friend doesn’t circle back.” She looks at the three of us on the floor. “You did good. All of you.”
“We didn’t do anything,” I say. “You and your neighbors saved us.”
“You survived long enough to get here. That counts.” She picks up her coffee mug, finds it empty, and sighs. “I’m making more. Anyone want some?”
We all nod.
She moves to the kettle, humming something under her breath, and I watch her for a moment. Untamed curls, steady hands, easy confidence.
“Hey, Michelle?”
She looks over her shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Thanks. For everything.”
She smiles, and it reaches her brown eyes. “That’s what neighbors are for.”
Outside, I can hear helicopter rotors approaching. Help coming. Statements and paperwork and eventually, maybe, home.
But Marlena is still out there.
This isn’t over.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Knox
The authorities finally arrive—RCMP in helicopters, taking statements, securing the scene. But it’s going to be a long process. Hours of questions, documentation. Michelle offers us a back room to rest while we wait our turn for interviews.
The room is small—cots, a space heater, nothing fancy. But it’s private. Safe. I close the door, and for the first time since escaping the cabin, we’re alone together.
The adrenaline is still coursing through me. Combat high, survival instinct, the need that comes after nearly dying. I can see it in Hailey and Liam too—the same wired energy.
“We lived,” Hailey says to me, shaky. “We actually lived, Knox.”
I pull her into my arms. She’s trembling—delayed shock. I hold her tight, grounding her. Over her shoulder, I see Liam, standing apart, uncertain.
I make a decision. Extending my hand. “Get over here.”
Liam hesitates. “Knox—”
“Now.”
Liam moves into the embrace. The three of us together, arms around each other, breathing hard, alive. The touch shifts. Need. Want. The connection from the cabin, still there despite everything.
I tilt Hailey’s face up, kissing her hard. She responds immediately. Then I’m turning to Liam, claiming his mouth too. Liam makes a sound—surprise, relief, desire—and kisses back.
I can feel Liam’s stubble against my lips, the roughness a contrast to Hailey’s softness. The room is warm, too warm, but it’s not just the space heater. It’s us, the heat between us, the desperation to feel alive after staring death in the face.
Hailey’s hands are at my waist, gripping tightly, her breath hot on my neck. Liam’s body is pressed against mine, his heart pounding in sync with ours. It’s chaotic, messy, but there’s a rhythm to it, a dance we all know the steps to.
I pull back slightly, just enough to see their faces. Hailey’s eyes are wide, pupils dilated. Liam’s gaze is intense, focused. There’s a question there, a silent conversation. We’ve crossed a line, but there’s no going back. Not after everything we’ve been through.
Hailey reaches up, her hand cupping my cheek. She turns my head to face her, her lips brushing against mine softly this time. It’s a stark contrast to the earlier desperation, but it’s no less intense. Liam’s hand is at the small of my back, supporting me.
The sound of voices outside the door brings us back to reality. We should pull apart—but fuck that. I need them now.
I lean forward, kissing Hailey again, and she melts into me. Liam’s hand lifts to my neck, tugging gently until I turn and his mouth finds mine. He tastes of blood and winter, and there’s a rawness in both of us that makes it urgent, almost violent. Hailey bites my lower lip, just shy of pain, and when I gasp she laughs, breathy and reckless.
We tumble onto one of the cots. The scratchy wool bites my skin, but I don’t care. Everything is about sensation: the slide of Hailey’s hands under my shirt, the way Liam’s fingers move from my hair to my jaw, holding me firm. I kiss them both in turn, greedy, not willing to waste a single second of this borrowed peace.