Page 18 of Escaped (Snowbound with a Stranger #3)

Return to Niantes

Erin

Following the twisting road, we drove onto the grounds of Niantes Wilderness Park in the car we’d borrowed from Owen. It was nearly a week since we’d been carried away by Hawkins’ men, and in that time, the snow had melted away to reveal the same lush greenery I remembered commenting on to Chelle when we’d first arrived. She’d been so animated that day, eager to see James and get hiking. Staring out at the passing landscape, the weight of her loss seemed suddenly suffocating.

How could I have got so swept away in my own feelings that I’d forgotten how much losing her hurt?

“Are you okay?”

Eli’s tone was knowing, but glancing his way, all I could focus on was my rising anxiety.

What had happened to Chelle?

Was she okay?

Had she made it out of the park alive?

I’d considered calling her from Owen’s place to discover the truth, but I was ashamed to say that I didn’t know her number by heart. Modern technology had rendered my ability to recall basic information like phone numbers obsolete, which was all well and good until I didn’t have my phone and I needed to contact people. Without her number, there had been no way to reach out.

My next thought had been to contact the tourist office at the park to ask for information about Chelle’s fate. That was a number I could find online, but I couldn’t bring myself to make the call. The idea of receiving terrible news over the phone terrified me, and while I didn’t relish the thought of dealing with the blow face-to-face, there was something more tangible and comforting about the experience. If the worst had happened, I was in the right place to ask questions and learn more.

“It’s going to be okay, little girl.”

I hadn’t even answered his question, but still, he tried to reassure me.

“I’m here with you.”

“I know.”

Reaching for his thigh, I squeezed the hard muscle gently.

“Thank you, sir. It will be good to know the truth, but…”

My voice trailed away.

“Yeah.”

His reply was wistful.

“I get it.”

“How are you feeling?”

I asked hurriedly.

“I don’t mind driving on the way back if the pain is getting too much.”

Owen had checked Eli’s wound the night before and was pleased with how his body was healing, but I was still concerned that he was overdoing it. Less than a week before, he’d been beaten up and shot, yet he wanted to carry on as though everything was normal.

“Thank you, but I’m fine.”

He eased off the gas as we neared the parking lot, and as though the expanse of nature had commanded me to do so, my gaze rose to scale the heights of the wilderness we hadn’t even conquered.

Somewhere up there was the waterfall where Miles and James had fallen, and not far from there was the place I’d last seen my friend.

My tummy cramped as that final memory lingered in my mind—an image of the back of her head vanishing into the falling snow.

A recollection I suspected might haunt me forever.

“It’s strange being back.”

The tension in my voice was obvious.

“Nothing bad is going to happen.”

After everything we’d been through, I was surprised at his confidence, but then, that was Eli—calm, in control, and always so damn sure of himself.

It’s part of why I fell for him.

“That depends on what we find out,”

I murmured, leaning in to see the tourist office out of my window.

Set apart from the other facilities, it had been built on top of an elevated rocky ledge and was reachable by a lengthy ramp or, for the intrepid, several hundred steps.

Looming over me, the building was like a courthouse—the place where judgment on my negligence would finally be handed down.

Had Chelle made it back to safety? Had she been grieving for James and trying to get in touch with me?

Or, had something terrible happened to her out there, for which I was going to carry the burden of culpability for the rest of my life?

“Either way, I’m here for you, and you can stay at the office while I hike to the cabin and retrieve our things if you prefer.”

“What?”

I twisted to look at him.

“No. I don’t want you to go off alone, sir.”

The last time I’d allowed someone I loved to do that, I never saw them again.

“I’m very capable.”

He laughed as though I’d forgotten how proficient he was.

Eli might not have been fully healed, but he’d managed to bind me and give me an abrupt lesson in how he wanted me to give him head the evening before.

That had required the strength to stand and thrust ferociously into my mouth for a sustained period of time and conveyed a physical ability that belied his injuries.

Eli had managed the effort with apparent ease, and I had the sense he was feeling more like his old self by the minute.

The intimate muscles between my legs clenched at the scintillating memory.

His resurging dominance had left me in no doubt about who was in charge in the bedroom or how much I enjoyed our consensual dynamic, although I had worried about Owen overhearing us.

His house was large, but not a castle, and our guest room wasn’t far from his bedroom.

We’d definitely need somewhere more private to play as soon as the funeral was over.

“I remember, sir.”

The last few days had been such a headfuck of colliding, competing emotions.

I’d seen more death than I’d ever thought was possible.

I’d lost Chelle, and then Mum, and I still had the sickening guilt of Hawkins’ demise to contend with, but at the same time, I’d survived abduction and the wrath of the storm, and I’d fallen in love, even managing to save the man who’d altered me in the meantime.

The familiar flush of warmth and amazed gratitude at the thought of our burgeoning feelings washed over me as I stared into his eyes.

In spite of all the hell we’d been through, we’d fallen for each other, and I hoped the excited butterflies in my stomach never calmed at the thought of how wonderful that was.

Against all odds, we’d found love in the desolation.

“Good.”

He reached for my hand.

“And I hope you also remember that I love you. Whatever happens, we’ll get through this.”

Despite the relentless apprehension clawing at me, I couldn’t help but smile at his soothing tone.

There was such a strength to his certainty.

Eli wasn’t only made of muscle, but he had enormous mental resilience as well.

If the news about Chelle wasn’t good, I’d need to lean on his reserves, and I knew he’d be able to carry that burden.

“I love you, too.”

The butterflies in my tummy fluttered their wings in different directions at the declaration.

It still seemed odd to tell anyone that.

After so long on my own, I’d wondered if I’d ever feel anything for anyone.

The fact that a complicated god like Eli had been the one to topple me over the precipice was still unfathomable, but suddenly, I was ready to consider a happy ever after.

Sure, Eli had his faults.

His prior life as an assassin topping that list, as was the disturbing news that he’d been seeing visions from his past right up until the moment we’d connected.

We would need to address those serious matters, to talk them through and see if he needed any professional help to deal with them, but I was reassured.

He’d been honest with me, and I respected that.

His desire to be open helped me to understand our connection was about more than only the incredible fucking we enjoyed. He truly did know me in a way no one else ever had.

“This just feels overwhelming,”

I admitted, gripping his fingers.

“Being back here and finding out what happened to Chelle.”

“It’s a lot,”

he agreed.

“We don’t need to go in right away if you’re not ready.”

“No.”

As though some of his resolve had washed over me, I pulled in a determined breath.

“It’s time to find out the truth.”

“There’s my girl.”

He patted my thigh tenderly.

“I know most of the staff here, so hopefully, it shouldn’t be too taxing to get answers.”

“I’ll let you lead, then, sir.”

I smirked at the idea that I could ‘let’ him do anything. The intimacy between us meant I’d surrendered most of myself to him already, and since that first day in the cabin, I’d loved every bloody moment of my submission. His dominance set me free. The more he led, the more I was finally able to just let go. I didn’t understand much about the magic that was going on between us, but one thing was for sure; there wasn’t much I wouldn’t have allowed him to do.

“Oh, you’ll let me lead?”

The gleam in his eyes would have been tantalizing at any other moment, but knowing what we were there to do took the edge off his predictable charm. The moment was about Chelle, James, and Miles. They warranted that much.

“Can we go inside now, sir?”

I glanced back to the tourist office.

“I’d like to get this over with.”

“Of course.”

He changed tack effortlessly, grabbing the key and climbing out of the car. Owen’s vehicle wasn’t as large as the one we’d taken from Hawkins, but as promised, Eli had ensured that Hawkins’ car had been abandoned on an isolated track and set on fire. The flames should have ensured there was no trace of us left in or on the car, and I hoped it was the last we’d need to hear about Hawkins, though that felt optimistic.

By the time I’d grabbed the hoodie I’d borrowed from my brother, Eli had opened my door. Stepping out into the crisp air, I was once again reminded of the first time I’d arrived with Chelle. Eager to take on the challenge of the hike and so certain that she was on the brink of an exhilarating new life with James, Chelle’s smile was seared into my recollection. It was strange to find myself in a similar situation as Eli took my hand.

We started the long walk up the ramp in silence, each of us seemingly lost in our thoughts. It seemed like a lifetime ago since we’d been there last, yet I recognized it was only a matter of days. So much had transpired in that time. Life-altering events that would require hours of therapy, yet still, the lodge was just as it had been—untouched and banal. The only bastion of civilization in the encroaching wilderness, it sold maps, waterproofs, and ice creams, amongst other items.

Reaching the huge entrance, the surge of feeling was all too much and, heart racing, I gripped at the wooden door.

“Hey.”

Eli’s voice radiated with concern.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah.”

I peered past him into the store, making out the first racks of Niantes postcards.

“I came here with Chelle before James arrived. I really hope she made it back to this place.”

“Come here.”

Opening his arms, he beckoned me forward with one hand.

“You need a hug before we do this.”

His suggestion received no protest from me. Walking the short distance to where he was waiting, I buried myself against the clothes Owen had lent him. I should have cared about aggravating his injuries, but in that moment, there was only the strength and wonder of the man. He held me there for an unquantifiable amount of time, when only the sound of the breeze whipping around the store and the constancy of his heartbeat seemed to exist.

“I’m okay.”

I mumbled the words into Owen’s sweater. “Really.”

“Want to wait out here while I ask?”

He gestured behind me to the line of benches at the storefront. Looking back to eye them, I realized that the fresh air might actually help to clear my head.

“Okay.”

I nodded.

“If I have questions, I’ll ask later.”

Kissing my crown, he steered me to the nearest seat.

“You wait here and get some color back in your cheeks. I won’t be long.”

“Thanks, sir.”

That was Eli’s power. His ability to not only take charge, but to persuade me it was in my interests to allow him to. As my ass hit the wooden bench, I recognized that it was. Let him do the talking. I didn’t have to deal with things alone, and for that, I was absurdly thankful.

He wandered to the front door before pausing to glance my way. Our gazes met fleetingly—a thousand slivers of sentiment; hurt and shared experience passing between us in a nanosecond—before he walked into the store.