Page 19 of Ice Cold Christmas

“Do you know me? Do you remember me?” His gaze searched hers, frantic. Desperate.

So she gave him the truth. “No.”

His grip tightened on her, almost bruising in its intensity.

“But if it makes you feel better…” Though she doubted it would. Melody confessed, “I don’t remember me, either.”

Victor shut the connecting door softly. Stood with his back against the wood even as his heart raced far too fast in his chest.

Fury and fear tangled inside of him. Fury—because he knew something bad had happened to Melody. He should have been able to protect her. He’d failed.

And fear because…

She’s still not safe.

He knew it. But this time, he would not let her down. She would not be hurt again. No matter what the hell he had to do, Melody would be safe.

He sucked in some deep breaths. They didn’t do a single thing to calm him. Hell, the only thing that had ever calmed him? Melody.

He edged away from the door. Victor pulled out his phone. Yeah, it was helluva late, but he didn’t care. He dialed his contact. Let the phone ring. Once. Twice. Three times. Four.

“Ho, the fuck ho,” a grousing male voice answered. “Do you own a clock? If not, should I gift you one this holiday season?”

“Memphis.” A growl of the other man’s name. Memphis Camden. Former bounty hunter. All around asshole. Also, an Ice Breaker.

The Ice Breakers were in the news all the time these days. A cold-case solving group, they were able to solve mysteries that had stumped law enforcement for years. They brought justice to those long dead. They locked away murderers.

They found the missing.

He’d gotten the group to take on Melody’s case. In order to get them involved, he’d had to apply one hell of a lot of pressure on the Ice Breakers. The waiting list for their services was insane. As in, thousands of people wanted their help. Because they could produce actual results.

He’d waited too long already. So he’d done whatever was necessary to get their cooperation. They’d been helping him figure out who had taken Melody. I know she was taken. I know she didn’t just walk away from me and never look back.

“Victor,” Memphis sighed his name. “I get that you like weekly updates. Trust me, everybody on the team gets that fun fact about you, but I don’t have anything new to tell you so can’t this chat wait until tomorrow? Until a semi-reasonable hour?”

“She’s here. Melody is back.” The words rushed out.

Silence. Then, “Yeah, I was asleep. Curled up in bed with my lovely wife. So I’m gonna need you to say that again. Very, very slowly.”

“She’s here,” he repeated. “Melody. Is. Back.”

“Victor.” Softer this time. With a hint of sympathy. “Have you been drinking? Because we’ve been over this. I told you that, after this length of time, you have to be realistic. Melody—hell, there’s been no contact in far too long. You have to face the possibility—the very real possibility—that she is dead. That she has been dead ever since the night she vanished.”

Screw that shit. “The dead woman knocked on the front door tonight. She came home. Melody is back.”

Chapter Five

She was cold and wet.

Something brushed against her cheek. So chilling. The icy touch of death. Why was death so soft? Feather-light?

Her eyelashes fluttered. She stared straight up. Softness rained down on her. Softness. Cold. Snow.

She knew snow was falling. That was the icy touch she felt on her skin. Her breath shuddered out. A white cloud appeared before her mouth. And pain pierced through her body.

Her hands flew down, touching her stomach. It was wet. Not wet like snow, though, more…soaked. Her dress stuck to her, and when she pulled at it, she felt the tear in the material. Her fingers lifted. She saw the red on her skin.

She looked down her body…and saw the red soaking her. Saw that the snow wasn’t white around her, but was dark red. Her blood had flowed onto the snow.