Page 43 of Ice Cold Christmas

Shocker, asking nicely had clearly not been the way to go?—

“If I do go with you, then you’ll take me to the scene of my abduction? You’ll take me to the detective? Take me wherever I want to go?”

“Yes.” He’d be with her every step of the way.

“Thank you for the kind invitation of the helicopter ride.” Very formal. Very…Melody-like, though she probably didn’t get that. “I find that I would like to take you up on that offer.” She turned and crept toward the chopper.

John Henry opened a door for her. As she climbed in, Victor extended his palm toward Hunter. He waited, with his palm open.

“Seriously?” Hunter asked.

Did it look like he was joking?

Hunter passed him the handcuffs. “You’re one crazy asshole. She’ll go ballistic if you cuff her.”

If she tried to leave him, he would be cuffing her. Until he found out what threat she faced, he could not let her go.

Who the hell am I lying to? No matter what, I don’t intend to let her go.

He reached for his backpack. Unzipped it and dropped the handcuffs inside. They fell right next to the manila file, the file he’d taken from Sebastian’s safe before he went upstairs to tell Melody that her father wanted a meeting. A quick scan had shown him that Melody’s fingerprints were in the file, but so was an entire sheriff’s report. Pages and pages that he hadn’t read. Not yet.

But he would.

For now, he rezipped the backpack. He climbed into the chopper with her. Got a seat up front, the one vacated by John Henry. In moments, he, Hunter, and Melody were in the air. A sea of white waited below them as the chopper headed away from the mansion. Snow everywhere the eye could see.

The clear area where they’d landed gave way to trees. Thick brush. Too many places for someone to hide. The shooter didn’t just have to be someone inside the house, Victor understood that. The shooter could have been some asshole who’d followed Melody out to the estate.

And if that was the case, then maybe the SOB had gotten trapped while fleeing. Maybe they’d see a vehicle stalled somewhere along the way. Maybe they’d see…

A truck. Slammed into the side of an old cedar tree.

Well, sonofabitch.

Chapter Eleven

Hunter could truly land a chopper nearly any place.

So when Victor spotted the wreckage, Hunter lowered the helicopter toward the snow-covered road. The helicopter hovered. Sent snow billowing and the black of the asphalt was revealed.

Down, down the chopper went. And the battered Ford pickup remained lodged against the old cedar tree, the front of the vehicle smashed to hell and back.

The blades slowed when the chopper landed. Victor jerked off his headset and reached for the door. “Radio the sheriff,” he ordered Hunter. Then he was out the door. He’d pulled his weapon, and he rushed right to the vehicle.

The thud of footsteps told him that someone was hurrying behind him. He turned, threw out his left arm, and caught Melody as she barreled forward. “Fuck, no.”

“Fuck, yes!” Melody tossed back instantly. “That person needs help!”

“That person…” Victor gritted out, “could be the asshole who shot at you last night! The vehicle is too close to the Mage property.” Not really Mage land, not anymore. I own it all. “Get back in the chopper!”

“How about I just get behind you?” Melody returned without missing a beat. “You have the gun. You can keep us safe. Let’s just go.”

Dammit. He pushed her behind him. And advanced. Glass crunched under his shoes as he neared the driver’s side of the truck. He raised his weapon. Peered inside.

More broken glass. A crushed console. Deflated air bag. Red on the airbag. Blood.

But…

No driver.