Page 7

While lying on his belly, he lay his head on his paws and watched the house for a long time. A small amount of light filtered through the windows, then suddenly shut off. Denny and Helen weren’t going anywhere.

Monica put her head on one of his paws, and he nuzzled her. Then she closed her eyes.

It was still early, but already dark, and they needed to rest their injuries to heal more quickly.

They had slept for perhaps two hours when the cabin door creaked open.

They both raised their heads to see what was going on.

A flashlight wavered in the dark through the blowing snow as Denny headed for the woodpile.

Without warning, Monica leaped from the ground and charged at Denny. She ran as fast as a polar bear could at twenty-five miles per hour, not that Denny could have gotten out of her path even if she’d been running slowly.

As soon as she ran around the woodpile, Denny screamed in fright.

She slammed her paw against his head, and he crumpled on the piled-up snow.

At once, Andy shifted and began getting dressed, wrapping his foot back up.

His ankle was feeling better, though it still hurt to walk on, but he had to get his gun out.

Monica returned to where they had their clothes in the woods, shifted, and he helped her to dress. “We’ll drag him into the house, tie him up, and question her. How is your ankle?”

“Better. Not healed, but it should be good by tomorrow.”

“All right.”

“How’s your hand and back?”

“Awful, but a good night’s sleep; after these two—if both were complicit in trying to steal money from her new boyfriend—are tied up, we can sleep inside a nice warm cabin.”

“That sounds good to me.” It would be even better if he could sleep with Monica in one of the beds. He shouldn’t have thought of that, but the notion of healing quicker came to mind as if that was all that came to mind. Being with her, close and snuggling, was too irresistible a notion.

He grabbed his walking stick.

Monica hurried back to Denny, and Andy caught up with her. He realized trying to move the guy into the cabin would be troublesome, but he had to help. Monica tried to pull him through the deep snow, but she wasn’t progressing.

Trying to walk on his bad ankle gingerly, he used the stick in one hand, and with his free one, he helped her drag Denny through the snow toward the cabin. They made slow progress, but at least they were getting there.

He was surprised that Denny hadn’t seen the tracks Monica and he had made earlier when they’d gone to the end of the house, but the snow was in their eyes so much from the wind blowing so hard, Denny probably didn’t believe anyone would be out there, so he didn’t notice.

As they approached the cabin’s front door, Helen said, “Honey, be sure and get more kindling!”

Honey. That said it all. Helen could have locked Denny out of the house if she hadn’t been in on this whole arrangement and hadn’t been tied up inside. He would have frozen to death eventually.

When they got close to the door, they pulled Denny onto the snow-covered porch and left him there. Both Andy and Monica went inside with guns drawn.

Helen was sitting on the couch, soaking up the heat of the fire, drinking a glass of red wine, and wearing only a green and plaid blanket.

She tossed her long blond hair over her bare shoulder.

Her clothes were scattered all over the floor where they’d discarded them during their lovemaking.

She looked like a perfectly happy cat curled up in the blanket on the couch.

“Put the glass of wine down—” Monica commanded.

Before she could finish speaking, Helen screamed and dropped her glass of wine on the blue braided rug-covered floor. The red wine soaked into the rug, the glass surviving the fall.

“Ohmigod, we don’t have any money! What…what…where is Denny?” Helen sputtered.

Andy walked carefully over to the couch, realizing it was much easier to walk now that he wasn’t trying to maneuver through heavy snow. He read Helen her Miranda rights, then pulled out handcuffs. “Put your hands above your head. Now.”

“What? Oh.” Helen began to cry. “Denny forced me to go with him. He kidnapped me! I was held here against my will. You can’t arrest me!”

If she didn’t sound like so many others that he had arrested who screamed foul when they were part of the whole rotten criminal venture.

“I heard the whole thing. I saw you making love with him, and you certainly didn't resist; in fact, you took over and thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. So save the story for the judge,” Monica said.

Helen’s eyes widened. “You…ohmigod, you’re Pierre’s ex-girlfriend.” She glanced at the front door and frowned. “Where’s Denny?”

As if she finally remembered her lover wasn’t in the cabin.

“On ice.” Literally. Monica glanced at Andy, and he raised his brows.

Yep. Monica had some explaining to do as far as having dated Pierre before. She hoped he wouldn’t be perturbed with her for not telling him about it.

“You killed Denny?” Helen looked stricken. “I don’t have any clothes on. At least let me get dressed.”

“Do it now.” After all Monica and Andy had gone through to get here, she felt highly annoyed to learn Helen was part of the criminal act and not a victim. “Where are his guns?”

“Guns?”

“He struck your current boyfriend, Pierre, in the head with a gun, which could have killed him and knocked him out. So where are the weapons?”

“I don’t know.” Helen hurried to get dressed while Andy waited to put the cuffs on her. He turned to watch the fire, giving her some privacy.

“She’s dressed,” Monica said.

“I don’t have my shoes on yet.”

“You don’t need them.” Monica glanced at the fire.

They did need firewood, but neither Monica nor Andy was in the best shape to lift the wood from the stack buried in snow.

“We need firewood. Helen could get it,” Monica said.

“It’s too cold out,” Helen whined.

Andy waved the cuffs at her. “The agent is right. Put on your boots and parka, and go out to bring in some firewood. We’ll carry your boyfriend inside before he freezes to death out there.”

Then Andy and Monica put their guns away. Helen didn’t have anywhere to run to. She wasn’t armed. She could at least get some wood for the fire.

They pulled Denny into the house and laid him next to the fireplace. Andy searched for a gun on him but didn’t find any. He put handcuffs on Denny because he was the most likely to cause trouble. Once he warmed up, they would secure him better.

However, once Helen returned with the firewood, they would handcuff her, too, so they could get some rest without worrying about them.

Monica returned to the front door and peered out.

“Is she getting the firewood?” Andy sat down on the couch, having to get off his ankle.

“She’s trying to. I don’t think Denny could have done so, either. We need to find his gun. I’ll go out and get some firewood.”

“As a bear?”

“Yeah. I think that’s the only way to do it. I’ll send her back inside, and you can cuff her. Then I’ll get the firewood. When I return, I’ll look for the gun. We can question him when he comes to if I don’t find it.”

“All right.”

Monica went to the front porch and said, “Come on in, Helen. It looks like you won’t be able to free any firewood from the log pile.”

Helen began trudging back through the snow. Tears streaking down her cheeks were frozen. “But we need some more firewood.”

“Tell me where he put the gun, and I’ll get the firewood.”

“It’s on the bookcase.”

“I’ll get it.” Andy used the couch to maneuver around it and reach the bookcase.

Helen finally reached the house. She pulled off her gloves, hat, goggles, and parka.

Monica put a handcuff on her one hand and then the other, and cuffed her. “Sit over there on the loveseat for now.”

“What did you do to Denny?”

“He’s taking a nap. He’ll probably have a headache when he wakes.” Monica went outside and shut the door.

Andy made his way over to the window and watched Monica. She had already removed her clothes, dropped them on the piled-up snow next to the door, and shifted. As a bear, she ambled over to the woodpile, reached it, and slid the snow off the top of one group of logs.

Then she slammed her good arm into the stacked-up wood on top, knocking three pieces off. She grabbed one in her mouth and walked upright back to the house.

He assumed her injured hand hurt too much from running on it like a bear. He opened the door, carried the log into the living room, and put it next to the fire to dry out.

Helen’s mouth hung agape. “How did she manage to get a log? I don’t think Denny could have even gotten them loose as high as the snow is piled up on them, and they’re frozen together. I certainly couldn’t budge them.”

“She’s stronger than you give her credit for.” Monica was remarkable, and that was all Andy could think of as he returned to the window to watch her as she walked back with another log.

He figured she’d only bring the three she had knocked loose, but she had whacked another four off the stack and carried them back the same way. Once she was done, she shifted and dressed. At least he was there to assist her.

After shutting the door, they moved into the living room. He helped her out of her gloves, goggles, hat, and parka, then pulled an ace bandage from her backpack first aid kit and wrapped it around her injured hand. “It’s time for us to rest.”

“We need to handcuff them to something so they can’t harm us while we sleep,” she said as he pulled off her boots. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Once we have secured them, we can rest. It wouldn’t do for them to get hold of our guns or knock us out.” Or worse.

She spoke low for his ears only. “I liked resting together as bears.” She smiled at him. “But being by a warm fire will work too.”

Not the same as being in bed together, he was thinking.

What he wouldn’t give to curl up with her on a soft mattress, covered in blankets, and sleep their injuries away.

And more. He already had the hots for her, feeling protective and admiring her dedication to her job, as well as her tender ministrations to ensure his foot was warm enough on the journey.

He looked around the room and noticed the kitchen bar had brass poles on three sides holding up the countertop. A long storage cabinet held up the rest of the countertop. “Those brass poles should work.”

“I agree.”

They dragged Denny to the pole in one corner of the bar and handcuffed him around it.

“You can’t do that to me . I have my rights,” Helen shouted from the loveseat.

Andy suspected she was trying to rouse Denny, but he was still dead to the world.

“Yeah, and by rights, you should be in jail soon,” Monica said. “What I think is so despicable is that you would use Pierre in such an awful way.”

Helen’s face was filled with an odd look, but Andy couldn’t decipher its meaning as he and Monica moved Helen opposite Denny at the end of the long counter.

Once they had cuffed her to the bar, Andy checked on Denny, his heart beating steadily.

He suddenly opened his eyes, saw that he was handcuffed to the brass pole, tried to sit up, and groaned. “Who the hell are you? And what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“FBI Special Agent O’Connell at your service.” Monica flashed her badge.

“I’m a state trooper. MacMathan is the name.”

Denny glanced at Helen. “Why is she handcuffed?”

“We know the whole story.” Monica heated up the milk to make hot cocoa for her and Andy.

Now that was much better than cold water in a chilling blizzard.

Denny quickly looked at Helen as if he thought she had told them the whole story.

“They were a couple of damn peeping Toms,” Helen snarled. “They saw us screwing around.”

“And enjoying it,” Monica said.

“That doesn’t mean—” Helen started to say.

“That you aren’t in collusion in planning this whole kidnapping for ransom matter?

Sadly, your new boyfriend was willing to do anything to save you at all costs and would have paid for your release.

This sack of garbage only wants money. I guess you too.

” Monica poured the cocoa into two mugs, found whipped cream in the fridge, and topped off the cocoa with swirls of cream.

Andy figured Monica was right.

Helen looked at her ex-boyfriend.

Denny shook his head. “That’s not true, honey. You know I love you.”

“So why are you the ex then?” Monica asked.

Helen began to cry, and Andy swore it was all fake.

“He abused me.” Helen cried even harder.

“Oh, that’s a great reason to return with him and con the new boyfriend.” Monica sipped her cocoa and got a dab of whipped cream on her nose.

Before she could wipe it off, Andy came over and licked it off. She chuckled and kissed his mouth. He kissed her chocolaty lips right back and deepened the kiss. Now this was more like it.

“You know, Pierre wouldn’t stop talking about you. I got sick of hearing it,” Helen said.

“I can’t imagine. We dated only for a while.”

“To hear him talk about you, you were perfect. I wouldn’t ever measure up.”

“That’s news to me.” Monica seemed to be sincere about it.

Andy was still surprised she’d dated him and hadn’t mentioned it earlier. He suspected she didn’t want to discuss it now in front of the others.

Denny squirmed to get more comfortable. “With two more of you here and us stuck here because of the blizzard, you know we’ll run out of food soon. Have you looked at the food supplies?”