Page 15 of Trapped (Snowbound with a Stranger #2)

Cattle Class

Eli

“Get in there!”

One of Hawkins’ minions snarled while shoving me inside the helicopter’s small cabin. I landed awkwardly on my left arm, wincing as I forced myself upright against what I assumed was the pilot’s seat to my side. They’d forced a hood on me after I’d seen them do the same to Erin, but not before they’d ordered me to put on my boots. Then, hooded, with my hands cuffed behind me, I was forced to walk in front of them, but I didn’t need to see where we were to know what would happen next.

I knew those kinds of assholes of old and I understood how their tiny minds worked. From the moment he’d gatecrashed our party, Hawkins’ intent had been obvious. I was only surprised he’d actually taken the time to come and taunt me himself. Usually, knobs like him didn’t like to get their hands dirty.

He must really like me.

The wry thought danced through my cloudy head as I focused on what their plan would be. They’d have brought a chopper with them to gain speedy and easy access to the wilderness, utilizing the only nearby landscape suitable for such a landing. In my mind’s eye, I could see the exact spot on the map. It was a few miles’ hike from the cabin and explained the arduous trek I’d endured to get to that point.

The open meadowed area was where we were as I heard the grunted orders being shouted from beyond the chopper’s hull, about to fly out to play guests to Hawkins and whatever bastard was currently paying his wages.

Fucker.

Jaw clenched, I ignored the dull ache that had developed since a variety of fists and boots had pounded me, and the way the hood had started to stick to my blood-stained face, trying to keep my focus on why I was there. I hadn’t seen Hawkins for years, and while I’d suspected he was the weak link in an otherwise infallible chain of great people I’d met and worked with, I’d had no idea he was still so interested in me.

I might have laughed beneath the hood had the task not seemed so excruciating. The pain in my chest suggested I was left with at least severe bruising around my ribs, and I just had to hope there was no more serious internal damage from the pummeling my torso had taken.

Hawkins hadn’t just popped in to say hello. He clearly wanted to send a message and have me back for some no doubt insidious reason. My missive to Baron had inadvertently created the perfect opportunity for both. That wouldn’t have been so bad if I’d been the only casualty of the attention, but knowing Erin had been caught in the crossfire hurt almost as much as my physical injuries. The hapless goons on Hawkins’ payroll wouldn’t have known anything about my little girl until they’d arrived, but I’d seen the devilish look in their gazes when they’d first laid eyes on her. Just being entwined with me had left Erin vulnerable, and I hadn’t been able to do anything to protect her. That idea plagued me, worming its way into my psyche. I wouldn’t ever forgive myself if anything awful happened to her because of me.

“The chopper can only take five passengers in the back, sir.”

The droning tone of one of Hawkins’ goons floated through the fibers of the hood.

“We’ll have to do a return trip for the rest.”

“Put her on the floor with him.”

It was Hawkins’ dulcet tone that replied.

“Then three of you get in the back. I’m taking the front seat.”

Her?

My heart sped up at the pronoun. It had to be Erin he was talking about. I’d not seen any other women amongst the mix of senseless infantry.

Thank God she’s here.

My swollen eyes fell closed with relief. I had no idea what those jerks had put her through during the hike, but at least she was still with me. She’d survived that far.

“And the others, sir?”

I couldn’t recall precisely how many of the morons I’d seen back at the cabin, but Hawkins had brought at least half a dozen men with him. The goon was right. Not all of them were going to be able to ride in the chopper. Briefly, I wondered how they’d all arrived at the cabin in the first place, but frankly, I had bigger problems to worry about.

“Will have to fucking wait.”

Hawkins’ cutting tone was louder that time, conveying that perhaps he’d moved closer since they’d been talking. Likely, he was getting ready to board, but the disorientating ache in my head made it impossible to be sure.

“Let’s go!”

If I hadn’t been so sore, I’d have rolled my eyes at his selfishness. Trust him to leave his so-called troops in the snow while he flew off into the proverbial sunset. That was Hawkins’ character in a fucking nutshell.

“In you get, darling,”

another male voice hissed ahead of me as the scuffles of someone else entering the tiny cabin filled the air. I sensed the structure around me rock as another person climbed on board.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get to know each other better later.”

“Fuck you!”

There was no denying who the retort belonged to as someone nudged against the front of my boot.

Erin!

Her voice was small, but she’d spoken, answering back in the way only she could. Despite my bloodied lip, I smiled. There was my feisty little girl, still full of sass, even when she was in imminent danger.

“Erin,”

I called out, unsure which of the other morons were still around but not caring. I needed to clarify what I thought I’d heard.

“Are you okay?”

“Eli?”

Her attention was on me immediately, her body seeming to edge closer on the floor of the helicopter, and if I wasn’t mistaken, I sensed one of her hands at my ankles, clasping at my wet clothes.

“Aww, ain’t that sweet?”

one of the goons chortled as he climbed in beside us, his boots kicking the side of me as he settled onto his comfortable seat. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reaction, but I felt the reverberations each time his boot collided with my body.

“They recognize each other.”

“I’m surprised Rosen can still talk!”

another answered as he, too, presumably took his seat.

“After the pounding he took.”

The asshole wasn’t wrong, but evidently, he’d underestimated my fortitude. It had been a while, but once upon a time, those kinds of hidings had been par for the course. I was an old hand at being stricken and still making it out alive.

“Lucky me.”

A third voice penetrated the hood.

“I get to sit next to Snow White here.”

Anger stirred inside me as I imagined what the scumbag was contemplating.

“Don’t you fucking touch her!”

I made sure my growl was loud enough to be heard through the face covering, not caring that I was beaten half to death and still cuffed. While there was still breath in my body, I’d fight for her. Not only because I was the reason she was stuck in the dicey predicament in the first place, but because she was the best thing that had ever happened to me, and sitting on the floor, I couldn’t even remember whether I’d told her.

Sure, I’d fucked her, worshipping and reproaching her amazing body as often as I could, but in all the times we’d talked, I couldn’t recall if I’d conveyed how special she really was.

Why didn’t I tell her?

I’d wanted to, and I’d been warming to the idea of telling her more about how I felt. Maybe I’d been waiting until I’d got her back to so-called safety before I opened up, but that had been short-sighted at best. There was never going to be a better moment than the present one, and watching and waiting had meant I’d allowed those moments to slide past us. The words had never been said, or, if I’d mumbled something akin to my feelings, they had been sorely inadequate, and by then, it was too late.

Trapped together in the chopper’s hull, I couldn’t let her know how I truly felt, and the weight of that failure was suffocating.

“Hasn’t someone shut this asshole up yet?”

I didn’t know which one of the three offered the witty comeback, or who it was that struck me in the side of the face, laughing when my head bounced off the seat beside me, but I definitely felt the pain. Fresh hurt ricocheted at the impact, and through the haze, one thought seeped to the fore of my consciousness.

If I never get the chance to tell her, I’ll kill every one of these miserable fuckers.

***

Erin

Eli!

Huddled on the hard floor, all I could think about was him, that he was there with me, and that he was well enough to retaliate on my behalf.

‘Don’t you fucking touch her!’

His words pinballed in my head as the door slammed shut behind me and the blades of the helicopter rotated above us. I straightened at the harrowing noises, aware of what they were based on the limited information I’d been able to ascertain yet still perturbed by what was going on. Eli was with me, and I was thankful, but I was still there ostensibly on my own; a vulnerable woman with no special skills or experiences to help drag her out of the enormous hole that seemed to have opened up in her life.

Exhaling as far as the blasted hood allowed, I followed the timeline of how it had all happened. One moment, I’d been on a vaguely interesting hike with my friend and her irritating other half, making small talk with the handsome tour guide he’d hired, and the next, the rest of my group had disappeared, leaving me alone with Eli. Anxiety still simmered at Chelle’s fate, and despite everything, I wished she’d come with us to stay safe in the cabin, but given what had recently transpired, perhaps she’d had the right idea. Eli could have been right. She could have made it back to base in search of James’ body. She’d be upset and in need of comfort, but at least she wasn’t being abducted in a helicopter.

If she’s alive…

I swallowed at the demoralizing thought. I hoped to anything holy that Chelle was okay, but as the chopper left the ground, I was starkly conscious that I should have been more worried about myself. Either Chelle was okay or she’d already passed. My fate was far less certain.

“Seems like a job well done.”

The male voice was only just audible over the noise of the helicopter.

“Plus, we picked ourselves up some pussy on route.”

Appalled at his inference, I tucked my legs into my chest and curled myself into as small a ball as I could, but my hands still clung to the damp cloth I believed belonged to Eli’s trousers. The fabric was wrapped around what felt like a strong calf, and so far, the owner, who was sitting in the direction Eli’s voice had come from, hadn’t made any crude remarks about the attention.

“Seems like your pussy’s into some other cock!”

Another moron cackled at his apparent humor.

“Yeah, well, she won’t have no choice,”

the first one retorted.

“The boss will be keeping that cock busy once we arrive.”

My pulse sped up at his sinister tone. He hadn’t said so explicitly, but his words suggested Eli and I were in for dubious times once the helicopter set down.

That was when the thought occurred to me. My hands, although cuffed, were in front of me. That empowered me with a certain level of latitude that wouldn’t be available if the fools had bound me behind my back. Allowing my fingertips to graze over Eli’s cold and clammy skin, a tiny shoot of hope bloomed in my chest. If there was a moment when the goons working for Hawkins were distracted, I could whip the hood up and over my head. That wouldn’t free me, but it would mean I could see again. Perhaps I’d get lucky and the chopper would land somewhere dry. That would mean my lack of footwear would be less of an issue, but either way, if the opportunity arose, I’d need to be ready to take it and run.

But what about Eli?

I turned my head toward the place I imagined him to be, picturing him in my mind’s eye. He’d taken a nasty assault, even before they’d snatched my sight away, but somehow, I couldn’t imagine him cowering in pain. That just wasn’t the man I’d got to know. Whatever they’d put him through in the time since I’d seen him, he’d still spoken up for me, and that was reassuring. Eli hadn’t run for the hills at the first possible chance and left me to fend for myself. He still cared.

Even though I was a prisoner to the wild and unpredictable men surrounding me, and I suspected they had something ominous in mind, the fact that Eli was there for me meant something.

It means everything.

The smile beneath my hood grew. I knew it was wrong to be excited by a man who’d played my captor as much as he’d played my savior, but damn me, I couldn’t help it. Amongst the angst and constant push and pull of our struggled power dynamic, there was something deeper, something that stirred the remnants of my soul and helped me to believe there was a chance for something more meaningful in my life. I hadn’t experienced that for a long time, and looking back, I wasn’t even sure that my useless ex, Ray, had come close to inspiring that sentiment.

“Arrival in T-minus ten minutes, gents.”

Startling at the radio transmission, I straightened against the hard surface. Ten minutes until we landed. Ten minutes before the chopper touched down and the next installment of that chapter unfolded before me. I should have still been terrified, and on some level, I was. Our assailants had at least two guns among them, and they’d already demonstrated a willingness to throw their fists around, but I didn’t discount the mushrooming sense of anticipation building in me, either. The men in black ski masks might have been well and truly in control as things stood, but no one knew how the next half an hour was going to play out, including our perpetrators.

Withdrawing my hands and bringing them closer to my body, I realized my breathing had slowed. Amidst the tumbling chaos of the situation, I’d clawed at a semblance of solace and found a sliver of possibility.

If Eli hadn’t given up, then neither would I. If he could withstand a beating, then I could handle what came next. I owed it to myself to try.

“Settle in, baby.”

One of the bastards ruffled my hair, provoking me to recoil out of instinct.

“This is where things get exciting.”

Tensing at his analogy, I didn’t resist the smirk he couldn’t see painting my lips. Whatever came next, I vowed to ensure his prophecy came true.