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All her running, all her attempts at staying safe, at keeping Eric and Daniel safe... All of it had been for nothing.
Kelsey pressed as far from the man in front of her as possible, but it was no use.
When she'd burst out of the cabin a few minutes earlier, she'd had no idea what to expect. But she had expected a car to be waiting for her.
There hadn't been a car, though.
She'd immediately been grabbed by a man she'd never seen before. He'd started running. She'd stumbled along beside him, surprised when he turned not toward the main road but in the opposite direction.
Magic was still barking. A door opened. Then a gunshot.
She stumbled, turned.
The man gripped her tighter. "Don't worry. That was a warnin' so the cop doesn't follow." Based on his accent, he wasn't local. "Nobody wants to kill a cop."
Eric was a cop. Did that extend to him? She hoped so.
She doubted it.
She didn't speak. Neither did he has they bolted through the snow past cabins along the lake's shoreline. She was freezing. She had no coat, no hat, no gloves. On top of that, her ankle ached, and the pain increased with every step.
She'd almost been safe.
Almost was the story of her life.
The man yanked on her arm and angled toward the lake. What in the world? She was confused until she saw where he was headed.
A snowmobile was hidden in the trees between two cabins.
The man yanked her to its side. "Don't go jumping, lady, or I'll havta chase ya." The man pulled a gun from the inside pocket of his warm jacket. She shivered in the cold, more focused on the jacket than the gun. "I don't wanna hurt ya."
"I surrendered willingly. Why would I escape now?"
He shrugged. "Fear can make a person do crazy things." He turned his back to her and climbed onto the snowmobile.
In the distance, sirens wailed. If she could just...
Her captor grabbed her arm. "Get on."
She wrenched out of his grip and climbed onto the snowmobile
He started the engine, and the machine roared beneath them. They shot forward, down a hill, and onto the frozen lake.
On the far side, the man angled between two deserted lake houses, across a narrow road, and sped into the woods. The snow was spotty out here, but the snowmobile sped across the frozen ground with little problem. Her captor seemed to be aiming for the dirt, not the snow.
So he wouldn't leave tracks, she realized.
Another few minutes passed before he stopped in a small clearing and powered down the snowmobile. They were far from any houses or roads. Surely this man wouldn't hurt her. But what was he doing?
He stepped off the snowmobile and waited.
Minutes passed in the silence.
The man checked his cell phone. She watched him, wished she could get her hands on it. And do what? Call the police and say she was in the woods with a bad guy? They already knew that. The problem was, the woods went on for miles and miles and miles.
The distant whine of an engine had her turning in the direction they'd come from. A moment later, another snowmobile entered the clearing. He stopped maybe twenty feet from them, facing away, which gave her a good look at the rifle slung across his back. He must have been the one to keep Donny from following them.
The man stepped off the snowmobile and turned to face her. "Kelsey. It's been a long time."
Her teeth were chattering, and she had to focus on not stuttering her words. "How are you, Mateo?"
He closed the distance quickly. "Still recovering from prison."
"That's what you get for protecting Carlos."
He shrugged. "I suppose that's one way to look at it." He took off the harness holding his rifle in place, then slid out of his jacket and handed it to her. "You must be freezing."
Mateo. Ever the gentleman. She slid into the oversize jacket and hugged herself and forced out a "thank you."
He put the rifle back on and looked at the other man. "Any problems?"
"Nope. She did just what you said she would."
"Good." Mateo pulled his phone from his jeans' pocket. He snapped her photograph, then pressed a few buttons.
He was sending her photo to Carlos.
Any minute, she'd see him again. She swallowed the bile that rose at the thought.
Mateo returned his phone to his pocket and gestured toward his snowmobile. "You'll ride with me."
She walked the distance with him silently. When they reached it, rather than climb on, he turned to face her, leaned in, and lowered his voice. "Why didn't you run on Saturday? Surely you got my message."
Mateo had sent the man to warn her? He'd been behind the attack on Eric? But... "Why?"
"My dear, you've done us nothing but harm. Why Carlos doesn't see it, I cannot understand. He can be very focused, very determined, even when it is not in his best interest." He shook his head. "It's too late now, I suppose. I am tempted to kill you right here just to keep us all safe from your schemes, but if I want to retain my position, and keep my life, I'd better get you back safely."
It made no sense. Not only had Mateo warned her, but now he'd given her ammunition she could use against him. "Why would you tell me?"
He sighed, smiled slightly. "I suppose I wanted you to know I tried to help you. When you're back by his side, you'll have the opportunity to help me."
"I'll never be by his side."
"Perhaps if you'd run, that would be true. But now, I don't see another option."
She tried to laugh, but the sound was more sob than chuckle. "I'll die first."
He shrugged. "You did whatever he asked of you to save your sister. Would you not do just as much for your husband and child?"
The nausea rose again. Death, she could handle. But to be Carlos's slave again...
No.
She swallowed, tried to think. Mateo had said something... "You're hoping I'll do you a favor, assuming I ever have that power. But you just told me you want to kill me."
"I don't want to kill you, my dear. I also don't want to go back to prison, and the last time I saw you, that's where I ended up. I hope you won't do that again."
"I doubt I'll get another opportunity."
"True," he said. "So it hardly matters." He brushed off her words with a flick of his gloved hand and climbed back onto the snowmobile.
She climbed on behind him.
"Hang on tight."
The machine shot forward. She wanted, needed, to see Eric. She wanted to protect her friends back at the lake house. But the thought of facing Carlos had her itching to run. It took all her will power to stay still. She was here because she hadn't been willing to risk Rae's life or Donny's for her own safety. Otero had Eric, and nothing she could do would protect him now. But she wouldn't let him die alone. And she wouldn't be Carlos's slave, no matter what he threatened. She couldn't. And Eric wouldn't want her to.
She prayed she'd get to see her husband one more time. To tell him how much she loved him. To tell him that unlike him, she did have regrets. Big regrets. She'd give anything to have the last ten years back. Anything to have raised her son by Eric's side.
At least Daniel was safe. Maybe that couple, Nate and Marisa, would adopt him. Maybe they could give him a good home, a home she'd never been able to provide—and now, never would be.
Tears streamed down her face. She knew how futile they were. It was too late for tears.
Mateo seemed to be in no rush. His confidence stirred her fear. Was Otero really so good that he could get away with all of this? He'd blown up a building, killed a man. How could he possibly think he'd escape?
But Otero was slicker than a greased pig. She'd tried to put him away once, and he'd escaped prosecution and let others go to prison in his place. Nobody'd ever been able to pin anything on him. Maybe that would work in her favor. Maybe his confidence would hurt him this time.
Maybe he'd be held to account for her murder and Eric's. She could only hope.