Page 62 of Stolen

“I don’t think he wants to make it work.”

“Have you talked to Jacob about it?”

“Talked to Jacob about what?” Jacob asked as he walked up to the conversation. He was wearing a lot of snow gear, absolutely covered in thick fabric and coats. Bradley was standing right beside him, his usual stoic expression on his face, his eyes behind a pair of thick goggles.

“Nothing! Everyone! Disperse!” Diego’s eyes darted back and forth before he broke into a full run away from the couch. Andrew and Chris followed suit, looking so suspicious it was hard for me to hold back a laugh.

“Weird.” It was all Bradley had to say about the situation before he pulled out his phone and began to scroll through its screen.

“Where’d you disappear to?” I asked Jacob, standing up from my place on the couch. “I know you said something about checking on the roads, but I guess I figured it’d be something you could do on your phone?”

“No phone necessary.” Jacob grinned. “Bradley and I went out to check the road conditions for ourselves.”

“And? What’s the verdict?”

“The path to the main road is clear. Bradley and I had a hand in helping with that. Looks like some locals have cleared off a few other roads, too,” he started. “I have a feeling everything’s going to be good to go by tomorrow, which means, you and your crew can still be out of here by the end of the week.”

You and your crew can still be out of here.

You’re mine, for as long as you’re here, Leo.

I tried my best to ignore the way Jacob’s words were stinging my skin. “Sounds good. Can’t wait.”

“And? How’d your photoshoot pics turn out?” Jacob asked. “Was it everything you wanted it to be?”

“Yep. Everything I wanted it to be.” I faked a smile, feeling like I was about to crumble to the ground.

Jacob didn’t want me. Jacob didn’t want me. Jacob didn’t want me?—

“That means all that’s left to do is your interview, right? I think you mentioned having one toward the end of the week,” Jacob went on. “Kind of a wrap up thing so they can get your thoughts about the photoshoot and everything that went into it?”

“Yeah, Tommy’s going to help me with it.”

“Don’t sound so excited,” Jacob joked, before he gave me a concerned look. “Hey. You doing okay, bab?—”

He quickly stopped himself before he went on. “Are you okay, Leo?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I had the chance, someone I didn’t recognize came into the lobby. They were dressed like Jacob and Bradley, except they had longer hair, strands of it going well past their shoulders.

“Uh, who are you—” I started.

“Anderson. Brent, Anderson.” The stranger smiled and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I own the lodge.”

“Oh.” I shook his hand, still a little confused. “Nice to meet you, too. You were able to get past all the roads? Even with the remaining snow?”

“The advantages of having a big rig.” He beamed. “And I’m happy to see that all of you made it up here and made it through. I was worried that I’d finally get over here and everyone would’ve resorted to cannibalism or worse.”

What’s worse than cannibalism?

I desperately wanted to ask the question but chose to stay focused on more pertinent things instead. “What brings you out tonight, Mr. Anderson?”

“I just wanted to let you know that it looks like you might be here a little bit longer.” He held his head down slightly as he delivered the bad news. “The roads are getting better, but as far as I know, the guys at the airstrip haven’t come back to work yet. Which means, if you need to fly out of here, that just won’t be possible.”

“Wait. What?” I shook my head in disbelief. “How much longer do you think it’ll be before the airstrip is operational again?”

“A few days is the best-case scenario. Another full week is worst case scenario.”

“Shit!” The word slipped out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop it. “Fuck!”

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