Page 32 of Trapped

Alarm splintered the comfort I’d known, ricocheting out to every cell of my body.I’d never been truly at peace in the cabin.Even when Eli and I had been getting on, the fact that we were trapped in such an isolated place while Chelle was off on her own left an enduring sense of unease, but that haunting anxiety was nothing compared to the sudden spike of shock rushing through my system.

Eli’s abrupt departure from the bed had been the first thing—worrying, yes, but not too untoward.I’d searched for him in the sheets before my gaze had flickered open, and finding no one, had opened my eyes.The blinding light I found beaming in from outside, though, was foreign and unsettling.Initially, I’d hoped it was a sign the emergency services had finally arrived, but without any reassuring sounds—the voices of those who’d come to help or the sound of other equipment—I couldn’t allow myself to give in to that dream.Eli, whose silhouette was outlined by the illumination, didn’t seem convinced either.

His responses had been curt and dismissive, his tone doing nothing to quell my rising nervousness, but when the door burst open and a stranger stalked in, along with a rush of freezing air, everything changed.My panic ratcheted from troubled to shocked in a nanosecond, my attention fixing on the man who’d vowed to take care of me.Whatever his intentions about the longer term were, I needed him then in a tangible way.I needed him to fend off the stranger and protect me from whatever ill intent the unknown man had in mind.

Recoiling in the bed, I watched Eli snarling at the intruder, his gun pointed toward him.For the first time, I sensed a flicker of gratitude for the weapon.I still loathed the thing, but silently, I thanked God for the possibility that it might actually protect us.

“Who the hell are you?”

Eli stepped toward the danger, apparently unperturbed by the abrupt presence, but despite his bravery, the sinister laughter that sprang from the stranger only heightened the trepidation clutching at my tummy.

“How about that?”The unfamiliar voice seemed to stretch out into the entire interior of the cabin, sucking away the oxygen.“He doesn’t even remember me.”

Remember him?

What did that mean?Did Eli and the dark silhouette know each other somehow, and if so, how?

So much of Eli’s backstory was a mystery to me, but for some unknown reason, I had the malevolent sense that the emergence of the new guy had something to do with the clandestine espionage career he’d refused to talk about.Clearly, he was no one good.Decent people didn’t barge into other people’s spaces in the dead of night.

I clutched the covers closer to my chest, aware of the swirling icy cold fingers of air flooding the already cooling space.My heart pounded as I waited to see what would happen next.There appeared to be a stand-off between the two men, both of them looming in the doorway, but in the dark half of the room, there was little body language to be discerned.

“Hawkins?”Eli’s voice spoke of unexplained accusations, and not for the first time, I wished I knew more about him.Who was the enigmatic guide who’d sheltered me from the storm yet ended up enjoying much more than only small talk?He’d bowled into my life, just like the snow, and changed everything.“Why the fuck are you here?”

Hawkins?

Had he mentioned that name before?I couldn’t remember hearing it, but so much had transpired in the time we’d been stuck there that I couldn’t be positive.My emotions had swung like a pendulum, lurching from despair to desire at breakneck speed, and it was entirely possible I’d missed or misheard something he’d said.

“Your message said you were in trouble.”The stranger, Hawkins, laughed at the idea, and every fiber of my being withdrew at the gesture.What sort of a person found amusement in someone else’s peril?The question lingered before the answer mushroomed—certainly not the kind you’d want in your cabin at night.“And you know me, Rosen.I always look after my own.”

Rosen?The latest name flitted through my brain.

Was that Eli’s name?Another fragment of the elusive identity he’d been so unwilling to share?

“I never sent you any message!”There was venom in Eli’s voice, unspoken anger combined with disgust.It definitely seemed as though the two of them had shared history, but based on Eli’s reaction, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what it was.“And I definitely don’t want anything to do with you.”

“Well, that’s a shame.”Hawkins shrugged, his features easier to ascertain as he stepped into the beaming light.“Because we’re here, and we’re taking you.”

We’re?

The knot of worry ballooning inside me swelled at the inference that Hawkins wasn’t alone, and just as I gasped for breath, an array of new, dark faces appeared in the doorway.The men moved like ice, sliding into position seamlessly and seemingly taking Eli by surprise.He looked stunned as three approached him, one spearing him to the ground, while another knocked the gun out of his hands.I watched as the third collected the weapon and chucked it at Hawkins.

“Why are you shooting such cheap shit, Rosen?”Hawkins laughed.“Doesn’t the current job pay you enough for a decent weapon?”

The men standing between us cackled, the resonance of their laughter speaking to the sinister agenda they were there to serve.I watched, helpless, as the one who’d knocked Eli from his feet pounded him with several ruthless body blows.

“Just fucking stop!”Eli’s voice boomed as he fended off the attack, but I’d spent enough time with him to recognize the edge in his tone.The slight elevation of his timbre and the panicky intensity of his breathing convinced me that my suspicions were well-founded.

Something was badly wrong.

“What are you doing here, Hawkins?”Eli dragged himself to his knees, ducking to avoid another left hook.

“We’ve come to rescue you!”Hawkins’ voice had taken on an odd sing-song quality as though he was mocking Eli.“That’s what you want, isn’t it?Let me think how you put it… you’re ‘stuck in the middle of nowhere in a deserted cabin with a civvy, and you’re out of food and firewood?’” His voice was knowing.

“That’s the message I sent to Baron!”Disbelief echoed in Eli’s tone as he threw me a wary glance and rose to his feet.“How do you know what I said to him?”

“Use that big brain of yours.”Hawkins chuckled again.“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.Now, where’s that civilian you were talking about?”

A new, smaller ray of light shone suddenly from a flashlight in Hawkins’ hand, and swinging the beam around the dark half of the cabin, he paused when the beam found me.Shielding my eyes with my hand, I glanced away from the blinding light, exposed and terrified.

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