Page 88 of Snowed In with her Mountain Men
I ran, heedless of what could happen, knowing only that I needed to know who he was. I could already envision the pride in the boys’ eyes, if they came home to find me standing over their elusive intruder.
Reaching the back of the house, there were more tracks to follow. These skirted the cabin wall, and made their way to one of the windows leading into the game room. I took great care, stepping slowly, pinning my rifle at shoulder level until I encountered a glimmer in the snow that turned out to be glass. The window was broken, right in the vicinity of the locking clasp. It was also thrown wide open.
I peered inside, wondering whether I should follow. I debated circling back to the front, first, to maybe hole up in the garage. I could sit there until the reception returned. I could call the guys. Get them back here quickly…
I was in the process of pulling my phone out to check for bars again, when I heard it: footfalls — low, soft and swift. Something struck me hard in the back of the head, causing a flash of intense pain and silver stars to explode behind my eyes.
Then my whole world went black, and I knew nothing more.
~ 50 ~
CAMRYN
I woke up somewhere warm, someplace shielded by the wind. My brain reeled. My head pounded, especially in the back, where it felt even warmer than the rest of my body.
“Welcome back.”
The voice was low, casual, deep. And for some reason, non-threatening.
“You gave me quite a scare. For a while, I was afraid you’d never wake up.”
The intruder was behind me, and somewhere off to the left. I tried to turn, but couldn’t. I tried to stand, but realized I was expertly bound, hand and foot, with something tight and sticky that was burning my wrists.
“Who are you?” I coughed.
I was on the floor, inside the cabin. Judging by the array of terrible paintings and shocked-looking taxidermy, we were in Sarge’s office.
“I’m more interested in knowing who you are,” the man behind me said smoothly. “And more importantly, why you’re here in my cabin.”
I could hear slow footfalls, as the man paced back and forth. Shimmying to gather my ass beneath me, I scooted into a more upright position.
“Yourcabin?”
“Yes.”
Oakley’s rifle was in the corner; I could see it propped up against the wall. But the snow in my hair was melting quickly against the warmth of being inside. I struggled to blink away the sweat that kept stinging my eyes.
“And what makes you think this is—”
My voice died instantly as the man stepped into view. He was tall and well-built, with stark white hair and a full, matching beard. But it was his eyes that I recognized most. They were deep-set. Piercing. Wholly familiar…
“SARGE?”
The man tilted his head at me curiously for a moment, then laughed. “Sarge, huh?”
My mind was blown. I could only speak in one word sentences.
“What… who… HOW?”
My captor sighed, shifted his weight, then folded his arms across his barrel-shaped chest. He looked down at me in grim disdain.
“Where are they?”
At first, I was too dazed for the question to even register. My face still throbbed from the cold. The back of my head was on fire.
“W—Where’s what?”
“The diamonds!” he scoffed. “Why else would I be here!?”
