Page 10 of Corey
She didn’t see the other man as she raced toward the exit, past the kid at the counter with his nose once again glued to his phone, and out the door. How had they tracked her? Her cell? She needed to hide, go off grid. Maybe driving to her sister’s place in Manitoba was a bad idea. The last thing she wanted to do was lead them there and put Mel and her husband at risk, too.
Not sure what to do, she jumped into her car, shoved the key into the ignition and the engine stuttered to life. Barely. Shoulders slumping in relief, she sent up a thank you to the car gods, put the car in drive and hit the gas. The moment she pulled onto the road, the car started making that strange rattling noise again. Honestly, she was surprised the piece of junk had made it this far without conking out.
Don’t jinx yourself.
Driving as fast as possible, she groaned when snowflakes began to fall, dusting the road and her windshield. She hit the wipers, but within ten minutes, the light flurries had morphed into a vicious assault of large flakes that obscured her vision. She hadn’t gotten far when her car hit a patch of black ice and swerved off the road.
With an alarmed cry, she threw her arm over Loki to protect him as the car slid down an embankment, spinning sideways, and then slammed into a split rail fence. The impact threw her against her door and her head slammed against the driver’s side window.
And then everything went black.
???
Corey glanced up at the sky. He had no doubt snow would start falling soon, but he didn’t feel like stopping at the grocery store and stocking up. He figured he had enough food to weather the storm, plus he felt like absolute shit. By the time he reached his cabin, his entire body ached and fatigue hit hard.
Who the hell had gotten him sick? He hadn’t left the cabin in three weeks and—
“Fuuuck,” he groaned, remembering the kid who’d delivered his groceries. Hell, he’d probably touched them and then sneezed all over everything with his germs.Lovely.
Dragging himself out of his truck, he trudged up the few steps onto the log cabin’s large porch and gripped the door frame, feeling as though he’d just climbed Mt. Everest. Struggling to unlock the door, he fought back a wave of nausea. Damn, he hadn’t felt great earlier, but now he felt like he’d barely make it inside. Whatever bug he caught, probably the damnflu, was hitting him hard and fast. He hated being sick, but he figured he could sleep it off.
Storm greeted him at the door, golden gaze shining.
“Hey, boy.” Corey pet the wolf’s head. “I’m gonna just lie down for a bit.”
He planned to pop a couple of acetaminophens first, but suddenly the idea of trekking all the way down to his bathroom’s medicine cabinet seemed like an awfully long way to go. Instead, he stumbled over to the couch and fell face first on the worn leather cushions.
Hopefully whatever this was would pass soon. It had to. Corey didn’t have anyone up here to rely on, and when he got sick, he took care of himself. At times like these, he wished he had someone there with him. More specifically, a significant other. Although he was so used to being alone, she’d probably just disrupt his routine and end up annoying him.
At least, that’s what he tried to tell himself. He didn’t quite believe it, though. Not after seeing firsthand how happy his friends were with their women.
The next time he opened his eyes, Storm was an inch from his face, staring at him. Corey wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but the living room was pretty dark.Shit.How long had he been out?
Pulling himself up into a sitting position, he groaned. “Oh, hell,” he grumbled, and Storm made a low sound in the back of his throat. “I feel like I got run over by a truck.”
The wolf whined.
“You’re probably hungry, huh? Okay, gimme a sec. I’m hoping the room will stop spinning.”
After a minute, when it didn’t feel like he was on a Tilt-A-Whirl any longer, he forced himself to get up. The muscle and body aches had worsened, and now he had chills, too. He gingerly walked over to the kitchen and looked out the large picture window above the sink. The sun just finished setting and snow whipped against the glass. Looked like a good couple of inches already covered the ground. Yeah, he wouldn’t be going anywhere for the next few days.
Storm watched eagerly as Corey started preparing his dinner. Luckily, he still had enough food already made in a container in the fridge, so all Corey had to do was warm it up. He cooked enough on Sunday to get them through the week, so this was the last of it.
When the microwave dinged, Corey took the bowl out and set it down on Storm’s placemat. “Enjoy, buddy.”
A series of chills racked his body, and he knew he needed to build a fire. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, he cracked it open and took a swig. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this horrible. But the sooner he built the fire, the sooner he could lie back down again.
The idea of eating caused his stomach to rebel, so dinner was a no-go. He knelt down in front of the hearth and got to work. It wasn’t long before he had a fire raging and the heat helped soothe his chills. Storm walked over and whined, so Corey knew he had to go out.
“Hurry up, buddy,” he encouraged, and opened the front door. An icy wind blew against Corey’s face as Storm ran out and took care of his business. Once the wolf was back inside, he shook the snow from his coat and curled up in front of the roaring fire.
“Good boy,” Corey mumbled and dropped back down on the couch. The effort to build a fire and prepare Storm’s dinner had sapped his energy. His eyes closed and he fell asleep almost instantly, which was rare for him. Although he hated being sick, he was grateful for the brief reprieve from the ghosts and his guilt.
Chapter Four
Soft meowing pulled her from the depths of unconsciousness. With a groan, Sera’s eyes fluttered open and she shifted in the seat, shivering. Her head throbbed and she gingerly touched her temple.
“Ow.” She could already feel a lump. Another meow. “Loki? Are you okay, baby?”
