Page 29 of Duke
“Got it.” I step forward, activating the automatic sliding door. “All right, Blue. Gird your loins. It’s as cold as a witch’s tit in a steel bra out there.”
Four miles and two near-death experiences later, we pull into a driveway that must be heated because it’s not the least bit icy. My chest feels tight as I put the truck in park. Not sureIbreathed all that much during the last mile. Those hairpin turns were not fun in whiteout conditions, especially when you’re driving a dinosaur of a truck whose tires have a questionable amount of tread.
I look through the windshield at the house. Even in the dark, I can see how enormous it is. How beautiful too. It’s exactly what I would picture a mansion in Aspen looking like: stone siding, big steel windows, a soaring, timber-framed roofline. Tucked into the side of Aspen Mountain, the house must have incredible views of the Rockies. It’s surrounded by the area’s famous aspen trees, some of them soaring twenty, thirty, fifty feet high.
The property must be worth tens of millions of dollars. Exactly what kind of “family friends” does Miss Wheeler Rankin here have?
“Holy shit.” I swivel my head to look at her. “You said we were staying at a cabin.”
She unbuckles her seat belt and reaches for her bag. “Yup.”
“This is not a cabin.”
“It’s a cabin. It’s just a really big cabin.” She straightens. “I mean, it’s still made out of wood and stuff. Lots of beams and antlers inside. Lots of fireplaces.”
“And you know these people how?”
She lifts a shoulder, then reaches for her door handle. “My parents have very rich, very generous friends. One of the few perks of—God, how am I already freezing? Let’s get the hell inside.”
We enter through a side door with a keypad. I frown when I hear Wheeler’s teeth chattering as we step inside.
“Hang tight, Blue. I’ll get a fire going.”
“That sounds so nice.”
She doesn’t call me out on the nickname. Makes me smile.
“Teamwork.” I flick on a light switch.
I’m struck dumb by what I see. We’re in a mudroom that’s about as big as the New House’s kitchen. It’s neat as a pin, not so much as a speck of dust or pair of shoes out of place.
I follow Wheeler into a kitchen with double-height ceilings and a pair of huge, marble-topped islands. She turns on the lights, and the living room comes into view. A stone fireplace dominates the space, along with a wall of those steel windows that go all the way up to the roofline.
There are two big, cushy sofas in front of the fireplace, complete with plenty of pillows and fur throw blankets.
Not gonna lie, first thing I think of is laying those blankets down on the floor by the fire. Getting Wheeler naked and curling her into the heat of my body. She’d warm up in no time.
“There’s plenty of bedrooms,” Wheeler is saying, “so take your pick.”
My cock twitches. Just hearing her say thewordbedroom has me feeling some kind of way. As sick as this place is, I almost wish we were staying in a legit cabin with only one bedroom. One bed.
Wonder how that would shake out?
In the still silence of the house, the howling wind sounds enormous. I look up at a loud groan. Apparently the roof likes that wind about as much as I do.
“You think we’re okay?” Wheeler asks.
“Gonna take more than a little wind to knock down this house. Here, let me put the groceries away, and then I’ll put your suitcase in your room.”
“I can do that.”
But again, I beat her to it, grabbing her luggage and bringing it to her bedroom. She picked a gorgeous spot that’s just off the living area. It’s got a big-ass bathroom and a great little nooktucked inside the windows that would be perfect for working or reading.
Can I join you in here?I wanna ask.
“What the fuck do you have in here?” I ask instead, lifting her suitcase onto a luggage rack with an exaggerated grunt.
“The dismembered bodies of my enemies. Why?”
