Read Online In The Arms of a Stranger by Kristen Robinette - Free Book Online Page A

factory’s emergency exits. In a way, he’d lost his father that day. He’d certainly lost his innocence.
    Luke gripped the cell phone as memories assaulted him. What warped code of ethics had his father used to justify what he’d done? When questioned, he’d denied the accusations. But rumors had abounded that the chains had been put there to keep employees from taking smoke breaks. Smoke breaks, for God’s sake.
    Luke had become a man that day. Not because he’d turned sixteen but because he’d seen who and what his father was with sickening clarity.
    He’d refused his father’s wealth from that point forwardand had gone into law enforcement to find honor in his own name. But in a twist of fate, his career choice had only fueled the town’s resentment. A Sutherlin was in charge again, this time wielding a moral sword.
    The son of a money-hungry murderer. How dare he.
    The men of Sweetwater treated him with cool reserve. The women summoned him to their homes with complaints of fierce dogs and unexplained noises in the night. They asked him to stay for coffee and asked him to stay the night. He’d learned to turn down the invitations to their beds, knowing better than to expect anything more. Because nothing more was exactly what was offered in the light of day.
    â€œLuke? Is something wrong?”
    Luke blinked away the memories, his eyes narrowing as he focused on Dana and the baby. Nothing was wrong. At least nothing new.
    â€œStay right where you are,” he commanded. “I’ll be right back.”
    He stalked away from the too-cozy bedroom and through the cabin. Luke forced himself to take it slow as he opened the back door, scanning the milky landscape for any sign of life before stepping outside. What he’d told Dana was true. He didn’t sense any immediate danger. The storm had built a barrier of protection around them.
    It had also cornered them in.
    And when the snow melted, all bets were off. He was damn sure going to get them out before they became sitting ducks.
    Luke walked to the corner of the porch, flipping open the cell phone. He punched in the station’s number and waited. No signal. He tried several more spots before abandoning the porch and walking into the thicket of woods that surrounded the cabin. Even with the shelter of the trees, his boots sank to midcalf in the snow. The wind whipped acrossthe face of the mountain, lifting the snow like shards of glass against his exposed face. Luke cursed, then tried the number again.
    â€œSweetwater Police Department,” a stern voice answered.
    Luke was caught off guard by the official sound of Ben Allen’s voice. “Ben, it’s Sutherlin.”
    â€œChief…” Ben suddenly sounded younger than he had before, his voice cracking slightly. “Where are you?”
    â€œStuck,” he replied, then glanced at the cabin. He didn’t exactly feel stuck, but that was as apt a description as he could come up with. “I put the Jeep in a ditch and got caught by the storm. I’m at the old ranger’s cabin on the side of McCullough’s bluff.”
    â€œAw, hell,” Ben spat, then added, “I’m sorry, Chief. It’s just that all hell’s breaking loose here. We’ve got most of the town in the dark. Old Man Hess has had a heart attack and died and Dolly Preston needs her meds from the drugstore…”
    Luke winced at the news of Hess’s death, then put it in perspective. The old man was in his midnineties and ill. And as far as Dolly’s medication was concerned, the aging beauty queen wouldn’t die without her Valium. Besides, he knew firsthand that she had ample access to more. After all, she lived only a few houses down from his father and Camille. If the town would just calm down and wait the storm out, there would be no reason to panic.
    But calm was a rare occurrence when the Deep South got buried by