telling the truth.
She picked up the graduation picture again, touching the face of the man and the girl, feeling her throat tighten. Ellie and Frank. She held the picture to her chest.
This place didn’t just happen to be close to the accident scene. This had been her destination all along. Her breathing got faster as the realization sliced through her new reality. “I was coming here. I had to get something…to find something…”
Her head began to ache as she concentrated. She could remember the urgency, the importance of her journey, but could not for the life of her remember what it was. “Damn it, Olivia,” she said out loud. “What were you looking for, and why was it so important that you had to drive through a blizzard to find it?”
14
T revor put on the snowshoes , grabbed a shovel he’d found in the garage, and took off down the driveway. It was snowing as if it would never stop, and he pulled his hood over his head as he limped through the snow. He took his time, babying his knee, testing to see which positions could hold weight as his mind replayed his kiss with Olivia in one continuous, torturous loop.
The walk was punishing, and he was a man who needed punishment. He had no right to take the kisses she offered, not when he was keeping the most basic information about her life a secret. Worse yet, he knew he’d be hard-pressed to deny himself if and when she offered him more.
You’re a fucking bastard.
With every step, his thoughts of Olivia grew more inappropriate. Fantasy stepped in where reality left off, the race of his imagination a welcome distraction from his physical discomfort.
When he rounded the corner onto the main road, the mailbox was nowhere in sight. It had been completely covered in snow. He looked around him at the woods, noting two distinctive trees to mark the turn, and headed for the accident scene, the downward slope of the road causing his knee to catch and grind.
A noise echoed in the distance and he froze, his eyes narrowing. It sounded mechanical, possibly an engine of some sort. He stood still, his ears carefully listening for several minutes. Could it be a snowplow, come to free them from their isolation? Or a helicopter in the sky, searching for the missing Olivia? Surely her fiancé was aware of her location and that she didn’t get wherever she’d been heading, which could pose one hell of a problem for Trevor if that fiancé of hers came looking for her here.
Hawk couldn’t afford to be seen on Warsaw Mountain.
Olivia already knows you’re here.
He cursed out loud.
Steele’s death was bound to make headlines. How would he keep Olivia from turning him in? He shook his head. He’d deal with that when he had to.
He stopped walking and listened hard for the sound for several seconds. It seemed to have stopped.
Rounding the wide corner before the accident scene, it felt as if he was going further back in time than twenty-four hours, as if the accident had been days or weeks earlier, as if he’d known Olivia longer and been sidetracked from his mission far longer than he really had.
Several small drifts of snow remained close to the crash site, and Trevor began digging with the shovel. Drift after drift proved to be exactly that—a formation of snow caused by the wind.
He was just about to give up when his shovel caught on something solid. He dug out a suitcase, one side of it charred and dented from the blast. Beneath it was a long, white plastic garment bag emblazoned with Beverly Hills Bridal in silver letters.
He hadn’t found his coat, but he’d managed to find Olivia’s wedding dress.
Great.
He had to take the dress and the suitcase with him. He owed her that much, but given that he hadn’t told her she was engaged, the dress was bound to be an awkward discovery. Draping the garment bag over his arm and picking up the case, he was nearly back to the cabin when the same mechanical sound caught his attention once more.
This time, he was
She picked up the graduation picture again, touching the face of the man and the girl, feeling her throat tighten. Ellie and Frank. She held the picture to her chest.
This place didn’t just happen to be close to the accident scene. This had been her destination all along. Her breathing got faster as the realization sliced through her new reality. “I was coming here. I had to get something…to find something…”
Her head began to ache as she concentrated. She could remember the urgency, the importance of her journey, but could not for the life of her remember what it was. “Damn it, Olivia,” she said out loud. “What were you looking for, and why was it so important that you had to drive through a blizzard to find it?”
14
T revor put on the snowshoes , grabbed a shovel he’d found in the garage, and took off down the driveway. It was snowing as if it would never stop, and he pulled his hood over his head as he limped through the snow. He took his time, babying his knee, testing to see which positions could hold weight as his mind replayed his kiss with Olivia in one continuous, torturous loop.
The walk was punishing, and he was a man who needed punishment. He had no right to take the kisses she offered, not when he was keeping the most basic information about her life a secret. Worse yet, he knew he’d be hard-pressed to deny himself if and when she offered him more.
You’re a fucking bastard.
With every step, his thoughts of Olivia grew more inappropriate. Fantasy stepped in where reality left off, the race of his imagination a welcome distraction from his physical discomfort.
When he rounded the corner onto the main road, the mailbox was nowhere in sight. It had been completely covered in snow. He looked around him at the woods, noting two distinctive trees to mark the turn, and headed for the accident scene, the downward slope of the road causing his knee to catch and grind.
A noise echoed in the distance and he froze, his eyes narrowing. It sounded mechanical, possibly an engine of some sort. He stood still, his ears carefully listening for several minutes. Could it be a snowplow, come to free them from their isolation? Or a helicopter in the sky, searching for the missing Olivia? Surely her fiancé was aware of her location and that she didn’t get wherever she’d been heading, which could pose one hell of a problem for Trevor if that fiancé of hers came looking for her here.
Hawk couldn’t afford to be seen on Warsaw Mountain.
Olivia already knows you’re here.
He cursed out loud.
Steele’s death was bound to make headlines. How would he keep Olivia from turning him in? He shook his head. He’d deal with that when he had to.
He stopped walking and listened hard for the sound for several seconds. It seemed to have stopped.
Rounding the wide corner before the accident scene, it felt as if he was going further back in time than twenty-four hours, as if the accident had been days or weeks earlier, as if he’d known Olivia longer and been sidetracked from his mission far longer than he really had.
Several small drifts of snow remained close to the crash site, and Trevor began digging with the shovel. Drift after drift proved to be exactly that—a formation of snow caused by the wind.
He was just about to give up when his shovel caught on something solid. He dug out a suitcase, one side of it charred and dented from the blast. Beneath it was a long, white plastic garment bag emblazoned with Beverly Hills Bridal in silver letters.
He hadn’t found his coat, but he’d managed to find Olivia’s wedding dress.
Great.
He had to take the dress and the suitcase with him. He owed her that much, but given that he hadn’t told her she was engaged, the dress was bound to be an awkward discovery. Draping the garment bag over his arm and picking up the case, he was nearly back to the cabin when the same mechanical sound caught his attention once more.
This time, he was
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