Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Jonathan shot him a look over his shoulder. “Nobody wants in your head, kid.”
Lukas snorted.
Jonathan eased up on the speed as a small structure appeared through the snow. “There it is,” he said, his tone shifting. He squinted past the windshield. “Wait—what’s that?”
Lukas leaned forward, frowning. “Something’s on the ground over there.”
Jonathan braked hard.
Lyrica yelped as her seat belt tightened against her chest. She angled her head to see beyond him into the trees, but the whipping snow, dark night, and blowing wind obscured her sight. She squinted. “Is that a foot?”
“Stay here,” Jonathan ordered, tossing open his door and jumping out. Lukas followed him.
Panic shot through her as she fumbled with the belt. Ignoring his warning, she scrambled out of the UTV and stumbled into the thick snow. Kicking through the powder, she followed the others toward the disturbed surface. Her heart pounded as her gaze locked on a pale, bare foot sticking out from beneath a low-hanging branch.
That couldn’t be Maeve, could it? Had Lyrica arrived too late to help the obviously frightened woman? She leaned over to see a frozen female foot with pink toenail polish. Bright pink.
Lukas aimed a flashlight on a barely there form beneath the snow.
Jonathan crouched beside the figure, his movements careful. He brushed the snow off the body, revealing long, dark hair matted with ice and blue eyes frozen wide-open. Naked and bruised, the woman lay utterly still in death.
Lyrica’s stomach lurched, and she fought down bile.
“We have another one,” Jonathan muttered, his voice grim.
“Do you recognize her?” Lyrica’s teeth chattered as she tried to steady her breathing.
Lukas shook his head. “I don’t.”
“Me either.” Jonathan glanced toward the cabin. “I’ve never seen her before. She’s not from the Kurjan territory.”
How was that even possible?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Vero strode toward the main lodge, his boots crunching on the packed snow, his eyes narrowing at the conspicuous absence of guards. He stomped up the steps, shaking loose ice from his boots before stepping inside. The lodge felt eerily quiet, its emptiness prickling at his instincts. Frowning, he moved swiftly down the hallway toward Lyrica’s office. The room was dark, her chair empty. He scanned the space for signs of life but found none. His mind began to churn with unease.
A glance at his watch showed it was well past ten at night, which was late but not unusual for her to still be working. Perhaps she had gone to bed early? His chest tightened as he jogged up the stairs, heading for the living quarters. His bedroom remained empty. The silence in the house grew oppressive, his unease sharpening into suspicion.
Yanking his satellite phone from his jacket pocket, he dialed Lyrica’s number. The faint ring echoed from her office below. Perfect. He clenched his teeth, jogging back down the stairs. He’d handed her the sat phone for a reason, yet it proved completely useless now. Shaking his head, he punched in Jonathan’s number.
“Where are you?” Vero demanded when Jonathan picked up.
“We’re about two miles from headquarters, near the more remote cabins,” Jonathan replied, his tone calm. “I was just about to call you.”
Irritation scratched down Vero’s throat. “What the hell are you doing out there?” he snapped, his voice hard as he stepped outside into the frigid night air.
“We found another body by one of the newly built family cabins,” Jonathan said grimly. “A human female. She’s…frozen to the ground. We’re trying to extricate her now.”
Vero stopped midstride, his breath visible in the cold air. “Wait a minute—” He spun toward the side of the lodge, heading for his stashed snowmobile. Jogging through the knee-deep snow, he cursed under his breath. “Why didn’t you call me immediately?”
Jonathan coughed. “We’ve set up the lights and calmed Lyrica down. She felt deeply upset at finding yet another dead human female. I was just about to call you.”
“Give me your coordinates,” Vero barked, forcing his growing anger into a cold, controlled edge. The mention of Lyrica made his chest tighten. He imagined her, dark-haired and defiant, braving the brutal cold. “Lyrica is out in this weather? Tell me she’s at least staying warm.”
“She’s fine. Want to talk to her?”
“No,” Vero muttered through gritted teeth. “Before I forget to tell you, I released Silas a few minutes ago. I’m going with my gut. He didn’t bring that female into the territory.” He’d known Silas forever. The guy wasn’t a killer.
The sound of crackling ice came over the line. “Silas was in custody when this female died. Well, maybe. I guess she could’ve been frozen any time,” Jonathan said.
“I’ll be right there.” Vero ended the call and shoved the phone into his pocket. He straddled and ignited the sled, pulling away from the building and onto the main drag. His grip on the handlebars tightened as he opened up the throttle, spun around, and drove past the lodge. The freezing wind whipped him as he pushed the snowmobile harder, leaning low to avoid the worst of the biting air. He hated not having Lyrica within arm’s reach, especially with an unknown enemy targeting them.