Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
For a few minutes, all you could hear in the room was the sound of spoons scraping pottery and chewing. The sudden clatter of a spoon hitting the table startled me, and I looked up from my bowl, frowning. Sean was staring at Skylar, his mouth moving but nothing coming out. Leaning over, I grabbed his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head, blinking rapidly. Skylar stood, looking panicked. “What’s wrong with him?”
Sean slumped over, and I lunged forward, grabbing him before he hit the floor. “Fuck! I think he’s having a stroke or something!”
I felt his pulse. It was slow but steady. His breathing seemed fine. As I looked up at Skylar, wanting to reassure her, a wave of dizziness hit me. I tried to talk, but the words didn’t come. Shaking my head to clear it, I realized Skylar no longer looked panicked—she looked sad but triumphant.
“Wh-wh-what did you do?” I managed to slur out.
She didn’t reply. The last thing I saw as darkness closed in was her feet hurrying out of the kitchen.
The room buzzed all around me. I swam to consciousness, confused and blinking. I looked over at Sean, who was still passed out cold. Remembering how we’d both gotten on the floor caused a surge of pure rage to course through me. Groaning, I forced my lethargic muscles to move, checking to make sure Sean was still breathing, and then, with a Herculean effort, pulled myself up to my feet. I stumbled down the hall, cursing when I saw the front door unlocked and Skylar’s coat missing. I knew there was no point checking her room.
Skylar was gone.
I slid down the wall, taking in deep breaths to steady myself. I checked my watch, estimating I’d been out for about fifteen minutes—twenty, tops. I pushed up to my feet and grabbed my coat. I had to sit down again to yank on my boots as another wave of dizziness hit me.
Somehow she had drugged us. Where she got her hands on what she needed, I had no idea, but I realized with grim satisfaction I had been right earlier. She had been up to something. Her entire demeanor had been to lure us into a false sense of security. I pushed aside the hurt when I realized the fact that kissing me was probably part of her plan as well.
I went back to the kitchen, stopping only to turn Sean on his side. I didn’t need him swallowing his tongue and dying while I was gone. I grabbed the keys I wanted from the drawer and stepped outside. The bitter cold hit me, the air helping to clear my head. I trudged to the garage, grateful Skylar hadn’t found the keys to the SUV or she’d be long gone. At least with her on foot, I had a chance of finding her. I opened the door and uncovered one of the snowmobiles we had stored, glad we kept them in running order. The knowledge that I would be able to find her fast using the powerful machine was comforting. Pulling out of the garage, I followed the footprints I could see in the snow, frowning when I realized she had taken off across the wide field. I scanned the horizon. She couldn’t have gone far in the deep snow and bitter cold.
Where exactly did she think she was going? We were in the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm. The thin coat and old boots she’d been wearing when we’d found her offered little protection in this cold. I had no doubt she would succumb to the elements long before she found safety. My stomach rolled at the thought of her being in danger this way, and I had to push aside the feeling of fear.
I had to find her.
Revving the engine, I leaned over the handles and took off in search of MacGyver, hoping her own cleverness hadn’t proven too much for her.
Knowing I’d never be able to live with myself if it had.
Minutes later, I caught a flash of something to my right, and I turned the machine in the direction of the speck of color that I saw, praying it was her. Within seconds, I pulled up beside a small heap of lifeless Skylar. Her hair was blowing wildly in the wind—the strands standing out against the white snow like the chocolate sauce on the ice cream she’d eaten last night with so much glee. I noticed a small smattering of blood by her head, and I could see a rock jutting out of the snow. My heart plummeted as I realized she must have tripped, hitting her head. I roared her name, but she remained inert. She was already covered in snow—another five minutes, and I would never have found her. It took every bit of my waning strength to lift her into my arms and stumble back to the snowmobile, depositing her onto the seat. I pushed her heavy, wet hair away from her face, swearing again at the gash on her temple. She was as white as the snow she’d been lying in, and her lips had begun to turn blue from the extreme cold.