A week before their high school graduation, Ellie's boyfriend walked her to her door and kissed her goodnight, just like any other night. But there was nothing ordinary about what followed. Austin disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again...
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I hated that Austin worried so much about me that he was willing to sacrifice himself in order to keep me safe. But even more, I hated how his whole demeanor changed from him being ready to ravish me against the tree and calling me babe, to taking on the whole protector vibe and me being back to Ellie.
At the same time, I appreciated it. He was caring and cautious, which I needed, because if it had been left up to me, we'd still be up against that tree.
My body burned from being so close to his and was in desperate need of release. My mind hadn't quite gotten the memo that there was danger somewhere around us. It just wanted to be called babe and kissed into oblivion.
"Lock it," Austin said and pushed me inside the cabin. He pressed a quick kiss to my lips and left.
Bear understood more than I did about what they were about to do because he ran after Austin as soon as Austin took off.
I huffed out an annoyed sigh, but closed the door and locked it behind me like I'd been told to. I double and triple checked to make sure it was locked. Then I walked around and closed all the curtains in the entire place. I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do or not, but it made sense to me.
I had no idea what I was supposed to do, or how to defend myself if it came to that other than aim for the family jewels and run like hell. But there was just no way I'd go down without trying. And if I could somehow stop whoever it was pursing Austin from getting to him, I would.
"Okay, Ellie," I said to myself out loud. "Let's find the hidden space." I needed to know where that was, just in case I'd need it.
It was a bit more difficult to find than Austin had let on. I pushed all over the back wall inside the closet with nothing happening. It wasn't just an easy push, and the hidden door would swing open like he'd let on. It took me a good ten minutes to find a hidden latch, which was cleverly hidden, before I could push the back open.
My heart beat fast when I made my way back downstairs after making sure I'd fit into the tiny hidden room. It was just big enough for me to stand in, or sit if I'd prefer that. I was pretty sure I'd be scared out of my mind and hate everything about it if I actually had to hide in there, but at least I knew where it was and how to get in.
Once downstairs, I spun around. What was I supposed to do next?
It occurred to me that I needed a weapon. Not that I knew how to handle one, but without anything, I'd be a sure victim.
I assumed that Alex and Austin had a gun hidden somewhere, but that wouldn't do me any good since I didn't know how to handle one. There was a small shovel in front of the fireplace, along with one of those sticks people used to stir the embers. That might work to hit someone, but they weren't exactly easy to hide.
I glanced over their moving boxes, but they appeared to just contain personal belongings and clothes. In the movies, a main character could probably use a shirt or something to strangle the perpetrator, but this wasn't the movies, and I was still just me. Not an action hero.
