Page 28 of Heart of Frost and Scars

Leo’s tense posture by the door signals his readiness to haul me out of the room.

I pull away from Kody and storm to the bedside table, snatching the stale bourbon.

“This isn’t reassuring, Monty.” I shove the glass into his hand and walk to the door. “You kept my life on pause here, but I wasn’t paused. I was living a nightmare.”

“I know,” he murmurs. “I was living one, too.”

His words turn my stomach to ice. My feet stop moving. My breath strangles, and oh, hell, here come the tears, the hurt.

And the rage.

I whirl, my voice rising with the surge of my pulse. “It was hard for you, was it? Was it hard to cast off our baby? Was it hard to go to work and leave me here after you broke my heart?” I thrust a hand out behind me, warding off the protective shadows at my back. “You should’ve been here. You should’ve come home that night. You should’ve told me your real fucking name!”

He stares at me, his eyes stark and glassy. Mute.

I won’t cry. He’s taken enough from me. I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me break. Again.

“You want me to believe you’re not the unhinged admirer in Denver’s riddle? That you’re not the silent ache, the shadow that lingers, the present from my past, the knife in my heart?” I shiver and motion around the chilling, carefully preserved room. “This doesn’t help build your case.”

His jaw sets, the muscle ticking in irritation.

The only response he gives me.

I turn on my heel and walk out, just as he did the day everything changed.

But I’m not alone. With the warmth of Kody’s hand on my back and Leo’s vigilant gaze flanking me, I feel the strength that comes not just from surviving but from being truly seen and understood.

We descend the stairs and move through the house.

No one speaks.

Silence between us once meant a storm of survival thoughts—how to stay warm, what to eat, whether we’d see another sunrise. But those fears are gone, and in this new quiet, I don’t know what they’re thinking.

Are they concerned about my mental state? Disappointed by my crazy behavior? Troubled about the tension between Monty and me?

I let my memories and emotions get to me.

I overreacted.

That’s all. They have nothing to worry about.

We slip outside through the back door, the rain tapping against the covered walkway that connects the main house to the guest house.

Paths branch off through the dense woods, leading to the infinity pool, helicopter pad, gear shed, boathouse, and docks. It’s beautiful here, secluded, the darkness thick and impervious beneath the tree cover.

I can’t shake the chill that settles over me, nor the sense that every corner we turn might reveal something that tries to break us apart.

Leo and Kody flank me, forming an armor of muscle against the oppressive night.

Halfway there, the snap of a twig shatters the silence.

We freeze. Our eyes dart to the shadows, hearts pounding in unison.

Something’s out there.

The press of menacing eyes rakes against my skin and penetrates my bones.

I stop breathing, frantically searching the inky blackness. The steady patter of rain smothers all sound. Whatever it is, I won’t hear it coming.

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