Page 59 of Montana Heat

“It’s locked.” He knocked. “Kenzie?”

I frowned, fiddling with the doorknob. It looked like it had been tampered with, scraped and kind of at an odd angle.

Someone had messed with the door. “Get that open, now!”

Liam shouldered the door open with me right behind him.

“Kenz—” I shut up, flashing my phone’s light on her curled up and sitting on the counter, hugging her knees to her chest.

As soon as she heard my voice, she turned her terrified face toward me and leaped straight into my arms. I caught her trembling body and held her tight. “Are you okay? What?—”

“Get out. Get out and close the door. There’s a snake!”

“What the?—”

I heard the rattle the same time the guys did. We all cursedand jumped backward out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind us.

I walked Kenzie over to the couch and sat her down. Here in the light, I could see how pale she was, eyes glassy. She wouldn’t let go of my arm, her nails digging into my skin.

“How long were you in there with that thing?”

“I don’t know. The whole time.” Her voice was barely audible.

I could hear Liam and Lucas talking about what to do, but I ignored them. They could handle this. There was no way I was leaving Kenzie, even if I could get her nails out of my arm. I shouldn’t have let her come in here on her own this morning. I’d wanted to give her space, but I should’ve cleared the apartment first, damn it.

Lucas had pulled his weapon and was rechecking the apartment much more carefully.

“We’re clear, except for…” He tilted his head toward the bathroom.

I did the same toward Kenzie. “Water?”

I wasn’t about to let her go. She remained in my arms, stock-still but trembling. Her muscles were locked tight, but she shook involuntarily. Hugging her wasn’t enough, but it was all I could do.

Lucas brought a glass of water to us. He tried to hand it to her, but she was shaking so hard it sloshed over the rim. I took it and held it to her lips. “Take a small sip.”

She obeyed like a baby bird, so I gave her some more.

Liam was on the phone with Charlie, and Lucas left the apartment to go talk to maintenance. A few minutes later, the power came back on, and Lucas returned.

Slowly, oh-so slowly, Kenzie’s muscles became less tense, and the shaking stopped. But she was still staring blankly out in front of her, not having said a word.

“Think you could help us get this thing trapped, so we can get into the bathroom?” Lucas asked me quietly.

I nodded and slid Kenzie gently away from me. She curled into a ball on the couch. I let her go and helped her resettle in the position she wanted.

I returned to the bathroom.

“She was smart, putting it under the shower curtain,” Liam said. “That helped keep it contained in the bathtub.”

I looked at the curtain rod lying haphazardly over the tub. “I’m not sure that she put the shower curtain over it as much as tore the whole thing down trying to get away from it.”

We could all see the shape of the snake under the curtain. Every once in a while, its rattle would give an eerie warning.

No wonder Kenzie was so damn shaken. That thing was scary as fuck. Being locked in here with it in the dark?

The guys had gotten an empty five-gallon bucket from maintenance.

“I say we put this over it and weigh it down. Get someone else out here to take care of it.” Liam’s face was grim.

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