Page 51 of Snowed In

Probably all of it.

“He’s in the Colorado River,” I answered truthfully. “They tried to run us off the road and sent both cars out of control. I was the only one who made it out.”

“You fucking traitor,” he said, ice and broken glass in his voice. “If your father had not ordered me to bring you in alive, you and your cop boyfriend would be so fucking dead right now.”

“He’s not my boyfriend. We just got bored.”

Rafferty tensed, the gun still at his head. His expression flashed hurt, then neutralized.

Kyler pressed the muzzle harder into Rafferty’s skin. “Get up. Slowly. If you try anything, I will kill you.”

Rafferty did as he was told and stood, his eyes never leaving mine. Kyler, brain trust that he was, hadn’t anticipated Rafferty’s height and had to step back to adjust for the difference.

“Hands behind your back,” Kyler ordered, pulling out the same flexi-cuffs I’d used on so many of the guys I’d taken out.

Rafferty sent me a wink, then slowly moved his hands into place, just as directed. Even though I knew what was coming, the movement was so impossibly fast that I barely registered a blur before the gun went off.

Kyler fell to the ground in a lump.

Rafferty, still naked, spun in place and knelt beside Kyler. Then lost his balance and fell on his ass.

“Fuck, he looks just like you.”

It was true. Save for our hair—his was darker and close-cropped—we’d been told we looked like brothers our entire lives. He was the last person I had left in the world.

I crawled out of the bed and looked down at his body. The only disturbance was the small hole between his eyebrows. Rafferty had picked his gun and gotten off a clean shot without looking.

“He’s gone,” I said, numb.

“I’m so sorry.”

I could hear the genuine regret in his voice, which was ridiculous. “He was going to kill you, Raff. And when he figured out that I’d killed his dad, he was going to kill me.”

Fuck. I need to get Rafferty out of here.

As the reality of the situation started to settle in, a phone started going off, fraying my last nerve.

“That’s mine,” Rafferty said, then pointed to the closet. “Go get some clothes on.”

He disappeared into the hallway, still naked, and returned seconds later with the phone against his ear.

He mouthedmy boss, then pressed his finger to his lips. I pulled on a nice pair of slacks and a soft sweater from his grandfather’s collection as I silently listened to his side of the conversation.

“Hey, Ronnie.”

He pointed out the socks and shoes. I found a pair of black ankle boots that were only a little big and paired them with thick wool socks.

“Yeah, got snowed in here. Wi-Fi and cellular were out all night.”

Rafferty nodded along as she spoke, digging a fresh pair of underwear and joggers out of his duffel.“The dam? Wow, that’s just three miles down the road from where I am.”

“No, I haven’t,”he said as he slid on the underwear.“They haven’t found his body yet?”

He pulled up the joggers and sat to put on his socks and tennis shoes.

“Well, shit. I’ll keep an eye out. Should I stop drinking and help with the search party?”

He snorted.“Yes, I’ll sober up in time for my shift.”

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