Page 27 of A Secret Crush Valentine's

“Okay,” she said as evenly as she could.

They stepped off the curb onto the snow-covered grass, making a beeline for the trees. Up close, she could see justbeyond them. Laudville Lake was barely 20 feet away from them, the bank covered with rocks and a frosting of snow.

“Whoa,” she said, staring at the lake. “It’s frozen over. I didn’t know that.”

“It’s how I can cross it. I just walk across to the other side.”

The other shore was identical to the one they stood on. Beyond it, she could see more trees. He was right. Itwasa shortcut. Taking it would save them from walking several blocks.

“Once we cross, we can get back on the road. It saves a lot of time. Plus, we get to walk on water, well, sort of.”

She couldn’t resist a chuckle, but it quickly faded as uncertainty rose in her chest. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

He flashed her a playful grin. “I’ve crossed it lots of times.”

“Yeah, but I’ve heard lots of things about accidents on frozen lakes. What if something happens to us?”

“Nothing is going to happen, Red,” he said. When she didn’t respond, he added, “Just trust me, okay?”

She stared at him for a moment. “Okay.”

When he smiled at her that way, how could she help but trust him?

He took her hand, sending a tingle shooting up her arm.

Together, they stepped onto the ice.

Chapter Eleven

A Frosty Trip

“Are we there yet?” Julia asked for the fifth time.

“No.”

“Oh, my God,” she whimpered. “I can’t believe this is actually happening.”

She gave a shiver that Damon suspected had nothing to do with the cold. Even without looking at her, he could sense that she was holding her breath. For the last minute, she’d had her eyes squeezed shut and a tight grip on his hand like she was trying to crush his fingers.

Or maybe it was her way of holding him to his promise, making sure he didn’t let go of her, making sure he took her all the way to the other shore. Damon glanced at her and felt a twinge of guilt in his chest. A part of him wanted to turn them around and take the longer route instead, but they really didn’t have much of a choice, not with the Collectors after them.

By now, those men must have gotten up and resumed their chase. Damon wondered how long they’d been after him and how many of them there were. He’d fought off five men, but for all he knew, there could be dozens of them.

He gritted his teeth, taking another careful step forward. The ice beneath his feet didn’t crack, not even a little, but the surface was still quite slippery. The only advantage that offered them was that if the Collectors tried to follow them, they’d be forced to move carefully. Damon knew the ice would support his weight and Julia’s, but if they slipped and fell, that was another problem entirely. The force of their combined weight hitting the ice just might crack it, and who knew what might happen after that?

Whatever did happen, he thought, they were together this time. That was consolation enough for him.

“It does feel like walking on water,” Julia said, snapping him out of his thoughts. “It’s like Peter from the Bible.”

Damon tried to remember. Then he grinned. “Well, in that case, don’t be afraid.”

He might as well have asked a snow leopard not to have spots. He could practically feel the fear emanating from her body. He gazed ahead. They were getting closer to the other shore. Only about 70y feet to go.

“Please tell me nothing is lurking under the ice,” she muttered.

Sixty feet to go. “No,” said Damon.

But even he doubted that. You never really knew with Frost Mountain. This place was brimming with an infinite number of unknowns. There were creatures on the mountain he’d neither seen nor heard about, creatures that were supposed to be extinct, creatures that should be purely mythical. What were the odds that one of them was hiding under the ice?

---