Page 19 of Frosted Hearts

"I'm not trying to, Illeana, but you both need to understand how serious this is. It's my job to keep you both safe. I can protect you from a lot of things, but I also believe in preparing you as well and not hiding." My voice is firm, letting her know I'm not willing to budge on this. Grace is smart and knows something is going on. She may not know the full extent, and I won't tell her that, but she needs to know I'm not keeping them off wifi and their phones just for fun. "As for the other questions," I turn to look at Grace and give her my attention again. "There are plenty of games to play there, and we can go outside to play as well. I'll make sure you all aren't bored out of your minds. As for how long we're staying. I'm hoping it's just for the week, but we will prepare for longer just in case."

"Wait, you're saying we have to play board games?" Grace questions, her eyes getting wide. I can't tell if it's a good or bad surprise look on her face.

"Uh, yes," I answer, trying to decide if I just won her to my side or not.

"Yes!" she shouts, pumping her fist in the air. "I love playing board games. Please tell me that you have Villainous?" She gives me a hopeful look.

"I have no idea what is at the cabin. The games there belong to my coworker's daughter. So they are whatever games she decided to send up to the cabin. I'm sure we will find something for you to play." I shrug, knowing I'm backed into a corner here. I see how her face drops when I say I'm not sure what games there are in the cabin. I can't even offer to pick some up here because I doubt this little store will have anything she's looking for. Usually, residents need to go into one of the larger cities to actually buy stuff like that.

"You'll be happy with whatever is there and just be thankful. Plus, you have homework you need to get done." Illeana chimes at the same time our appetizers come out, or well my appetizers.

"Dig in," I offer, spooning some loaded cheese fries onto the small appetizer plate in front of me. The second I put the spoon down, Grace picks it up and is spooning some onto her own plate. Illeana sighs but doesn't say anything.

The rest of lunch passes without any issues. I place seventy dollars on the table and rise, waiting for the girls to join me. Illeana gives me a questioning look but doesn't say anything, which I'm thankful for. It’s more than our bill but with the holidays around the corner, I wanted to make sure our waitress just had a little more to take home with her.

"We need to pick up a few items before we head up. I know you both packed some warm clothes, but how about you go check out the winter gear over there? Maybe find some snow pants and anything else you think you'll need. I'm going to load up on some food, and we can meet at the front in, say, fifteen minutes. Is that good?" I ask, looking between both girls. They both nod in agreement, with Grace pulling Illeana behind her to the winter clothes in no time. Shaking my head, I turn away fromthem and head to get some food. Knox texted me on the way here that Rachel stocked the cabin up, but if I wanted something specific, then I needed to grab it. I meant to ask the girls if there was anything they wanted but forgot to before they walked away.

Before I'm done grabbing some food, I run into the girls who both have a shopping basket full of food and Illeana is holding two sets of snow pants over one of her arms. "Ah good, you all got snacks too. I'm sorry I meant to tell you all to grab some."

"Grace asked for stuff to make hot cocoa. I tried to tell her that you would have things, but she said you don't know how she takes it, so we needed to get the items. I hope you don't mind," Illeana answers, glancing at her sister and smiling.

"Get whatever you all think you need," I respond, completely confused by what items you need for hot chocolate. I thought it was just water and one of those packets. By the looks of some of the things in their basket, I was completely wrong. "Is there anything else you think you need? We need to get on the road. The snow is starting to stick to the ground." I looked out the window I passed a few minutes ago, and the car was already covered. I'm definitely going to need to add the chains to the tires before we leave. If not, I don't think we will make it to the cabin. At least not safely.

"We're here,"I call out as I make the final turn, and the wood cabin comes into view. The place looks just like it did when I came up here a few months ago, when Trevor had Emma here. The only difference is the Christmas lights that are hanging outside and lit up. I guess Rachel must have thought the lights would make the cabin look more inviting. I'll have to remember to ask her about it later.

"This is the cabin? It looks like a large house in the woods," Grace gasps, her face popping up into the front seats between my and Illeana's shoulders.

Laughing, I nod my head in agreement. "I suppose it is a large house in the woods, but we call it the cabin as more of the outside and inside has a log cabin feel to it. Even if the place is two stories," I pause. "When we get inside, I'll show you to the rooms you both will be using while here. I also have a couple of ground rules to go over as well."

"Ground rules? What are we nine?" Illeana huffs. "We know how to behave in a house that belongs to someone else."

"It has nothing to do with that," I sigh, knowing I should have anticipated the snark from her. She'd been quiet for the drive up here since we left town, only a few gasps when the SUV slid a little on the roads. Even with the chains on the tires, it was a rough drive up here.

"Okay, so what are the rules?" Grace asks as she settles back into her seat.

"We'll discuss them inside." Putting the car in park, I unlock the doors and get out to walk around to the trunk. Lifting the door, I begin to pull out all the bags, leaving mine for last. I want to get them settled and the food inside first, then I can come take care of my things.

Each of the girls grabs their own bag and then follows me to the front door. It takes a minute for me to enter the code, and then I step in to allow them to enter first. I'm sure Illeana will have something to say about me not entering first and making sure the house is clear for them, but I already know that it is, thanks to the state-of-the-art security we have. I didn't want them to stand outside and freeze while I did a check of the residence.

"Grace, your room is upstairs, just down the hall past the bathroom on the left," I instruct, waiting for her to head upstairsbefore I tell Illeana where she is staying. There is another room upstairs that I could put her in. It would be the logical choice and the safest, but right now I think I'd rather have her down here on the main floor with me to keep an eye on her. It would take too long to get to her upstairs and she is my main subject to protect.

Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I'm attracted to the woman, and that's why I'm not putting her upstairs.

"Where am I staying?" she asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

"You are just down the hall on the main floor. Follow me." Walking past her, I quickly place the bags of food in the kitchen and then begin walking down the hall, passing the safe room door and the bathroom. "Your room is right here." I come to a stop outside the room directly next to mine and step out of the way so she can enter.

"There isn't another room upstairs for me to take?" she jokes half-heartedly, though I can tell she's bothered I didn't place her upstairs.

"As you are the one most at risk, I would prefer to keep you nearby to watch out for you. Neither of us has to like it, but it is the job, one that I take seriously." I leave her with that, turning back down the hall and heading out the front door to grab my own bags from the back of the SUV. The second I walk back inside, I can hear both girls in the kitchen, laughing and talking. When they hear me, they immediately turn my way.

"So those rules?" Illeana prompts, resting her elbows on the kitchen counter. Grace mimics her and pulls the same pose, but she rests her chin on her hands.

"Basically, no phones or tablets that can connect to the internet. We can't have anyone tracking your locations. Also, don't talk to anyone from home, no friends, family, no one. As far as everyone is concerned, you're on a vacation with little service. The last rule is that there will be no trips into town. Thefewer people that see you both, the better. Oh, and I forgot, if you go outside, please stay in sight of the house. No one knows we are here, but I'd rather be safe than sorry." I can tell by their expressions alone neither girl is happy with the rules. I know they suck, but it's for their safety. Both girls look from me to each other and back before Illeana prompts Grace to head upstairs and unpack her back. Illeana follows behind her, leaving me in the kitchen alone with my bags and the food that needs put away.

Great. This is about to be an extremely long week.

The rules shouldn’t surprise me. Steel has been a hard ass since the day I met him, but does he honestly think that those rules will keep us safe?Ugh, ridiculous.

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