Page 15 of Unlawful Seduction

After maneuvering to one of my eight highly secure bank accounts, I made a transfer of ten thousand dollars. That should help with the sudden veterinary bills she’d had to face.

With the computer shut down, I flicked off the light after standing. Jax immediately scampered from the room. He knew he’d likely find himself the recipient of several chunks of beef. As if the boy was starving.

Right. The two of us were well taken care of. There was nothing we needed.

Except for maybe one thing.

Something to abate the loneliness.

Darkness and snow.

Both staples for winter weather in Stowe, Vermont. Even if the morning was bright and sunny, it always seemed to give way to a cloudy afternoon with snow showers occurring every other night.

Another significant snowstorm was on the horizon, but thankfully, not for a couple of days.

I could plan for almost anything and had, severe weather conditions being one of them. I’d been in survival mode for long enough to know advance planning kept unwanted difficulties to a minimum.

However, plumbing issues usually surfaced when you least expected, sometimes in the dead of the night. Fortunately, Jax had alerted me to the toilet leak in the bathroom before disaster had struck, but I’d found myself ill-equipped to handle the repair.

The unwanted dilemma had been solved. Along with snagging the needed parts to resolve the current issue, I’d purchased more than a dozen items and tools for my collection. At least I’d be prevented from finding myself with my pants down.

Thankfully, I could laugh at the entire scenario as I turned off the main road leading from the hardware store. I’d been thankful since day one that the location had a vast display of tools and a decent supply of hardware. I preferred avoiding the big box stores whenever possible.

Jax huffed from the backseat of my Ram and I glanced into the rearview mirror. He’d seemed dejected from the moment we’d walked in.

“I get it, buddy. You wanted to see her again. Didn’t you?” His tail thumping on the seat was the only indication I was right. But I knew I was. And how so? Because I felt the same way.

I had no clue what could have transpired if Mallory would have been inside, but I would have figured something out.

“Yeah, well, we can’t have everything we want, dude. The sooner you realize that, the better it will be for you.”

For him? For me. I’d shoved my entire life aside and I was lamenting about a woman I didn’t need to know. Maybe the cold winter was getting to me.

Minutes passed and the usual peaceful ride had me eager to get back to the cabin.

I continued the drive, thankful the first purchase I’d made when my dart had landed on Vermont had been a four-wheel drive. Gone were the days of driving my favorite Charger. It wasn’t a practical choice for the mountainous terrain.

The second-best purchase had been the private mountain estate, the oversized A-frame languishing for almost two years prior to me purchasing it. The agent had told me the scuttlebutt around the reasons why, the death horrifying the small community. If she only knew how many homes I’d worked or lived in where bodies had piled up she’d run screaming to the mountains.

Chuckling, I imagined her face if I’d dare tell her. I’d managed to snag an excellent price, easily able to pay cash from the money I’d squirreled away. The real estate agent had been shocked and confused when I’d written a check for several million dollars.

A private account with a fake name and a padded bank account. She’d made me wait in her office while confirming I hadn’t been some crook. After closing, she’d asked me out for a drink.

I’d declined.

She hadn’t been my type.

Which now surprised me since I wasn’t certain if I even had a type. That’s how long it had been since I’d enjoyed the touch of a woman.

Jax whined his disapproval and I glanced into the rearview mirror once again, immediately noticing headlights following somewhat closely behind.

Of course that wasn’t necessarily a red flag given the population of Stowe, but few estates on the mountains had homeowners living in them more than a few months out of the year. The area was still considered extremely rural by most standards. A turn was coming up that I could take heading to the cabin or I could use the next one down. The first one was a little trickier and you’d need to learn the road before trying it in the dark.

Why not find out quickly if I had an issue to deal with?

I made the turn a little sharply, enough so Jax let off a single bark.

“Yeah, I get it. We’re just taking a ride, buddy.” The road wasn’t as treacherous as it had been the day before and with my oversized tires and knowledge of the road, I could easily maneuver the upcoming curves.

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