Page 54 of Damaged Princess

"I did," he agrees, starting the vehicle and glancing around before pulling out of the spot.

"You're sure Wolfe won't get trapped at the lodge?" I ask. My hands are suddenly very fidgety. I don't know why, but it feels very important that he be with us. "It's snowing harder than it has since I've been here."

Rafe pulls me further into his hold and begins to purr softly.

"That's normal for this area," Rafe assures me. "We're in the mountains, so we get pretty solid snowfall from now through theend of February. Wolfe's truck has four-wheel drive, and he's used to driving in these conditions. He'll meet us within a couple of hours."

"Why would Connor make him work in this weather?" I whisper, and shake my head. It's a ski resort. This weather is their bread and butter. I know I sound like an omega off her rocker.

"You're a very sweet little omega when you want to be," Vik says, driving us away from town.

"Where exactly are we going?" I ask Rafe.

"The groundskeeper for the resort," Rafe says, running his hand over my back. He's so tender and comforting some of my stress bleeds away the longer he purrs for me. "He and his wife are getting older. They moved into the lodge last winter because their house was too much to keep up with. They rent it out through the resort sometimes to larger parties of guests who want to stay together."

"Okay. Why would they keep a groundskeeper employed who can't even take care of his own house?" I ask, confused as hell.

"They've worked there for ages. It's more out of loyalty than anything," Rafe says. "Connor hired new groundskeepers, but he would never fire Reynolds simply due to old age."

"And we're headed to their house?" I ask, frowning. "Because of whatever news or information that Vik got while we were in the nest?"

"That's correct," Vik says, driving us further up into the mountains. He turns down a driveway that I'd never notice if I wasn't explicitly looking for it. He drives another few minutes down the tree-lined road and there's another turn-off.

"If you keep going straight it'll lead you to Evie's house," Rafe says. "This way takes us to where we'll be riding out your heat."

"But why?" I ask. I'm starting to feel like a broken record. It's pretty clear my dad isn't handled and apparently we're at risk. Ifmy father is on the war path then we should be leaving the state. A twenty-minute drive isn't nearly far enough away.

I ramble something to that effect and Rafe looks at Vik in the rear-view mirror.

"I wanted to wait until we settled in to tell you," Vik says, grimacing. "Your father is dead." The extreme rush of relief that I feel is quickly extinguished when Vik continues. "Dimitri Abramov is not."

"Fuck," I hiss. Dimitri is my father's second… or he was.

"There was a fire at your family home early this morning," Rafe says, holding me close. "Your father was confirmed…" He trails off, but I get the picture. "Dimitri escaped along with two others."

I hiss out a breath. That just fucking figures. That asshole has been obsessed with me since I was fifteen. He wasn't pleased when my father indicated I should seduce the lodge owners. I know Dimitri fully hoped I would fail and be given to him as punishment.

A shiver runs down my spine.

"And there's a risk he's coming after me?"

"We're not taking any chances," Vik assures me. "He knew your whereabouts at the lodge. Getting you out of there was the first step. If he shows up looking for you, the lodge security will inform us and call the police. If he somehow manages to track us here, well, then all bets are off."

The truck stops and my eyes dart around. Trees line the property on three sides and there are no other houses within view. It's beautiful and regal. It's two stories, maybe three? I'm not sure, but it's got those tiny triangle-shaped windows that usually indicate an extra floor or possibly an attic.

Why is my brain thinking about this? Stress is giving me tunnel vision, that's for sure.

"Come on, Ana," Rafe says, unbuckling my seat belt. I scramble over into his lap and bury my face in his neck. I'm not sure why I need to be close to him, but I do. "Let me carry you inside. It's going to be cold until we get the heat running."

"Thank you," I whisper as he climbs out of the truck carefully to make sure neither of us bump anything on our way out the door.

We head toward the log cabin and it's more incredible the closer we get. It has a full wrap-around porch that's made of the same dark wood as the cabin. It's a beautiful home, that's for sure. I'm a little intimidated by the forest. It's like there's no one else around.

No one to come to our aid or even report our screams.

The inside of the house is as breath-taking as the outside. It's not huge like the house I grew up in, but it's got five bedrooms and it's cozy.

Rafe is still carrying in supplies. He got the lower level fireplace going immediately upon arrival. I've been wandering the house for the last twenty or thirty minutes, but honestly, I feel pretty out of it.

---