“Okay, Knox!” Brooks snapped. “Now’s really not the time for a lecture.”

Knox. Now he had a name, too.

I stood there, gawping at each of them as my escape plan dissipated into smoke.

Brooks, who had saved me… or so he said.

Ryder, the oldest by at least a decade.

And Knox, who obviously wished I would leave as much as I wanted to go.

Who the hell were these similar-looking men, and why did they live in this gorgeous, massive cabin in the middle of the mountains?

CHAPTER5

Knox

Ryder steered me into the kitchen, leaving Brooks to deal with the hysterical blonde in the foyer.

“She needs our help,” I informed Ryder, straining my neck to watch as Brooks tried to lead Simone back upstairs.

I found myself noting the flush of her cheeks, the vivid glow of her clear, blue eyes. I would never admit it to my cousins, but I had caught her posts online in the past, although I hadn’t immediately recognized her when Brooks had brought her back a few hours earlier.

To say I was furious with Brooks was the understatement of the century. I didn’t know how he could have been so damn stupid, bringing her to our sanctuary after the years we’d spent keeping it away from public knowledge. Only a few trusted neighbors and handsomely paid contractors from out of state had ever stepped foot on this land. Now, only Millan men and wildlife were permitted to cross the property line. Those were the rules.

And of all the women to bring, Brooks had brought an influencer!

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brooks leading Simone back up the stairs, and my shoulders sagged with relief. At least we wouldn’t have to go running after her in the snow—for now.

“I’ll be right back,” Ryder told me. “I’ll make sure the guest bathroom is stocked.”

Why do we even have a guest bathroom?I thought as he disappeared up the back stairs through the kitchen, and I slipped onto the stool at the center island. This place was only ever supposed to be for the three of us—three bathrooms and a half-bathroom. No need for a fourth bedroom and bathroom.

But Ryder had insisted on the extra space in case we ever needed it. I still wasn’t convinced he had been right.

Brooks retreated down the steps, looking vaguely defeated.

“I’m making her something to eat. Are you hungry?” he asked.

I snorted. “Why would you bring someone like her here? You know who she is, right? What an influencer does? She has millions of followers!”

My cousin raised an eyebrow. “You’re making it sound like I hand-picked her from a group stranded on the side of the summit,” Brooks grumbled, rifling through the fridge.

“It almost seems planned, though, doesn’t it, Brooks?” I insisted. “It’s not like you picked up a skier or a climber. You picked up some pretentious makeup artist who posts about her empty, lonely life for money.”

Brooks inhaled sharply. “Seriously? What would you have done, Knox? Left her there? Pretended that you didn’t see her because you were worried she was recording?”

“Probably,” I replied curtly. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe she did something that earned her a spot on the side of that mountain? Sometimes bad things happen to bad people, you know?”

Brooks’ head jerked back, and he gaped at me, his eyes widening. I realized what I’d said too late, but the shame didn’t protect me from his contempt.

“That’s disgusting. Even for you. All these years of isolation are eating away at what’s left of your humanity, cuz,” Brooks growled, slamming the stainless-steel fridge shut to glower at me. “But I still don’t believe you would have left her there.”

“If I’d known who she was, I might have,” I insisted, although I didn’t really believe a word I was saying. “She probably came up here specifically to spy on us!”

“And the way you’re squawking right now, she’s going to have a pretty good story to tell the world,” Ryder barked, striding into the kitchen, his eyes blazing. “Keep your damn voices down!”

Contritely, I swiveled around on the stool at the kitchen island and huffed. “We need to find a way to get rid of her.”