Page 48 of The Cabin-A Reverse Harem Romance
But, the cooler heads prevailed and had their way. Which was fine, I guess. As long as he kept his ass away from me, and he didn’t so much as look at Elle, and I’d be fine.
There was a strong gust of wind outside that howled beneath the eaves and sent flurries of snow flying everywhere. The windows in the cabin were thick, which shut out most of the sound, but the gusts of wind were so powerful, you could still hear it rattling around outside.
It was a wall of white out there and looked like the end of the fuckin’ world. For the first time, I was actually starting to get a little concerned that we wouldn’t be getting out of there anytime soon. I could have sworn I saw movement somewhere behind that thick white veil. I thought I saw two figures, and then a flash of red like brake lights.
I was obviously seeing things, since nobody was coming or going anytime soon. I scrubbed at my face, and rubbed my eyes, and when I looked again, I saw nothing. Just like I thought – my eyes were playing tricks on me.
As I stood there at the window, still seething about everything going on – and having nothing else to distract me from my thoughts – my ears perked up when I heard Elle’s name being spoken behind me. I cocked my head to listen.
“I haven’t seen her in a little while,” Sean said.
“Don’t look at me,” Nolan replied. “I just assumed she was upstairs.”
Without a word, Chase bounded up the steps to the loft, and came back down a moment later, shaking his head.
“Not up there,” he reported.
“What are you guys talking about?” I finally asked.
Nolan looked over at me. “We can’t find Elise,” he said.
“I don’t remember the last time I saw her, actually,” Sean chimed in.
“Fuck,” I growled.
“I think she went out front a little while ago,” Chase said. “I guess I just assumed she came back in already.”
My mind immediately turned to that son of a bitch Brad. If she was missing, he had to have taken her. Elle wasn’t stupid enough to wander out into a fucking blizzard and get lost. My mind flashed back to what I thought I’d seen in the storm outside, but I quickly pushed it away. It couldn’t have been. Could it have?
“We need to go over to Brad’s cabin,” I said.
“I agree,” Chase said. “If she’s not here, she’s probably over there.”
“And if she’s over there, it’s not going to be good.”
Without another word, the four of us stood up and started putting on our jackets. It wasn’t a long trek, but it was going to be cold.
“Let’s go,” Sean said.
Together, we trooped out into the snow, all of us checking around the front perimeter, just to be sure Elle wasn’t standing out there in the freezing cold for some unknown reason. Not seeing her though, we all exchanged a look and headed off on foot for Brad’s cabin.
We were halfway there when something caught my eye, or rather, when something didn’t catch my eye.
“Guys,” I shouted.
I had to repeat myself, louder, to be heard over the gusting wind. They all turned back to me, and I pointed to the empty lot – to the spot where Brad’s BMW should have been. It took them a moment to process what they were seeing, but when it sunk in for all of them, their eyes grew wide.
“Chase, Nolan,” I shouted. “You two go check out Brad’s cabin, just to be safe. Sean and I will look over here.”
They nodded and set off, following my command. Sean and I turned and hustled over to the parking lot where Brad’s car should have been. The fucking car was gone. I tried to slow my racing heart and mind and focus on the problem at hand.
I took a deep breath, grimacing as the sting of the frigid air hit my lungs. It was enough to freeze the breath right in your throat. Pushing my way past it, I focused on the task at hand. I searched the ground, fearing the worst, but was pleasantly surprised to see my thought pay off.
“There,” I said.
Sean looked down to where I was pointing. They were faint, the storm doing a good job of obliterating them, but there was still enough left to see. Tire tracks. The snow coming down was already filling them in, which told me they hadn’t been gone for very long which was a good thing. Now, if only our luck would hold.
Chase and Nolan came running up, their cheeks flushed, their breath coming out in thick plumes of steam.
“They’re not there,” Chase said. “Place is empty.”
“He took her,” I said, and pointed to the tire tracks.
Chase and Nolan both looked at them, their faces tightening with both fear and anger. We all looked at each other for several long moments, as if hoping somebody had the answer.
