Uninvited (Fate #7) Read online

  “Hell yeah!” The relief was enormous as he started to slide it open until it got stuck. “No!”

  He pushed again as hard as he could and it suddenly gave. “Yes!” He picked up his carryon and threw it in then brought his knee up and pulled himself up, but with his heavy jacket, he wasn’t going to fit, so he had to take it off, which was a struggle. The moment it was off the frigid air was merciless, so he threw his jacket in the window and moved fast to jump in.

  Feeling the beautiful warmth coming from inside the cabin hit his face was pure bliss, and he pushed himself in, falling clumsily over some furniture. He finally hit what smelled like moldy carpet. “Thank you, Jesus,” he whispered out of breath once he knew he was in and safe.

  That’s when something hard hit the back of his head and everything went black.

  Chapter 2: The Real Intruder

  Aiyanna

  Aiyanna stared at the man lying on the carpet, ready to swing again if she had to. The moment she saw him walking up the lonely driveway she’d turned off the lights in hopes of deterring him, but he hadn’t stopped. With no cell service and the storm only getting worse, she’d been trapped in that damn cabin by herself most of the day, and now this.

  “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!”

  Standing there over him, she brought her free hand to her mouth, not sure what to do. He could’ve been telling the truth about getting stuck in the snow. The news had been reporting a whole bunch of that all day, until even the cable stopped working. But she couldn’t chance it, not with the kind of luck she’d been having.

  Her heart was still going a mile a minute. When she’d tried in vain to push against the window, he’d managed to open it anyway. Of course, the latch on this shitty cabin Jace had sprung for would be so weak someone could break it that easily.

  When the guy didn’t move for a long enough time and Aiyanna was certain he was out, she ran into the kitchen and started searching the cabinets and drawers frantically. She needed something to tie him with, at least until she could interrogate him a bit and make sure he wasn’t some kind of psycho or rapist. The moment her eyes spotted the spare extension cord in one of the drawers, she grabbed it and ran back into the front room. He still hadn’t moved. And here she thought picking up a frying pan for defense was a little cliché. It had done the job, right?

  Once he’d pushed the window open, the frying pan had been the only thing she thought of to grab in a total panic. She should’ve grabbed something the moment she saw him walking up the driveway, but how was she supposed to know he’d break in through the window? She’d stood behind the front door, debating whether or not to open it but decided against it. She just couldn’t chance it. Her mother would kill her if she knew she let a stranger into this remote cabin in the middle of nowhere. No telling what he might do to her.

  In the front room, she fumbled with the extension cord, realizing just how frightened she was when she could barely undo the knot in the cord because her hands were shaking so much. When it finally came undone, she crouched down next to him, wrapping it around his wrists behind his back several times before tying it. It didn’t feel strong enough. She needed him to be completely immobile when he came to.

  Remembering the ties on the old-fashioned shower curtain, she ran into the bathroom and grabbed both. They were flimsy, but she’d have her frying pan ready in case she needed to whack him again before he came loose.

  Getting the ties around his boots proved harder than she thought, so she decided to take them off him. When he moved his leg, she was so startled she fell back on her ass and yelped, scurrying away immediately. She stared at him from where she crouched against the old sofa, but he didn’t move again.

  Finally, she felt brave enough to try again, and she crawled over quietly to retrieve the ties she’d dropped when he’d moved his leg. Once again she attempted to remove his boot, and this time he groaned and she froze. Moving faster, she pulled the boot off quickly then the other, tied his ankles together as fast as she could, and then scurried away when he began moving again.

  “Oh dear God, help me,” she said under her breath as she dove behind the sofa and waited. What the hell had she been thinking coming here alone?

  Aiyanna heard him groan again and she held her breath. “What the . . .?”

  He was quiet for a moment. Then she heard more movement, and the sofa moved as if he’d kicked it or something. She fumbled to her feet and ran to the kitchen to retrieve the frying pan she’d left there. “Don’t you move!” she said as she ran back into the front room and saw him floundering on the floor like a fish out of water.

  “What the fuck is this?” he asked, looking up at her. “Who are you? And why am I tied up?”

  “You broke in here!” she practically shrieked. “I’m just protecting myself.”

  “Are you why my head’s throbbing?” he asked with a wince then a frown. “Is that what you hit me with?”

  “Yes!” She moved the pan in her hand to let him see she’d be willing to do it again. “Why did you break in my window?”

  “Because I got stuck in the snow and was looking for shelter. Why didn’t you answer the door when I knocked?”

  “How am I supposed to know you’re not some kind of psycho killer?”

  He frowned again this time, squeezing his eyes shut. “Well, I’m not, and my head hurts like a bitch now.”

  “And you expect me to just believe that?” He opened his eyes again and, to her alarm, sat right up, leaning against the chair behind him. “Don’t move!”

  “Why the hell not?” he asked, visibly uncomfortable with his hands still behind his back. “I was getting a cramp lying that way.”

  Aiyanna held the pan in front of her, not sure what to say or do at that point. All she knew was she couldn’t let him get the upper hand, no matter how good-looking he was. In this upright position, he did not look like a killer. Aiyanna gulped hard when he looked up, and she got a better look at his potent dark eyes. They narrowed as he took her in from top to bottom. Aiyanna chided her waffling insides for going from intensely terrified to slightly enthralled by the sight of his perfectly chiseled features. The man wasn’t just good-looking; he was one of those guys who was almost pretty. She knew just the kind. He was probably just as cocky.

  “You here alone?”

  “Not for long,” she said, holding her head up and glancing at the door as if Scott might actually waltz through it at any moment. “My friend is meeting me here. He’s just been delayed because of the snow. But he’ll be here real soon.”

  Pretty boy actually smirked. “Good luck with that. No one’s coming down that road anytime soon.” He sat up, moving his arms behind him. “Get this shit off of me. I’m not gonna do anything to you.”

  Aiyanna lifted the pan again after she’d begun to lower it. “How do I know that?”

  He stopped moving, and his eyes zeroed in on her. Aiyanna had never seen such force in a glare. It was the only thing that took from the pretty in his face. It actually made her breathing hitch.

  “Trust me, sweetheart, if I wanted to do anything to you, these cockamamie knots you tied wouldn’t keep me put for long.”

  Not sure if she should be alarmed by that, she once again chided her stupid insides for tingling at the sound of this complete stranger referring to her as sweetheart. Just as she thought, he probably thought he could get his way by sweet-talking her. That wasn’t happening. Aiyanna stood there, holding out her pan. “Well, maybe I need to use my pan again.”

  “Don’t you dare.” The menace in his voice was all too clear. “My head’s already gonna be hurting for days. Can you at least get me an aspirin if you’re not gonna untie me?”

  Aiyanna thought about it for a second, mentally trying to recall what she’d packed in her toiletry bag. “Don’t move.” She pointed the pan at him like a deadly weapon. “I’ll bring you the aspirin, but you have to stay put.”

  “Yeah, where am I gonna go?

  Lifting a br
ow, she pointed the pan at him again as if she could shoot something at him with it. She slowly walked out of the room backwards then rushed to the bathroom to retrieve her toiletry bag. She grabbed it and hurried back into the front room. He was still sitting in place, looking even more annoyed now.

  “You live here?” he asked, glancing around the cabin.

  Aiyanna didn’t answer. Instead, she concentrated on her see-through toiletry bag she’d placed on the small kitchen counter. She pulled the small bottle of aspirin out then walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. All the while she kept her eyes on him, even as he smirked again, clearly amused by her caution.

  “What is it you think I’m gonna do to you if you untie me?”

  “I don’t know.” She walked toward him, the water and aspirin in one hand and the pan in the other. “But if someone broke in through your window, would you welcome them with open arms?”

  “Under the circumstances, I might.” He opened his mouth, and Aiyanna dropped the aspirin on his tongue with a silent gulp.

  She tilted the open bottle of water against his lips, and he took a swig then nodded. “I would’ve opened the door,” he said with a wince. “There is a huge storm going on outside. I’d say the odds of someone getting stuck out here and needing to get to a phone are pretty good.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not a six-foot-something man. So that’s easy for you to say.”

  “Can I just use your landline?”

  “There isn’t one in this place. My cell phone doesn’t have any reception here either. I had to go into town this morning to call my friend and see where he was.”

  “This place?” he asked. “So I take it you don’t live here.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Why are you here without your boyfriend?”

  Aiyanna didn’t correct the assumption, once again annoyed with herself because of why she was here, but no way was she discussing that with this stranger. She was about to tell him she was only here for a few days and that Scott was supposed to have met her here today, when a sudden rattling from the back of the cabin startled her. She turned to it, pointing her pan, then back at pretty boy. “Were there more people with you?”

  “No. Untie me,” he said, squirming where he sat.

  She started to debate whether she should when the rattling got louder. “Untie me, damn it,” he demanded just as he broke loose from the ties around his ankles.

  Aiyanna scuttled around him and undid the cord around his wrists. In the next instant, he was on his feet, making her feel like an idiot when he grabbed the poker from the fireplace. All this time that would’ve made a much easier and more effective weapon, and here she’d walked around, rearing her stupid frying pan.

  “Who’s there?” he called out loudly in an impressively deep and demanding voice, and the rattling ceased.

  She watched her intruder’s big physique stalk to the back door by the kitchen and look out the window. He turned back to Aiyanna. “How far are the nearest neighbors?”

  “Far. This cabin is supposed to be very secluded. It was one of the selling points online when we booked it.”

  At least that was how jerk face Jace had explained it when he’d told her about the luxurious trip to Aspen he’d booked them to spend a romantic New Year’s Eve.

  “Why?” she asked suddenly, a little alarmed because he was still looking out the back window.

  “I can’t say for sure if that was a person, but something was definitely out there that ran away at the sound of my voice.”

  Feeling her eyes widen, Aiyanna stared at him, and then it suddenly dawned on her. He was completely free to move about as he pleased. “I need to tie you again,” she said without thinking.

  She heard him chuckle as she rushed back to get the extension cord. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

  Turning back, she felt her heart start up again as it had when he first knocked on the door and then when he began attempting to come through the window.

  Obviously seeing the sudden terror in her eyes again, he lifted his free hand in the air in front of him. “Look. I’m not gonna harm you in any way. I promise. But from the looks of that storm out there, you’re stuck with me for tonight.”

  He pulled something from his back pocket. Aiyanna watched closely, glad she at least still had her frying pan with her. Her heart calmed a little when she saw it was his wallet. He opened it and took a few steps forward. “I’m not a burglar or a psycho serial killer,” he said even as she took a few steps backwards. “My name’s Nathan Romero. I’m a firefighter in San Diego, California. I’m a good guy.”

  His ID clearly confirmed what he’d just said, and the shiny firefighter badge appeared to be real. He explained about being on his way to Aspen when the storm got so bad he had to pull off the highway and how her light had been the only thing he’d seen, so he’d followed it until his truck got stuck. The more he spoke, the more relaxed she felt and even felt bad when he touched the back of his head, visibly still in pain.

  Aiyanna winced. “I’m sorry about hitting you,” she said, suddenly feeling safe enough to walk past him and towards the freezer. “Here.” She offered the bag of frozen berries she’d brought up to put in the champagne she and Scott planned on having New Year’s Eve.

  It wasn’t until he glanced down and examined the bag of berries before taking it from her that she realized she still hadn’t given Nathan her name. “I’m Aiyanna by the way.”

  He glanced up at her, and for the first time, their eyes met without any suspicion or animosity. “Don’t worry about hitting me. I have two sisters. I’d like to think they’d do the same if they were here alone and some guy broke in the window.”

  Just like earlier when he’d chuckled, his eyes brightened, so unlike how severely intense they turned when he was angry. Ironically, she was now glad to know she wouldn’t be spending the night alone again in this godforsaken cabin.

  “So why are you here by yourself?” he asked, heading back into the front room.

  “It’s a long story.” She took the seat across from where he sat down on one of the sofas. “Basically, this trip was planned for a while with someone else then cancelled then back on again but with someone different. My flight had been booked way back, but my other friend, who decided to come with me last minute, couldn’t get a flight until late today. But when I spoke with him earlier today, he said his flight had been delayed and would likely be cancelled, so he may not make it until tomorrow.”

  She thought she noticed him roll his eyes halfway through her story, but by the end of it, she was sure of it. She didn’t know what to make of it, only that it seemed rude.

  “Who booked this place?” he asked, looking around with that same distaste she’d felt when she first arrived.

  “My ex-boyfriend.”

  He stopped looking around and peered at her instead. “So your ex booked this place for you and you decided to bring someone else up?”

  “Like I said, it’s a long story, but that’s pretty much it in a nutshell.” She frowned. “It was supposed to be New Year’s in Aspen.”

  Nathan laughed. “I hate to break it to you, but Aspen is more than two hours away.”

  “I know.” She shook her head in disgust. “I found that out when I landed in Aspen only to be told the cabin I’d be staying at was two freakin’ hours away. Then I get here and see this dump.”

  Nathan chuckled some more as he got up and said he was putting the berries back in the freezer for a while. “If you got a flight into Aspen, then I take it this trip was planned way back. I know every flight I tried to get into Aspen was completely sold out. I had to fly into Denver.”

  “It was booked a few weeks ago, but he works for Triple A, so he gets perks when booking his trips.”

  Nathan laughed again. “And this was a perk?”

  That made Aiyanna feel stupid. She’d been right about Nathan; he was a cocky pretty boy. First, he rolled his eyes at her explanation, and now he was
making fun of her. She watched as he strolled back into the front room. He made the place look even smaller as big as he was.

  He knelt down, unzipped his carryon, and pulled out a pair of running shoes. “My feet are freezing.” He turned back to her. “Why’d you take off my boots?”

  “I couldn’t get the ties around your boots.”

  He got up and tossed his shoes on the sofa then picked up the boots and put them by the fireplace. “Is that all the wood you have?”

  “No, I bought a box of those four-hour logs. They’re in the garage.”

  “You might wanna toss another one in there,” he said as he sat down and started putting his running shoes on. “That one’s getting pretty low, and looks like we’re in for a cold one tonight. Unless this place has a heater?” He glanced around skeptically.

  “It does,” she said, “only it’s either not working or I don’t know how to work it because I couldn’t get it to turn on.”

  Aiyanna stood up to show him where it was. While he tried to figure it out, she went into the garage connected to the kitchen for the box of fire logs. She bent over and picked up the box of logs when she heard something move and her head jerked up. The moment she saw him she screamed bloody murder.

  Chapter 3: One of Those Girls

  Nathan

  The collision between Nathan and Aiyanna was so hard she dropped the box she was carrying and nearly fell back. Nathan had reached around her and pulled her to him, her small frame pressing against his body.

  “What happened?” he asked, looking into her big startled eyes.

  “A bear!” She pushed past him as he made sure the door was locked. “A big black bear. He must be hibernating in there. But I didn’t see him earlier when I put the logs in there.”

  She kept walking all the way into the front room as Nathan turned back and heard her muttering something about this week getting any worse.