Free Ice by Linda Howard Page B

of this ice,” he said, his tone concerned. She had to admit, getting out of the weather was a good idea. The best, in fact. But there wasn’t a neighbor for miles, and town was even farther.
    “My truck isn’t far,” he added encouragingly.
    Lolly knew very well that these roads were now impassible. Nasty as it was, dangerous as it was, she’d rather walk down the steep road than get in a vehicle and take the chance of slipping and sliding over the side of the mountain. There were some wicked curves and steep drop-offs between here and Wilson Creek. But they could stop at Gabriel’s truck, get inside and get warm, maybe break out the soup and coffee. Withthat thought in mind, she had a reasonable destination in mind and that kept her moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other. If she had to think of walking all the way down the mountain she’d probably drop here and now, certain she couldn’t make it.
    None of this was real. It couldn’t be. Her life was unexciting, boring, ordinary. To fight off an attack, escape through a second-story window, get shot at and fight against a storm as dangerous as what she’d left behind—these were things she’d never thought to do. Lolly decided she liked unexciting. At the moment, she craved it. She’d never again complain about being bored. This … this was all like a bad dream.
    Every step now was a struggle. The cold cut through her clothes, slowing her down. Her instincts screamed at her to stop, rest, give in, but she knew if she stopped here, she’d die. Freezing to death couldn’t be a pleasant way to go, and even if it was, she wasn’t ready to go.
    “Soup,” Lolly said with all-but-frozen lips, throwing the word out like a talisman, something to keep her going. Suddenly she realized she was starving. The thought of the soup warming her from the inside out encouraged her to keep moving, even when the ground beneath her turned sharply down and each step became even more precarious.
    “Yes, there’s soup.” His arm was tighter around her now; he was all but carrying her. Lolly gathered her strength, focused on what she was doing.
    If she could just get some soup—and coffee! He’dsaid he had coffee!—she’d be able to make it. They could rest for a few minutes, turn the truck heater on full blast and thaw out a little, have some soup and coffee, and be on their way. With a little fortification, she’d be good to go.
    Then there was an enraged shout from above, followed by a gunshot, and terror blasted its way through every fiber of her body. Darwin was coming for her after all.

Chapter Seven
    Darwin followed Niki out onto the porch, reluctant to leave the comfort of the house. The wind was brutal out here, and … hell, was that
ice?
The shit covered everything, even the Blazer. He hadn’t noticed any ice when they’d been out here just a little while ago, after the Lorelei bitch went out the second-story window and escaped. He blamed Niki for that. If she’d just left them alone, everything would have been okay. He’d have had some fun, and Lorelei wouldn’t have been in any shape to go out the window. Now that strange dude who’d showed up out of nowhere would be the one having the fun.
    Man, that ice was unreal. He thought it might have been sleeting before, but to come outside and find everything coated with ice was fucking weird.
    He scratched at his face, and thought he needed another hit of meth. They still had plenty inside, unless that bitch Niki had used it all. She was using more than her fair share, he thought resentfully. She was always doing that, and he was tired of it. Yeah, she was good about coming up with ideas for getting more money, but then she used up the shit so it was her fault they had to have more money, anyway.
    “It’s your fault,” he said, because he was tired of her bitching and complaining and the way she wanted to make all the decisions. He stared at the icicles hanging from the eaves of the porch.