Free A Cold White Fear by R.J. Harlick Page A

reassuring sound of Jid tramping behind me, I plodded up my drive to the house in silence, all exhaustion gone. I was too worried to talk. I was afraid of what this could mean for Jid and me. Other than saying a few words when he passed Shoni to me, he was quiet too.
    All hope of rescue had vanished. I knew deep down that my plea to Will had failed to get through. That left Eric. If everything were normal between us, I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to get Will to drive over to check up on me. But things weren’t normal.
    Why was I so damn stupid? Why couldn’t I have just pretended that it was fine by me having another woman call him? Instead I had to make a big deal of it, which had only made matters worse. Was my outburst enough to drive him into the arms of this other woman? I shuddered at the thought.
    Not wanting to consider for even a nanosecond life without Eric, I continued trudging forward. Apart from the incessant droning of the storm, the only sound was our captor’s laboured breathing. It would appear that exercise wasn’t part of his routine in prison. I hadn’t yet given up hope for a heart attack.
    But he was still moving, albeit slowly, when the timber structure of my home finally loomed into view. At one point, when we were closing in on the house, he ordered us to stop while he rested, though he pretended it was to fix one of the snowshoes. When we resumed, he demanded that we slow our pace to his and threatened to shoot if we didn’t.
    I had mixed feelings when I saw the faint glow filtering through the windows of my house. It would be a relief to get out of the storm and into its warmth. But Professor was going to be one very angry man.
    As if reading my mind, he flung open the door at the sound of us clambering up the back stairs. His bullet head backlit by the kitchen light made him appear even more menacing. Without a single word, he slugged me across the jaw. I fell into Jid and tumbled the two of us down the stairs and back into the snow.
    â€œWhy fuck you do that, Viper?” shouted the man behind us.
    â€œSlobo, is that you? It’s about time you showed up,” Professor said. “Did you get rid of the car?”
    â€œFuckin’ snow make plenty problems. Fuck, I hate this country. But the snow bury it good. No one find car until snow gone in summer.” He guffawed.
    I tested my jaw. I didn’t think it was broken, but it sure hurt. I helped Jid out of the snow, and then myself.
    â€œYou okay, Auntie?” he whispered. “Where’s Shoni?”
    I’d forgotten about her. The two of us dug around in the snow, frantic to find her.
    â€œWhat you doing?” our captor shouted.
    â€œLooking for the puppy.”
    â€œShe’s where she belongs.” Professor smiled smugly, holding Shoni in his arms while she licked his face. “A cute little thing. I might take her with me. It would serve you right for trying to escape.”
    Pretending to ignore his threat, I bent over to release the straps on my snowshoes. My aching jaw was telling me I would have little say in my puppy’s future.
    â€œYou gonna let us in? I fucking cold,” Slobo said, attempting to kick the snowshoes off his feet.
    â€œIt would help if you undid them,” I said.
    â€œStupid shoes. Only crazy people wear them.” He glared at me before bending down to release the straps.
    â€œThey got you through the snow, didn’t they?”
    He ignored me as he continued to struggle with them.
    Professor stared down at us from the top of the stairs. I sensed a standoff developing. But after a few minutes, he turned around and walked back inside the house with the puppy perfectly happy in his arms.
    With Slobo prodding us from behind, Jid and I stumbled up the steps. Snarling “Move!” he pushed us through the door, past the Christmas tree, and into the kitchen.
    Waves of heat from the woodstove washed over me. Though this wasn’t where I