Free Naughty in Norway by Christine Edwards

his door to jump down. “Stay here. I’m only putting chains on my tires.”
    Chains? Where in the hell is this place?
    I wonder how he can see anything at all in the imposing blackness and falling snow. I can barely make out a small trail in front of us that doesn’t look wide enough to fit Alreck’s massive rig.
    Turning around, I peer under the rifle and out the window to watch him grab a flashlight and get the chains out of the back. It is too dark to really make out what he is doing, but I hear the rattle and clink as he drags the chains out of the truck bed. I briefly wonder if I should assist him but swiftly nix the thought when I remember that he’s kidnapped me!
    He must have done this before because in record time he’s back in the truck and doesn’t even seem the least bit affected by the brutal cold. It has to be in the teens out there. I shudder and huddle closer to the heater.
    At a slow crawl, we drive farther into the woods. The only sound in all the eeriness is the constant crunch of his tires on the pristine, glistening snow. The endless forest of tall spruce trees surrounds us.
    There is no way I could find my way back on my own. The darkness has made it hard for me to follow our course here, and the cold could easily kill a person if they got trapped in it at night. Panic grips my chest. My fingers twist the fabric in my parka sleeves as I will myself to calm down. There’s nothing I can do at this point. This man is in charge and will take us exactly where he pleases.
    Nerves get the best of me and I ask him in a hesitant voice, “So, how long are you planning on keeping me here?”
    “Until business is taken care of in Oslo.”
    That either sounds dangerous or illegal. Most likely it’s both.
    I press him further. “How long will that be? It’s my life on the line here, so the least you can offer me are answers, Alreck.”
    “Enough,” he says, his stern voice loud and his expression dark and moody.
    I flinch at his hard, unyielding tone and cross my arms in a pissed off manner. Screw him! All he has managed to do is make me more determined to find a way out of here on my own.
     
    “We’re nearly there.”
    His expression reflects something I interpret as relief, which is completely understandable considering the fact that we’ve been traveling for just over twenty-four hours.
    Fifteen excruciatingly long minutes later I see a dim light ahead. It grows as we drive closer and I begin to make out the shape of an A-frame cabin. Alreck stops the truck and I think that we’ve arrived at his rorbu , but he shuts that thought down with an abrupt, “Wait here.”
    His commanding personality is infuriating. I peer out of the window as he exits the truck and knocks on the small cabin door.
    I’m surprised when light streams from the doorway and a huge German Shepard bounds out, causing him to take two steps backward to keep from stumbling. The giant dog perches its paws on Alreck’s chest and begins licking his face.
    I can’t see his expression but it’s obvious by the way he’s allowing the dog to fawn all over him that he’s pleased as well. He shifts to the side to glance back toward me and I see a tiny old man in the doorway. I can’t hear what they’re saying. Instead, I watch the huge dog leap joyfully in circles around Alreck and realize the Shepard must belong to him. A love that strong from an animal could only be directed toward its master.
    He finishes his conversation with the little man and shakes his hand before heading to the truck. I look straight ahead because I don’t want him to see me watching him.
    The less interested he thinks I am in him the better.
    The back of the truck opens as I hear Alreck call out a command. In a moment he slams it shut and climbs in the cab without a word.
    I can’t help but sneak a peek at the furry face studying me through the back window, his nose fogging up the glass. I lean under the hanging gun to smile and wave at him.
    “His