“I can’t believe you were worried about us,” Tom said, unable to curb his incredulity. She ran away to protect his pack? And for what? To put herself in a world of danger!
“I think… I think my uncle might have learned what North had planned. I’m afraid North might be in trouble, if he’s not already dead.”
“All right, let’s go back over what we know. The chances of you dying on the slopes would be minimal. So why, if the men had been hired by your uncle or half brother, would they push you down the slope?”
“To make me easier to manipulate. They’d keep me out of the B and B by sending me to the hospital so they could steal my stuff from the B and B and lure me to the hotel, then take off with me. But you stayed with me, so that plan didn’t work.”
“So when they came to the tavern afterward, it was like they were taunting you. Telling you that they’d come for you anyway?”
“It was a way for the men to get in Darien’s face—show they weren’t afraid of him and would get to me some other way. But I’m sure they were pissed. They didn’t think a gray wolf pack would help a red wolf-coyote.”
“They had that scenario wrong. Everyone in the pack would take them on. Silva was at our table forever, and one of them looked straight at us. At you. Damn it. I remember being so pissed off I wanted to slug him, if only to get his attention off you.”
She smiled a little at Tom, then grew serious. “One of the men who grabbed me said that I had been with the wrong company.”
“Wrong company being the Silver pack leader and my brother and me.” Tom squeezed her hand. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. The pack won’t. Lelandi’s Uncle Hrothgar won’t stand for having a killer in his pack, either.”
Tears swam in Elizabeth’s eyes. She reached out to Tom for a hug.
He knew she ached, but he pulled her into his arms and held her close. “You’re not alone,” he whispered against her forehead. “Never again.” He separated a little from her. “We’ll work this all out. I have another couple of questions, though. Why did they steal your luggage and ID?”
“They wanted the deed to my parents’ property, the horse farm where I grew up. Pretty valuable piece of real estate, I guess. I was going to sign the deed over to North in exchange for the evidence that would prove my uncle murdered my parents. I had taken it with me on the slopes because I was supposed to meet North at the lodge later.”
“Damn him. He should have given the evidence to you freely.”
“I don’t care. If it means my uncle pays for his crimes, that’s all that matters.”
“Not to me.” Tom took a deep settling breath. “So they grabbed everything you had at the B and B but didn’t get the deed. I wonder if they knew North wanted it. They could have been monitoring his movements and cell phone conversations. Or he was in on it from the beginning.”
“Sheriff Peter took me to the airport and stayed with me until my flight left.”
“Which meant they couldn’t get to you then, either. But why kidnap you and bring you back here?”
Elizabeth considered that. “I don’t think North was in on it. Otherwise, they would have just let me go through with my deal with him, so they could get me to willingly sign the deed over, but then withhold the evidence from me. The fact that I couldn’t get in touch with North makes me think he went into hiding because he found out that they knew he had evidence against them.”
Tom narrowed his eyes. “So they must also know he was going to exchange the evidence for the deed, and then they meant to use you to draw North out?”
“Yeah, they could kill two birds with one stone that way: destroy North’s evidence and get me to sign over the deed. Except… Canton, the dark-haired one with the gun, took the deed from me. It’s probably buried in the snow out there somewhere.”
“We can order another copy later when you need it.”
Something banged outside the window again. Elizabeth jumped a little, and Tom glanced in that direction.
“It’s just the broken shudder latch. Are you ready for bed?”
Elizabeth cleared her throat. “Can I have some more of your chili first?”
“You really want more?”
She managed a small smile.
He grinned at her, not sure why the notion pleased him so. Everyone loved his venison chili, but he was really glad it seemed to make her feel better, considering what she’d been through.
“Sure.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll get you some more.”
“I can manage. Get some for yourself. Just a little more for me.”
He returned with two bowls and two mugs of hot tea and joined her on the floor.
“After we eat, I’ll make sure the place is secure again, and then we’ll move into the bedroom. No heat in there. The couch in here turns into a bed, but it’s lumpy and squeaky if anyone moves on it. The mattress in the bedroom is very comfortable. It has tons of wool blankets and a down comforter.”
She cast him one of those you’re-giving-me-a-guy-line looks.
He raised his brows. “Just so you know, no matter where we retire for the night, we’re sleeping together.”
Her lips parted. He expected her to protest, but he wouldn’t buy any objection she might have. If someone broke into the cabin, he would be right beside her to protect her. Other than that, he intended to share his body heat with her.
The idea was hers in the first place.
“We’re not getting naked?” she asked.
He swore that she almost seemed hopeful that they would.
He smiled. “If you think it’s necessary.”
“No,” she said very quickly.
He fought the urge to laugh. “Just making sure.”
“Thank you,” she said, “for saving… me.”
“You scared a ton of years off my life when I saw you out there, fighting to survive. All along, I figured I’d be up here by myself. I’m damned grateful to see you again, though I wish the circumstances had been a lot different. What about any other family you might have?” he asked, still wondering if she were part of another pack or not. “We’ll need to let them know where you are and that you’re all right.”
She carefully shook her head.
“No other family?”