Ellie scrambled to the side, dodging machinery, and continued over the snowbank, her heart pounding. Her legs ached and burned, but she couldn’t stop. She used her hands to climb over the blocks of snow. It was hard, dense, the opposite of powder, but the ripples and bumps made the surface too uneven to run. She glanced behind her and saw Aidan standing on the top of the mound. Much too close, and the resort wasn’t in sight.
“I promise you, Michael. I won’t stop,” she whispered to herself.
Finally, she hit the road again. She climbed off the avalanche’s flow and sprinted toward the lights that glowed from just beyond the curve of the road. The resort. It was close. Ellie stumbled, her feet dragging through the snow, but she caught herself with her hand, picked herself up, kept going.
“You know you can’t run from me, Elizabeth.” Aidan’s voice sounded much too close. “Who will people believe—you or me? I’ll have you committed if that’s what it takes to get you to do what’s best for our company. You know I can do it.”
Ellie tried to shut out his words, but that feeling of resignation was strong. She couldn’t run for the rest of her life. He’d keep pursuing her until he got his way. The reality of that stretched out in front of her like slow suffocation, and her legs begged her to give in.
Maybe that was true, but Michael was still out there on the mountain. She wasn’t going to let Aidan corner her until she found Michael. She couldn’t lose sight of that purpose.
Ellie continued around the curve until the resort was in front of her. As she ran, she took in the layout, assessing it, trying to come up with a strategy. The place was a sprawling chain of buildings at the bottom of the mountain, with a main lodge, built in a large, log-cabin style, to welcome the guests. The hotel spread out like wings on both sides, with two taller buildings and then a series of smaller cabins tucked away into the mountainside. Behind the main lodge, a little village of shops and restaurants was just in sight, climbing into the mountain, and behind the shops, the chairlifts spread in different directions up the mountain. Most were dark, but a string of gondolas seemed to float above the snow, toward the lights of a building near the peaks.
If she could get inside the hotel, she could run up the stairs, lose him on the floor, maybe duck into someone’s room while she called security. All she needed was a locked door to buy her some time. Or maybe she could convince housekeeping to let her in? The problem was how to get some distance from Aidan, to find a way he couldn’t follow her and sabotage anything she tried. She had to figure out how to ditch him somewhere.
She glanced behind her. Aidan had slowed to a walk, but his dark figured was menacing.
She was close, so close. The outside of the resort was quiet. With the road blocked, no cars were visible at the entrance. Two doormen stood outside the sliding-glass doors as she ran toward the circular drive. The taller man gave her a wary look.
“Can I help you with something, ma’am?”
Ellie tried to paste on a smile and shook her head. “No, thanks.”
She needed help, but Aidan would probably get any information she gave them. At this point, she was on her own.
“Stop that woman,” called Aidan from behind her.
Ellie didn’t wait to see if the doormen were going to listen to Aidan. She slipped through the door and darted into the lobby, scanning the place. Guests lounged on the overstuffed sofas and sipped their drinks, as if the last thing on their minds was running for their lives. To her left was a hallway, so she took a chance and turned into it, passing the empty concierge counter. She sprinted to the end, where the hall turned to the right. She found herself in a wider hall, with signs by the doors that said Conference Room A and Conference Room B. She glanced at one then the other, then headed for B.
“Where did the woman with the red hair go?” Aidan’s voice echoed through the empty hall.
Ellie rested her hand on the long door handle and pulled down. The handle moved and the door opened into a dark room. Ellie froze as the sliver of light gave her a momentary glimpse of dozens of circular tables covered in white tablecloths. At the other side of the room was a doorway. An escape. She quickly stepped in and let the door click shut, plunging her into the darkness.
“Elizabeth?’ Aidan’s voice taunted her from the other side of the door. Her heart jumped in her chest as she started around the perimeter of the dark room. She held out her right hand, letting touch guide her along the wall. She reached her other hand out ahead of her, feeling for obstacles. A soft yelp of surprise escaped her lips as her left hand brushed against something in front of her. A table, she thought as she inspected it further. She used her hands to feel her way around, then shuffled forward until she reached the corner. As she turned left, pointing herself in the right direction, the main door she had come through opened behind her and the room lit up again. She whipped around as her heart thumped that familiar pattern of fear in her chest. There, in the doorframe, was Aidan. Her body froze and stars dotted her vision. He was closing in, and the panic was creeping through her.
No. She would not let this happen. Instead, she tamped down her fear, turned toward the rear door and sprinted. Aidan was after her, on her tail, as the light faded from the open door then disappeared. They were in the dark. His breaths filled the room, panting as he followed her. It’s a straight shot to the door, she told herself. Just keep going.
There was a sound, a thump, and Aidan muttered a curse. The table? He must’ve run into it.
Ellie continued forward, keeping one hand on the wall until she felt the indent from the door. She moved her hand up and down, grasping for the handle, until she found it. She opened the door and light flooded the room again. As she sprinted out, she caught sight of Aidan charging after her.
Ellie scanned the hallway she was now in, too quiet and empty. The rooms were numbered—meeting rooms or guest rooms? She ran by them, pounding on the doors, but no one opened them. She yelled for help, but no one answered.
Aidan burst out the conference room door, and she sprinted for the end of the hall, to the exit outside. The cold air hit her as she ran into the snowy night.
In front of her was what looked like an old-fashioned mountain village. Quaint buildings lined the snowy paths, strings of lights hanging from the awnings. Ellie ran down the pathway, scanning the businesses, trying to find one to hide in. A candy shop, an upscale clothing store... She came to a stop in front of an Italian restaurant, pulled open the door and rushed inside. Then she halted. Bad choice. The clientele, who had been quietly eating, were now staring at her as she panted.
The hostess with a blond ponytail and impeccable makeup plastered on a smile and raised her eyebrows. “Table for one?” she asked skeptically.
Ellie scanned the room. “May I use your bathroom?”
The woman gave her a slow nod and gestured toward the back of the restaurant. Ellie took off, dodging tables and almost tripping over a woman’s fur-lined boot. She was making a scene, exactly what she shouldn’t be doing.
The restroom sign pointed down a little hallway. Ellie took one more glance at the front door then headed down the dimly lit passage, praying that this would work. But when she opened the door to the women’s bathroom, she could see this, too, had been a mistake. There was no lock on the main door, and the doors to the four stalls started at her knees. She couldn’t hide there. She ran out into the shadowed hallway, but when she emerged into the dining room, her heart stopped. Aidan was standing at the entrance to the restaurant, looking straight at her.
She met his gaze, saw the bubbling rage in his eyes that he barely held under control. She glanced around the restaurant. Conversations had stopped. Everyone was looking either at him or at her. Ellie swallowed. The only exit was in the front, right next to where he was standing. She looked behind her. It was just the doors into the kitchen. Maybe there was a way out there? It was her only hope. With one more glance at Aidan, she took off toward the double doors and burst through them. The kitchen was all fluorescent lights and stainless-steel counters. No one even looked up as she ran in. She passed a sous chef, chopping carrots, and a line cook, sautéing something over a flame as oil spit from the pan.
All Ellie needed was the door, and then...and then what? Aidan’s voice echoed inside her. You can’t keep running. How would she find help for Michael when she couldn’t get him off her tail?
She looked one way then the other. On one side was the enormous silver door to the cooler. But where was the door to the outside? There had to be one here...
The double doors burst open again and she didn’t need to look to know who it was.
“Clear the kitchen!” Aidan announced. “This woman is dangerous.”
She was trapped. And Aidan was here for her.
THIRTEEN
Michael stared across the white expanse at the black bear that growled and snarled at him. Its slick dark coat gleamed against the snowy landscape, and it was large, larger than the bears he’d seen before... Or maybe it was just closer. The animal’s brown muzzle drew attention to sharp rows of teeth, and its small, close-set eyes were focused directly on Michael.
No one wanted to face a hungry bear in the middle of a forest. Especially not when the person in question was bleeding.
Michael had seen a handful of bears as they’d lumbered across the ranch, scaring the animals while scavenging for food, but most of the time, they’d stuck to the new developments, where the weekenders lived. It was yet another problem with the new development: part-time residents who still hadn’t gotten the hang of keeping their garbage locked up. Black bears used to hibernate in these parts, but the steady diet of garbage kept them awake longer and longer, until they’d started to stay out year-round. But that didn’t mean that they had enough to eat. At this point in the winter, after five months of steady snow, their forest diet was still buried. This was the time of the year when animals got desperate.
The bear’s gaze fixed on Michael, focused and intent. This must have been what he’d heard farther up the mountain while he’d tried to staunch the bleeding from his side. He’d pushed the rustling he’d heard out of his head due to more immediate concerns—like the fact that he was in the middle of the forest with a bullet wound on his side—but now, the worst possibility his mind had flitted over had come true. The bear had caught a whiff of blood and stalked him.
It took another few steps closer, sniffing the air and snorting.
