“I don’t want to go back yet.”
“You’ll freeze.”
“I’m not cold.”
He raises his eyebrow, obviously not buying my protest. He then pulls out his radio. “Beta Seven to Logan.” He waits with a smug look on his face.
I roll my eyes.
“Go ahead, Keith,” Cole’s voice comes over the radio.
I don’t break my stare with Keith. I’m not scared of him.
“Ms. Miller is refusing to come back to the house, despite the fact she’s soaking wet and it’s starting to snow. Permission to use Code Forty-Five?”
Forty-Five? What the hell is that?
There’s silence for a moment then it crackles. “Give her the radio.” Keith hands it to me.
I sigh, taking it out of his hand. “Good afternoon, Cole,” I say calmly.
“Savi, please go back with Keith before you freeze to death.”
“I like it here. I was rather enjoying the silence before you sicced your watchdog on me,” I tease and look up at Keith, grinning. “No offense.” He bites back a smile.
“Savannah, you see Keith’s left shoulder? Well, if you don’t get your backside off that ground and start walking toward the house, you’re going to be hoisted over it and carried out.”
My jaw drops, my temper rising fast. I hand the radio back to Keith, wrap my arms around my knees, and stay perfectly still on the ground. Yeah, I can be one stubborn ass sometimes.
“Well?” Cole hisses impatiently.
“Permission to use Code Forty-Five?” Keith asks through a grin. He’s loving this.
“Permission granted.”
Everything gets blurry as Keith scoops me up, tosses me over his shoulder, and starts marching through the woods. I try to protest, hitting his back and shifting around, but all this does is make his death grip tighter. After a few minutes, I am suddenly struck with how I must look. I begin to crack up, and before I know it, I’m in a full-blown laughing fit and struggling to breathe. When we get to the clearing, he drops me to my feet. I stumble backward and roll on the ground. I have to hold my sides, they hurt so badly.
Keith joins me in my laughing fit as he pulls me to my feet. “Was that fun for you?”
“Yes, it was, thanks.”
He rolls his eyes as we start back to the house. “I’ll deny this if you ever repeat it, but I really like how you are with Cole. No one else would ever dare talk to him the way you do.”
“People have mentioned that before. Saying they’re surprised I’m not scared of him. What is it I’m not seeing?”
“Cole is normally all business. That’s what makes him so great at what he does. People have nothing but respect for the guy and his family. He’s a great friend to have. He’ll be the first to take a bullet for you. But I’ve seen what happens if you cross him, and it’s not pretty.”
I look up at him, slightly nervous about what he’ll say next.
“Is that why you didn’t step in last night with York?”
“Yes. York knows the consequences of betraying Cole and this house. York got off easy. If you weren’t there to stop it, I have no doubt he would have left in a body bag.”
I shake my head at that thought. I know he is right.
He sighs. “So, you overheard Dan and Cole talking?”
A knot in my neck begins to tighten. “There’s a lot I don’t know about my…ah…case. I feel like I won’t be overly pleased with the outcome, will I?”
He pushes his lips together. “I’m thinking not,” he says. “I’m really sorry about what York did. I wish you told me, but Mark explained to me why you didn’t. It was really sweet of you to think about everyone else.” We walk in silence for a bit, listening to the freshly fallen snow crunch under our feet.
“Keith.” He looks down at me. “What if I don’t want to go back to New York after this is all over?”
He pulls me against his side. “Then we’ll make you our chef,” he says with a grin. “Speaking of baking, Abigail just got a shipment of apples in. You think you could make another apple crisp for me? After all, I did have to babysit you all day.”
I elbow him playfully. “Fine.”