“Maybe I want you too.”
“We can’t…” he softly replied. Although the words were said with closed eyes and gritted teeth. Like it killed him inside to know I was off limits but still wanted him. “You’re the Prez’s Ol’ Lady.” There was a long pause before he spoke again. “He’d kill us both.”
“I know.”
The car fell silent again. It was like the wiper blades were swiping across the window at the same pathetic rhythm of my heart. I was an idiot for thinking that I could seduce his second in command. Snyder was loyal to the club, and the last thing he would do is shack up with the Prez’s Ol’ Lady—a woman who could barely get the Prez to pay attention to her.
“We’re here,” he announced, breaking the silence.
We were high up in the mountains, deep in the woods, tucked away from civilization. It looked like solid wood, but also rundown at the same time, with broken floorboards leading up the steps, and shutters that blew open and close with the wind. The rain was coming down even harder, and I was hesitant to get out of the car.
“We’re going to get soaked.”
“You’re going to have to run,” he said, a jovial smile appearing on his face. “On the count of three, open your door and run up to the cabin. We’ll bring in our suitcases later.”
“Okay.”
“One…”
His smile widened.
“Two…”
The shimmer in his eyes was almost magnetic.
“Three…” we said in unison as we threw open the door, running out into the torrential downpour coming down from the heavens. I wasn’t even two steps out of the car before I fell, dropping into a puddle just outside the car.
“Snyder, help!” I shouted after him.
He was almost to the steps, but the second he heard my cries for help, he stopped and turned around, rushing to my side to help me.
“Come on, I got you.”
He gripped my hand, pulling me out of the mud and through the rain until we reached the cabin door.
Once inside, he kicked the door shut behind us, both of us soaked to the bone. It was then that I felt the icy chill from outside whipping over my shivering body.
“You’re going to catch hypothermia. We need to get you warm.”
He strutted over to the fireplace and threw in a couple of dry logs, starting a fire with miscellaneous things like old newspapers and kindling.
Within seconds, a roaring fire illuminated the space, showing a barren room with only a single chair sitting in the middle of it. There was red all over the floorboards, and ropes hanging from the chair’s arms.
“Should I ask?” I whispered, knowing what I was seeing was a torture chair.
“No. You really shouldn’t.” He stood up and reached out for me. “Come stand by the fire, Shasta.”
There was no hesitancy at all, I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. His dirty blonde locks, wet from the rain outside, were matted to his forehead.
I could feel the warmth of the fire, but it wasn’t warming me like it should. Chattering teeth and the crack of the fire were the only things you could hear in the room.
“I think we need warm clothes,” I whispered. “The fire isn’t helping.”
He nodded. “I’ll go grab our stuff.”
The second he left the room, I felt abandoned all over again. Snyder made me feel safe, and this cabin was creepy as fuck.
I wandered away from the fire and into the adjoining room. A single bathroom with an old tub, sink, and toilet was connected to the small bedroom. There was an old, dusty mattress sitting on a creaky wooden bed frame. The bed wasn’t very big, maybe a full, could even be a twin. There were no blankets or anything on it, so I wasn’t sure how we were going to sleep.