4. Eva

Ilay under a soft blanket, the faint crackling of a fire in the background. I couldn't work out where I was. The last thing I remembered was driving through the snow, struggling to see the road ahead. After that, there was nothing but a black hole.

This didn't smell like a cheap motel room. Or the car. I was also lying on what felt like a couch rather than a bed. Moving slightly caused a sharp pain to slice through my head. I must have made a noise because I heard someone stir. Instantly, my eyes snapped open. Two intense brown eyes ringed with gold stared back at me.

My heart stopped beating, and the air in my lungs froze.

Who was this man, and why was he here? All kinds of scenarios played out in my mind, and I started to hyperventilate. Irrational fear took over and the pain in my head worsened. Oh God. Had some psycho worse than Brent kidnapped me?

The more I tried to remember what happened, the less any of it made sense.

"It's OK, you're safe." The man watching me passed over a sealed bottle of water. "You need to drink something."

After a moment of hesitation, I took it but didn't have the strength to snap the seal. Frustration must have registered on my face because he gently prized the bottle from my fingers and opened it for me.

"Drink. If you can keep this down, I'll warm up some soup."

My stomach chose that exact moment to growl, and he smiled. I couldn't remember when I last ate. Brent liked to monitor my food intake. It was one of the many ways he controlled me. Then I remembered I got away from him. At least I think I did. I can't remember.

While I sipped the water, the man with the golden brown eyes watched me. He wore a plaid shirt and gray sweatpants, his dark hair tousled like he'd been raking it with his fingers for hours.

I didn't know what time it was; late presumably. A thick blind covered the window and no chinks of light showed.

"What's your name, sugar? I'm Silas."

"Eva. Where am I?" My voice was raspy. Every bone in my body ached. What happened to the car? And my bag? The little money I had squirreled away was inside the small bag I threw on the back seat. If that was gone, I was in trouble.

"You're in our cabin. Do you remember what happened?"

My mind refused to show me anything useful. There was a faint glimmer of something, but the minute I tried to focus on it, the memory fluttered just out of reach.

"Nothing beyond driving through the snow."

"I found your car upside down in the forest. You must have come off the road. I got you out and brought you back here. You've been unconscious for five hours."

"What do you mean I crashed?" Surely, I would remember something so awful? But there was nothing there.

"Please, I need to go, I have to…"

My voice trailed off. It occurred to me I no longer had a car. Or money. Or anything. Panic rose once again, and my eyes prickled with tears.

Leaving Brent was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance to have something better. I couldn't stay here. If Brent came looking for me, this man would be in danger. Sure, he looked like he could handle himself, but Brent was dangerous.

I couldn't stand it if someone got hurt because of me.

Silas frowned. "You can't leave. We're snowed in right now. The roads are going to be blocked for a while."

Oh God.This man was a stranger and now I was stuck with him in a cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Just as I thought things couldn't get any worse, a second man appeared. He was tall, with short brown hair and green eyes, as well as broad and muscular, like Silas. The universe was definitely fucking with me. Both guys were hot. Like really hot. Male model hot.

Not that it mattered.

The state of me was enough to send any sane man running away screaming.

"How's your head?" The second man walked over and perched on the coffee table. "I'm Cole, by the way."

"Everything hurts," I admitted, looking at the fire rather than either of the two guys. They were both much too intimidating.

I pulled the blanket up around my body. Silas stood and wandered off, which helped me relax a fraction. The way he stared at me was too much. He was too much. I wasn't used to this level of scrutiny. People usually ignored me.

"I'll give you some painkillers, but sleep is the best thing for you," Cole said, satisfied I was not at death's door. "You will feel pretty banged up for a few days. At least Silas found you in time, or you'd have frozen to death out there."

"Thank you," I murmured when Silas reappeared and handed me a small bowl of soup with some bread. The soup smelled delicious. Tomato with herbs, I guessed. The minute I finished it, I yawned, and my eyes drooped again.

"Come, I'll show you to the guest room. You'll sleep better in a bed," Silas said while Cole took my empty bowl and plate through to what looked like a kitchen area.

I tried to stand, but my legs wobbled, and my head throbbed. Silas took hold of my elbow and supported my weight, guiding me with a hand on my lower back. It was really hard for me to trust a man, given my experiences, but I knew he was trying to help, so I ignored the voice in my head screaming at me to run. I let him lead me down a corridor and into a small guest room.

"Through that door is a bathroom. I've put a set of clothes and fresh towels in there for you," Silas said, scratching his head and looking uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, we don't have any women's clothes, so my stuff will be too big, but at least it's clean and dry. Cole has left some painkillers on the dresser, so take two now, and they should help you sleep."

"Thank you," I said again. His eyes briefly flared gold before reverting to their usual warm brown, and I frowned, not sure if I was imagining things. People's eyes rarely changed color like that. It had to be exhaustion from everything that had happened.

"Yell if you need anything. Anything at all. One of us will be there. And Eva, don't worry, you're safe here."

There was a subtext to his words, but I brushed it away. I needed to sleep. The door clicked shut, and I quickly used the bathroom and swallowed the pills Cole left me with some more water. The bed was soft and inviting, and the moment my head touched the pillow, I drifted off.