72. Eva

Carlos didn't look so polished. His shirt was filthy, and he stank of sweat. I wasn't a wolf, but even I struggled not to vomit at the smell. Judging by the state of him, he'd been sleeping rough. Not that it mattered. Right now, he was the one with the gun trained on me, and unless someone came to rescue me again, I was dead.

"Silas will be here any minute now," I told him. I sounded a lot calmer than I felt, which was surprising. Clearly, being kidnapped once already had done wonders for my nerves.

"I don't think so, Eva."

The way he smiled made my stomach curdle. Why wasn't Silas here? Surely he would have scented Carlos.

"What have you done to him?" My voice broke as all my emotions rose to the surface. It was like seeing Cole shot all over again. The thought of losing Silas was horrific. I couldn't go through that.

"I think that's the least of your problems," Carlos gritted out, his smile more of a grimace. "My entire operation's destroyed, and I'm facing a life sentence. I figure I'm owed some payback, and if I have you as leverage, my life becomes a lot more valuable."

"You're insane." Did this idiot have a brain cell? Surely he realized that if he took me as a hostage, my mates would burn the world down in their search for me?

"No, just pissed off. Now get your sweet ass over here so we can leave before one of those fucking wolves gets here."

"No."

He looked surprised. "No?"

"No, I refuse. You're not taking me anywhere. Kill me if you have to. I don't care." I stood with my arms crossed, trying not to shake like a leaf. There was no fucking way I was leaving with this asshole. He'd have to knock me out first. I figured he probably wouldn't kill me, as that would be a death sentence. At least I hoped not. I wasn't one hundred percent sure.

"I DON'T HAVE FUCKING TIME FOR THIS!" he yelled, waving a loaded gun in my direction. "I needed you alive, but that doesn't mean you have to remain in one piece!"

The threat was unambiguous. The urge to close my eyes was tempting. Then I could pretend this wasn't happening. But I didn't have that luxury.

Instead, I slid back toward the cabinet in the corner of the room. Tanner stored all his booze there, and I'd seen a sharp paring knife lying next to a bottle of gin, which Tanner used to slice lemon.

Before Carlos could react, I swiped the bottle of gin and lobbed it at him. He roared with anger but had no choice but to duck to avoid being hit in the face.

"Fucking bitch!"

The moment he took his eyes off me, I grabbed the knife and tucked it up my sleeve. The blade was viciously sharp. It sliced into my palm, but the pain grounded me. If he got close enough, I could stab him. It was unlikely I'd be able to kill him, but it might be enough to slow him down.

The more time we wasted here, the more likely it was Cole would return, and possibly Tanner.

Didn't Tanner have security cameras everywhere? Surely Carlos would have triggered one of them. Then again, Tanner was hours away, so even if it had seen anything, he wouldn't reach me in time.

I tried not to think about Silas.

He was OK.

I'd know if he was dead.

Wouldn't I?

Carlos moved closer, so I threw a second bottle at him.

"Stop throwing things at me, you lunatic bitch!" he yelled, trying to dodge the bottle.

This one glanced off his shoulder and shattered near the fire. A spark flew out of the grate, igniting the whiskey. Carlos laughed with delight.

"I did plan to burn the place down. Looks like you saved me the effort! You better come closer, Eva, or you might end up burning too."

He was right. I had one escape route, and it involved passing him. The flames grew higher as the nearby bookcase caught fire. While the chimney breast was stone, the rest of the cabin was a tinderbox.

I decided it was now or never. Blood dripped from my hand as the knife dropped from my sleeve and into my fist. I prayed Carlos was too busy watching the flames to notice. With one eye on the kitchen door, I made a dash for freedom, hoping he didn't try shooting me.

Anticipating my move, he grabbed me around the waist, pressing the muzzle of the gun to my neck. I screamed, choking on the smoke as the sectional sofa caught fire and the flames spread.

My eyes watered like crazy. I couldn't breathe, the smoke was so thick. If Carlos didn't let me go, we were both in danger of succumbing to smoke inhalation. By now, the living room was well alight with flames inching toward the hallway where the bedrooms were. I didn't give a fuck if Carlos burned to death, but it wasn't how I planned to go.

"Let me go!" I screamed as the smoke thickened and the flames licked ever closer. Carlos pushed me back, his grip weakening. Something cracked above us and part of the ceiling collapsed, hitting Carlos on the shoulder and knocking him sideways.

He stumbled and fell, dropping the gun. Before he could reach out, I kicked it away and thrust the knife into his chest. The look of surprise on his face would have been comical if I wasn't on the verge of passing out.

With the last of my strength, I staggered through the smoke-filled kitchen, out through the laundry room, and into the blessed fresh air. When I looked back, there was no sign of Carlos. In seconds, the roof caved in and the cabin turned into a raging inferno.

I lay in the snow, heaving my guts up, trying to clear the smoke from my lungs.

Silas!

Eva? Where are you?

Then I heard him shout. "Eva!"

"I'm here," I croaked, just as Cole's wolf leaped through the trees with a roar. Silas appeared from behind the barn, blood trickling down his face.

"I thought the fire had taken you!" All of their emotions - terror, anger, and relief that I was safe trickled down the bond.

"Where's Carlos?" Cole asked, not caring that he was naked and it was freezing.

"I stabbed him. I think he's dead." He better be fucking dead. There was no way he could have escaped, though. Not once the roof collapsed.

I didn't have a knife wound, and I barely got out alive.

Silas pulled me into his chest and held me. "Thank fuck you're safe," he breathed. "When I came too and smelled the fire, I thought…" He didn't need to finish the sentence. I felt his emotions.

"The cabin, it's all gone…" I stared at the fire, which wasn't quite so intense now. This was their - our - home, and now it had gone.

"Eva, it's just a pile of wood. We can rebuild it." He stroked my cheek, wiping the soot away. "None of it matters. The only thing we care about is you."