Prologue

PROLOGUE

SATURDAY

I'm going to die. Realization shuddered through Flora Hadley as she stared into the face of the man she'd trusted. Her lungs ached with each breath, but she forced words between cold trembling lips. "Why are you doing this?" Her teeth chattered as snowflakes melted on her cheeks and spilled down her face and into her collar.

He was everything she wanted in a man: tall, handsome, and attentive. She'd become so close to him and jumped at the chance of a romantic weekend at the Glacial Heights Ski Resort. It had only been three weeks but she'd trusted him. They hadn't arrived at the resort, but he'd acted mysterious and funny on the ride to a secluded cabin for lunch. The place had been beautiful, with outstanding scenery. Pines heavy with snow and views of valleys and frozen waterfalls went on forever. She'd wanted to take pictures, but he'd asked her to wait and promised to show her a view to die for. Now, she understood his meaning and it chilled her to the bone. She looked around, searching for a way to escape, but his pistol pressed into her stomach. He appeared to be enjoying dominating her, and acting scared would only encourage him. She had one small chance to outwit him by acting nonchalant. Hair blew across her face and she tossed it aside, pushing it behind her ears and then curling the ends in her fingers. Most men she'd dated took that gesture as a come-on. Could it work for him? Would he change his mind?

"Stop touching your hair." His mouth turned down as he ripped off her woolen cap and tossed it into a snowdrift. "Take off your clothes."

It was below freezing. She couldn't feel her feet. Uncomprehending, she gaped at him. "Have you lost your mind? I'm not undressing here."

"Shut your mouth." He slapped her hard across the face. "You'll do as I say or I'll hurt you."

Terror gripped her by the throat when he holstered his gun and pulled a long hunting knife from a sheath on his belt. Trembling, she stared at his grim expression. She had to try and sort out his problem with her. Had she said something, done something to upset him? "Talk to me. What are we doing here? What have I done to upset you?"

"If you're trying to analyze me, all you're doing is making me angry." He pushed her hard against a tall pine, making the snow on the branches plop down on her head, soaking her hair. "Don't move or I'll cut you." He stepped behind her.

Crying out as pain shot through her shoulders, Flora gasped as he dragged her arms around the tree and secured her with zip ties pulled so tight they cut deep into her flesh. "You're hurting me."

Instinct told her to fight but her training as an anger management counselor convinced her to try and talk her way out of the situation. Maybe this was some type of sex game. Apart from roughing her up a little, he hadn't actually hurt her too badly. His demeanor had changed again as he came round to face her. He unzipped her puffy jacket and then took his knife and slit her layers of thick clothes from top to bottom. Shivering and too afraid to move in case he cut her, she watched in horror as he methodically removed every inch of clothing, peeling her like a banana. The frigid wind circled around her warm flesh, cooling her in seconds. Snowflakes drifted softly over her. The icy miracles of nature were something she'd loved to play with as a child. She'd lift her head and stick out her tongue to catch the frozen delights, but now they were frozen daggers cutting into her flesh.

As calm as if he had all the time in the world, the cruel unfeeling monster went to his backpack, took out a roll of gaffer tape. A scream hovered in her throat as he wrapped it around her chest and the tree. She couldn't move and the tape was so tight she couldn't breathe. When he did the same to her legs, she just stood there unable to move. It was as if one part of her brain was telling her to fight and the other part was in shock and too scared to move in case he cut her with a knife. Shivering, her teeth chattered as cold seeped into her, burning right through to her bones. Stiffness crept into her face. Breathing in the frigid air hurt so bad. Why was he doing this to her? The man she'd trusted was part of a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from.

Waves of terror surged through her when he finally straightened and stood in front of her staring at her face. Lip quivering, she met his cold hard gaze. "Please stop. Why are you doing this?"

He didn't respond but took the knife and hacked away at her hair. Fear made her dizzy as the knife nicked her scalp. Warm blood trickled down her cheek and she shook with uncontrollable sobs. All around her the snow was covered in long blonde strands. When he finally finished, he opened her backpack and took out her makeup bag. He extracted one of her lipsticks and walked toward her. He drew something on her forehead and then stood back and admired his work. He returned the lipstick to her makeup bag and retrieved a small mirror. He held it up in front of her. Trying hard to focus, Flora gasped in horror at her reflection. The long glossy blonde hair that had taken so long to grow was just spikes on a bald head. On her forehead he'd drawn a smiley face in lipstick. Tears fell hot on her freezing cheeks and breathing was becoming difficult. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because I can." Smiling and without a care in the world, he gathered dead branches from close by and used them to sweep away the footprints around where she stood as he backed away to the snowmobile they'd used to get to this secluded part of the forest.

Her mind refused to comprehend what was happening, but as shivers wracked her body, Flora stared at him. This must be a mistake. He loved her—didn't he? "You can't just leave me here. I'll die in this weather."

"That's the idea." He turned away and gave her a wave. "Enjoy the view while you can."

Desperate, Flora tried to scream through frozen lips, and she struggled as the sound of the snowmobile disappeared into the distance, but as the cold steeped into her body, movement was almost impossible. She couldn't escape and no one was coming to save her. A blizzard surrounded her, its icy grip claiming her last warm breath. She stared into a snowscape as beautiful as it was deadly, and as a single tear froze on her cheek, she surrendered to the inevitable.