She spends Saturday trying to purge Erik from her mind.
Or at least, she tries.
She purposely looks at the crime scene photos once again, keeping the pictures open on her laptop screen and burning his cruelty into her mind.
When that doesn’t work, she does more research on him. His net worth is astronomical, a sum so large that he could buy Green Woods if he wanted to.
Again, she stares at his picture, trying to understand the man who would talk an inmate into taking their own life, yet turn themselves in because an innocent man would go to prison in his place.
Then, she looks up his sister.
Cassandra Hart was ten years his junior, dying at twenty years old.
Juliet’s age.
Images of her own sister flash in her mind, and she blinks back tears. If she thinks about her too long, she’ll drown in a sea of guilt.
Despite everything, her heart aches for Erik as she reads about his sister.
She finds a picture of them together at an event, his arm casually slung around her shoulders. He’s carefree and joyful. His dark eyes are gentle with no trace of malice.
Of course, cyber stalking him isn’t helping her situation.
She needs to relax and double her dose of suppressants.
As if on cue, a violent cramp hits her.
“Fuck,” she hisses, clutching her stomach and doubling over onto the bed. A gush of slick dampens her underwear as she limps to the bathroom, washing herself up.
She hasn’t had a Heat in over a year because of her suppressants. She hoped the makeshift nest and the slick were due to her attraction to Erik and nothing more.
But her fevered skin and painful nipples say otherwise.
This is bad.
Very bad.
Another cramp hits her womb.
“Oh God,” she gasps as she strips off her clothes, hobbling back to the bed. Naked and under the sheets, she wraps herself in blankets and wills her body to relax.
But it won’t. Her traitorous mind fills yet again with thoughts of him, and how desperate she is to be touched and loved.
It’s pathetic, really, if she thinks about it. But no amount of shaming herself stops her body from crying out for him.
Her phone buzzes, and it’s from the unknown number again.
Working with other people now? I’m not sure I’ll allow that to happen. I want you to myself, baby.
She bites her lip and groans, shifting under the covers.
“Please kick in, please,” she begs the suppressants, hoping somehow they’ll listen to her.
She keeps her eyes closed, pulls the blankets up to her chest, and eventually dozes off.
She knows this road.
Mom took the back way from the hospital, trying to get them home faster.
“It’s going to be fine, Ellie,” Juliet says from the front passenger seat. “They sent you home with tons of painkillers. The first Heat is always the worst, anyway.”
She can only reply with a groan, partly from the cramps, and partly from never wanting to discuss a Heat with her sister.
They’re nearing a quiet road with two thin lanes. Far off in the distance, a vehicle approaches, going the opposite way.
It’s the red truck.
“Mom, pull over!” She tries to scream, but her lips stay shut, only a muffled sound escaping.
The truck comes closer.
She tries to memorize the license plate, but the numbers and letters are a blur.
“PULL OVER!”
She thrashes around in the backseat, begging them to listen to her, and don’t they see how the truck is swerving—
BOOM.
She wakes gasping and shivering, the cold air hurting her throat.
The room is pitch back and freezing.
Thunder roars overhead and the wind howls, the violent storm causing the walls to shake.
Frantically, she rolls out of bed and tries the light switch near the door. When that doesn’t work, she attempts to turn on the bathroom lights, to no avail.
Oh no.
The power’s out.
Judging by how cold the cabin is, it’s probably been out for a while.
She grabs her phone and deletes every text and missed call from Erik. Then she checks the weather for Green Woods, tears of frustration filling her eyes as she sees the temperature.
She won’t make it through the night if the power doesn’t come back on.
Her phone buzzes with an incoming call, and she answers it immediately.
“Doctor Porter?” she breathes, her voice thick with emotion.
“Ellie! Are you alright? Do you still have electricity?”
Tears of frustration spill down her cheeks. “No, I don’t.”
“Oh, no, that’s not good,” he murmurs. “My home is out as well. Unfortunately, it looks like you and I will have to stay at the facility tonight, as they have backup generators.”
NO. NO. NO.
“I…would that be appropriate, do you think?” Her voice shakes as she tries to argue with him.
“Not really, but we don’t have a choice, do we?”
I do. I could freeze here tonight, just so I don’t throw myself at your favorite prisoner.
“I think I’ll be able to ride it out.”
The doctor laughs. “Absolutely not. I’ll be picking you up as soon as possible. We have a hospital wing with beds. You’ll have a set of keys as well. It’s only temporary, most likely just for tonight.”
Oh God.
She’s going to be in the same building as Erik for the night.
“Alright,” she says weakly. “I’ll pack a bag.”
