Chapter 15
Kristen sat quietly as Steel drove back to his place. She couldn’t believe how much her life was changing. Why was someone after her, and what did it have to do with her father? She was in shock, but trusted Steel. Over the short time she had known him, he had come to be very important to her.
She couldn’t help looking behind them as the drove the familiar path to her father’s neighborhood. Every time she saw a car’s headlights, she wondered if they were being followed again.
Steel saw Kristen glancing out the rear window. Every time there was a vehicle behind them, he could see her wring her hands together and become more and more tense. He wished he could take away all the drama that had become her life. The best he could do, though, is try to keep her safe until he could get to the bottom of it all.
“Here,” he told Kristen as he extended his hand towards her. “Just hold my hand.”
That connection to Steel did seem to calm Kristen down. It reminded her that she wasn’t going through anything alone, and that she had someone there to help her and protect her…someone who cared for her.
Once they reached, Steel’s house, he continued driving around the block, to make sure nothing looked out of place. When he was satisfied that there were no apparent dangers, he pulled to the curb.
“Wait here,” he told Kristen as he hopped from the car and ran inside. Within thirty seconds, he returned with two bags.
“How did you do that so fast?” Kristen asked. It was the first thing she had said since they had left her home.
“I always keep a spare back packed,” Steel laughed.
“Well, what’s in the other one?” Kristen’s curiosity seemed to help get her out of her catatonic state. Steel answered that the smaller bag he carried contained money and another gun as well as ammo. Somehow knowing that Steel was prepared for emergencies like the one they were experiencing made her feel better…more relaxed.
It didn’t even occur to Kristen until they were back on the highway that she had no idea where they were going. She was probably being overly suspicious, but she wondered if she should ask Steel about their destination. The car could have been bugged.
“What is it?” Steel asked. He had been keeping an eye on Kristen and her body language, and she appeared to be struggling with something. He couldn’t help smile as he watched the expressions on her face change every time she had changed her mind about whatever it was.
Kristen didn’t know why, but she was still surprised that Steel could read her so well. She shouldn’t have been…it was probably part of his training as a police officer, or maybe it was a natural ability that had made him perfect for the job. Either way, he had her figured out.
“I was going to ask where we were going, but I thought maybe the car was bugged,” she answered as she laughed nervously. Hearing her thoughts out loud, Kristen realized how absurd they sounded.
“That was good thinking,” Steel told her. “But, I already checked the car for bugs while we were at your house.” Kristen couldn’t help smiling proudly that she was beginning to think like a cop. Steel smiled as well as their eyes connected.
He explained that they were heading into the mountains. His old sergeant had a secluded cabin there where Steel thought they’d be safe. The cabin was surrounded by acres of woods, and no one would be able to trace it to Kristen or himself.
Luckily for Steel, he had been to the cabin once with his long time friend and boos. As he made the drive up the mountain, it was almost pitch black. Even with his high beams on, he was forced to drive very slow.
“I see what you mean,” Kristen said as she looked out the windshield and tried to see anything. Even the road was difficult to see. It had changed from a paved road into a dirt one no wider than a path almost. “Is it safe to be driving on this?” she asked nervously. She was beginning to get scared. In the dark of night, everything around them looked foreboding and ominous. She told herself that it probably looked less scary in the light of day.
For over two hours, the two drove in silence as Steel put all his concentration into watching where he was going. The slightest distraction would get them completely lost. As they got into the heavier parts of the wooded road, the GPS unit in his car stopped working. He wasn’t going to tell Kristen, but he really had no idea where they were. Everything around them was trees…above them, beside them and in front of them were trees, trees, and more trees.
Both Steel and Kristen sighed with relief as they saw a small light appear ahead of them. “Is that it?” Kristen asked.
Steel delayed his answer until they got a little closer. He was still too far to really make out what the light was. When it came into better view, he recognized it as the solar lantern attached to the front porch of Kawoski’s cabin. “Yes, we’re here!” he happily announced.
Leaving the bags in the car, Steel suggested they go inside and turn some lights on before bringing everything inside.
The cabin wasn’t at all what Kristen was expecting. She thought it would be a little shack, maybe with a living room and a bedroom. She wasn’t sure why, but she even expected it to have an outhouse instead of traditional indoor plumbing. What she saw as they entered the cabin was anything but what she expected, though. The living room was big and luxurious. There were modern furnishings that surrounded a gigantic stone fireplace.
When she saw that there was a second floor, Kristen asked, “How much do they pay police sergeants anyways?”
Steel laughed. “The cabin belonged to his father, who was an oil tycoon,” he explained. He had the same exact reaction the one time he had visited the cabin for a weekend fishing trip. It was larger and more lavish than most people’s homes and yet Kawoski barely spent any time there.
“Oh no!” Kristen gasped when they got back to the first floor after checking out the bedrooms.
The police instincts in Steel set him on guard. He quickly looked around, but didn’t see any threats. “What?” he asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Kristen apologized when she saw Steel’s furrowed brows and intense look. She didn’t mean to alarm him. “I just realized that we didn’t bring anything to eat,” she said.
Steel explained that his boss told him there was a huge chest freezer with plenty of meat, and a pantry stocked with non-perishables. “Besides that, we can fish for some fresh food.” A smile filled his face as he pictures Kristen in full fishing gear.
Steel asked Kristen to check out the food situation and maybe set something out to thaw while he unloaded the car.
“I can help,” she protested, but Steel wouldn’t hear of it. She looked through the freezer and saw that there were a few roasts, plenty of chicken and even a turkey. She grabbed the turkey and carried it upstairs so she could put it in a tub filled with water.
Steel was coming in with her bag and his two just as she was coming back down stairs. “Did you pick out your room?” he asked as he set everything down.
“No, I was putting the turkey in the tub.”
“Well, that wasn’t exactly the answer I was expecting,” Steel laughed, but it did help with the anxiety he was feeling over their room selection. He didn’t know whether Kristen would want to share a room with him or be offended if he suggested it. Even though he wanted to share a bed with her for purely selfish reasons, he also knew that it was safer for them to be in the same room. He wouldn’t be able to sleep if he couldn’t see Kristen and keep an eye on her. He felt safe at the cabin, but he had learned long ago to never get to comfortable.