NO WAY OUT
The last thing Benjamin Duff needs is to be stranded at his friend Piper Lawrenceâs bed-and-breakfast with a dangerous intruder. But when he stops to say goodbye before moving across the world, he finds a masked man attacking Piper. Benjamin rushes to save her, crashing his truck and trapping them during a winter storm in the process. With no power or cell phones and time running out before his trip, heâll have to work fast to catch the killer. As they fight for their lives and their feelings for each other grow, Benjamin must decide if heâs really willing to leave Piper behind.
âHey, itâs okay.â Piper stepped backward out of his arms. âItâs probably just the wind coupled with some ice on the power lines.â
âMaybe itâs nothing. But maybe itâs something.â Benjaminâs hand ran down her arm and squeezed hers. âEither way, get behind me and stay close.â
Tempting. But no. Sheâd spent way too long trying to rid herself of the dizzying butterflies that soared through her veins whenever Benjamin was near. She wasnât about to lose her head now. Sure, back on the island last summer sheâd thought their relationship was heading somewhere romantically. Right up until heâd taken her out to dinner her last night on the island only to blindside her with the news that he was determined to remain a commitment-free bachelor for the rest of his life.
âPower goes out around here all the time in the winter.â She pulled her fingers out of his grip. âIt usually comes right back within minutes. But even if it is someone dangerous, Iâm going to meet it head-on.â
ONE
Benjamin Duff gripped the steering wheel with both hands and tried to turn into the skid. It was too late. Pelting sleet and freezing rain had turned the southern Ontario back road into a treacherous mess of slush and ice. The storm had picked up quickly. Heâd been just a fraction of a second too late in catching the change of traction from paved road to country lane.
Now his pickup truck was spinning.
Benjamin held on tight as the world flew past the windshield in a blur of gray and white.
Trees. Snow. Sky.
Lord, please keep us safe.
The truck gave a final rotation and came to a stop.
He looked out. Branches, heavy with snow, buffeted against the driverâs-side door. The truck was now pointed back the way heâd come, but heâd somehow managed to stay out of the roadside ditch. He rested his forehead on the steering wheel and let out a long breath. âThank You, God.â
The hospital room where heâd spent so many months in traction as a teenager flashed through his mind. It would be sixteen years this February since a terrible snowmobile accident had taken a friendâs life and left fifteen-year-old Benjamin with a body so broken that doctors didnât know at first if heâd ever walk again. Since then, heâd built a successful business as an extreme sports instructor and even used the lingering notoriety as a platform to teach thousands of young people about outdoor safety and living life to the fullest.
Now his business was successfully sold. He was just three days away from catching a Christmas night flight to Australia, to pick up the boat heâd saved his entire life for. First heâd embark on a year long sailing voyage for charity. Then heâd use his new boat to start his own Pacific charter service.
Life on the open waters meant that finally heâd be living somewhere he could escape the long shadow the accident had cast over his life.
Yet here, in an instant, heâd been reminded of just how easily everything could be taken away again.
Not that that heâd ever forgotten.
A soft whimper came from the passenger seat.
âIâm sorry, Harry.â Benjamin slid one hand into the dogâs thick fur. He scratched the young black-and-white husky on the back of the neck, just where the seat belt clipped into his safety harness. âDonât worry. Weâre almost there. Piperâs bed-and-breakfast is only a few minutes away.â
I hope.
He eased the truck back onto the road and kept driving. Heâd met Piper Lawrence during the summer, when the spunky brunette had walked into his sports shop. Truth be told, theyâd barely kept in touch since then and he didnât know her all