Hiding out in an abandoned shack from their abusive pasts, Allison and Ethan Bryson entertain themselves by imaging all sorts of curious characters near the frozen lake outside their hut.
But after Allison witnesses a man murder a young woman and di...
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I wrapped myself in a blanket and sat in front of the window. "What are we doing today?" I knew Ethan and Owen had something planned. Maybe all I had to do was ask and they would reveal it.
"Don't know yet." Owen tapped his chin. "What about you?"
"Me?" I poked the center of my chest and simultaneously worsened the dull ache there. "I want to know how you got here all the way from Virginia."
"Oh." Owen paused, taking a step back from Ethan who continued to stare at the floor. I must have caught Owen off guard because he seemed surprised by the question. "I drove here. My car is at the food and bait shop in the tourist area."
"Where's all your stuff?" I turned in my seat to better examine his facial expressions and body language. "Why didn't you bring anything with you?"
"The idea was I'd find my place first, then go back and get what I needed." He scratched his temple as his eyes darted from me to Ethan and back to me again. "It's only a two or three-hour hike from here, depending on how fast you move and if you know where you're going."
I narrowed my eyes, studying him, wishing I had a crystal ball to unveil whether he was telling the truth or not. "What did you leave at your car?"
"Lots of stuff." He shrugged. "Food, tools, bait, fishing poles, clothes ..."
"How many fishing poles?"
"Just one." He scratched his temple again.
"Then why did you say poles?" I cocked my head at the confused expression on his face.
"Oh, you mean ... because I made it plural?" He chuckled nervously. "I forgot, I just brought one. And actually, me and Ethan have an announcement to make. Well, more like a surprise."
Was he attempting to change the subject?
"A surprise?" I cringed and swiveled in my seat to glance at Ethan. "Is that right?"
Ethan finally looked up but didn't acknowledge my expression.
"We were thinking about going to the car to bring all that stuff back here with us." Owen nodded, eyes locked on Ethan. "Weren't we?"
"Well ..." Ethan hesitated.
"Weren't we?" Owen nudged, still nodding.
"Yeah." Ethan mimicked Owen and bobbed his head.
"That's actually what we were just talking about." Owen threw his thumb back over his shoulder. "It'll only take two to three hours. We should be back before nightfall."
Tiny hairs tickled the back of my neck as they stood up. "When were you wanting to leave?"
