Cold seeped through Audrey’s clothes. Light filtered through her silted eyes and stung her retinas. The roar of the ocean in her ears. The salty taste of brine filled her mouth and nose. The gentle rocking of a boat buffeted by waves made her stomach roil. Her head throbbed, and her arms were pulled back in an awkward position and bound at the wrists by a thin rope. Anger erupted within her chest, heating her skin and her mind. Oh, no, you didn’t just kidnap me! She held herself still, taking stock, assessing the situation. She needed to be smart, wait for an opportunity to escape. But first she had to know what she was dealing with. And whom. After a recon of the area above her mom’s cottage to make sure it was safe, she’d taken a position perched in the snow-covered V of a large paper birch tree that stood less than fifty yards from the cottage. She’d watched through the Nikon scope attached to her Remington rifle as Nathanial walked up the path leading to her mother’s front door.
