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Owen sers over a pair of panties left to dry on the laundry fine strung up in the cabin

If Noelle was a good girl, he h to play with her for a while Just like he'd played with David's wife, Mary

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

A couple of hours later, Noelle had finally reached a stopping point She wasn't done yet, but she could see the solution glowing on the horizon, no longer completely out of reach A fewthe prograorithed, she would be able to put the ciphertext in and see what happened

That was the true test of her new thought process

She stretched, arching her back to relieve the tension in heron this hard, wooden stool, that she thought she ht have a permanent round indentation in her backside Her shoulders ached, and her fingers were nearly numb with cold, but she felt better than she had in days

She knew she could do this, and the relief that she would succeed was like a drug racing through her systery

So on the potbellied stove, and the aro her mouth water She couldn't remember the last time she felt so ravenous

A quick survey of the cabin showed no sign of David She thought she'd heard the door latch shut as he left, but that could have been a distant o Ti, so she couldn't be sure

Noelle washed her hands in a trickle of frigid water and splashed a bit on her face to clear away the grit from her tired eyes She eary but also elated by her success, giving her an edgy sort of energy that didn't quite translate smoothly into the motion of her limbs Her head was completely awake, but her body was about to fall over She'd really been abusing it over the past few days It was tiingly into the pot si on the stove Bits of carrots and celery and what she hoped was chicken and not Thu broth

She had no idea where David was, but with food on the stove, she doubted he'd be far The idea of sharing ato brave the cold outside and see if she could find him

Noelle slipped on the Kevlar vest and pulled her coat over it to keep out the cold She'd learned her lesson about calling his nans of which way he'd gone There was no snow on the ground today, but she could still see the shallow impressions of his tracks in the dirt and places where what remained of the plant life had been crushed She had no clue how to tell which tracks were fresh, so she headed off in the direction she'd found hireen Dry leaves crunched under her feet and twigs snapped She'd heard stories about people who couldto doubt there was host to h all this dry, crunchy debris

Owento see why David was drawn to her There was so and fresh about her--a basic honesty in her appearance unmasked by the deceit of cosmetics An honest woe to take her now

It wasn't time yet Her work had to be finished before he could play with her

Unless she got too close Then he'd have no choice but to take her now

Owen stilled, deciding to let fate choose If she came to him, then he'd know she was ame of chance thrilled him and his body trembled in anticipation She was so close--only a few yards away

His cae and the vast nuht, but he could see her clearly

Each fiery curl, a spattering of freckles She'd lost weight since she'd been here, and the dark circles under her eyes were new, too

David wasn't taking very good care of his neoman Clearly the man didn't deserve her

Noelle ca her pink round A couple of steps closer and she'd be within reach Just two steps Silently, Owen urged her closer, hisin the shape of her name

The color drained from her face and her eyes widened with fear He had no idea what had scared her, and he knew she hadn't seen hihtened her fled in the face of her beauty She was perfect--

terrified and quivering with the force of it There was nothing more beautiful to Owen than a terrified wo sound that made Owen's dick harden in answer It was all he could do to keep hih her hair until she screa voice

He felt his fists clench and closed his eyes to regain control over himself He had to think of the job first If he failed Mr, Lark, he would be executed as an example to the others Owen understood that was how it had to be, but that understanding didn't co over the woainst David on hold, and do his daain When he opened his eyes, he saw Noelle stu off back toward the cabin Fate had betrayed him Noelle had betrayed him, and she'd have to be punished for it Owen could hardly wait

He stayed in place until it was safe to move from the cover of brush and half-fallen limbs He went to the spot where Noelle had been and tried to figure out what had scared her He studied the ground where she'd been looking

No wonder the poor thing had been afraid Pressed into the dirt were several footprints Two from David's heavy tread, one of Noelle's dainty prints and a third set Not Owen's He was far too careful to leave behind such obvious proof of his presence here

Which meant they had a visitor

Owen smiled Maybe fate hadn't betrayed him after all

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN