Chapter 3

We left that morning. Not a drop of water all day. I'd been driving the whole time. I was drained.

Then Lana yanked the bag away.

"Don't touch it." She shot me a look. "You let us freeze like this. You don't get to eat. Drive. Find a rest stop."

Vincent and Donelia jumped in.

"Our daughter got cursed marrying a loser like you. You still wanna eat? Fix this first."

***

"Wanna warm up? Easy." I stayed calm. "Turn the speakers back on. Move a little. You'll heat up."

Felix brightened right up.

He hit the power again.

The DJ music blasted back—rough, weaker, laced with static.

No one cared. They started moving again.

We were getting close to the mountain road.

My chest tightened. My palms got slick.

Night dropped fast.

Snow started falling.

Then—

A sharp crackle.

The music died.

Every light on the dash blinked out.

The car jerked—then stopped cold.

Total darkness swallowed the cabin.

"Ah!"

Lana, Vincent, and Donelia screamed.

Then—silence.

Lana snapped first. She kicked my seat. "Landon! What now? Do something!"

I rubbed my frozen fingers. "What else? Call roadside."

Last time, Lana made the call.

Not this time.

All their phones were dead.

That "spam" text?

Not spam.

I had Tech Ops slip in a Trojan.

Drained their batteries fast.

Now I was the only one who could get them out of this.

This time, they weren't kicking me out of the car.

I pulled out my phone, lit up the screen.

In the dim glow, something flashed in the rearview.

Lana and Felix—quick glance.

My heart skipped.

Next second, Lana snatched my phone.

"I'll call!"

She dialed, said a few words, hung up.

"Roadside says the roads are iced over. Two hours," she said.

I reached for my phone.

She shoved it under her, then winced.

"Oh... my stomach. Landon, it hurts. Go check if anyone's nearby. If we wait two hours, the baby and I will freeze..."

Same exact lines.

Last time, I bought it—pregnant, freezing, in pain. Didn't think twice. I got out.

A hundred yards later, I slipped on the ice and went off the cliff.

So this time, I didn't move.

"I'm not going. If anyone's going, Felix should. He's young. I haven't eaten or had water all day. I'm freezing. I can't walk."

Lana froze—then broke into tears. "I'm carrying your child! You're this cold? You want us to freeze to death?"

Vincent and Donelia jumped out, rushed the driver's side, grabbing at me.

"Get out!" Vincent roared. "Lana's pregnant with your kid, and this is how you act? What's wrong with you?"