Chapter 1

1: Biscuits and Chainsaws

Jason Walker swore as he stepped over the branches and small trees some idiot had felled and left on the ground. His feet were cold and wet from the snow. His shoes weren’t made for outings like this, but how was he to know there would still be a spotty layer of snow in the woods? He’d always considered March to be a spring month, but it was like the middle of winter here. Of course, if he’d known Aiden had moved to such a hellhole, he’d never have suggested a visit.

“Biscuit!”

The sun reflecting on the gritty snow patches made his eyes water. Who’d have thought he would need sunglasses while trudging around in a fucking forest?

“Biscuit!”

Apart from a tweeting bird, he couldn’t hear a thing. Eerie how quiet it was. He didn’t like to admit it, but every time there was a rustling in the trees or a branch creaked, his unease grew. Jason shivered and looked around. Trees, trees, and more trees. He didn’t even know where the cabin was, or where Aiden and his stupid boyfriend had gone, for that matter.

“Biscuit!” Where was the annoying little mutt? Jason’s stomach churned. Biscuit was only a tiny little dog; he would never survive a night in the forest. “Biscuit!” The sound of his broken voice made him wince. Stupid, stupid dog.

“Biscuit!”

He continued forward, no idea if he was venturing farther into the forest or if he was on his way out of it. It was impossible to see with all the trees surrounding him.

He walked and walked, his feet becoming more numb by the second, and the cold burned his thighs. His fashionably worn jeans weren’t made for long walks in the cold. They were made to make him look good, damn it! He wondered if the temperature had dropped below freezing point. It sure felt like it. It wasn’t meant to be this cold in March.

“Biscuit!” The darn dog should have been tired of running by now. “Biscuit, damn it, get back here!”

He couldn’t hear anything, still didn’t know in which direction he was supposed to walk. There wasn’t enough snow to trail his steps back to the cabin, and he’d probably walked for a couple of hours by now. Was it true that you walked in circles if you didn’t know where you were going? Jason hoped not; how would he find his way back then? Maybe Biscuit had already gone back and was waiting for him by the cabin. Then Jason remembered the ugly dog Aiden’s boyfriend had let out when they’d arrived. No, Biscuit wouldn’t risk being torn to pieces by that beast.

“Biscuit!”

It wasn’t dark yet, although the sun was definitely setting. It dropped way too fast for Jason’s liking. He couldn’t find his way through the forest in the daylight. How the hell was he going to do it in the dark?

“Biscuit! Come on, boy. Come to Daddy!” He listened to the silence. Did he hear something? His heart sped up. It wasn’t Biscuit, more like the creaking of a falling tree. Jason glanced at the treetops. Trees couldn’t simply fall over, could they? He guessed they could, but there wasn’t even a storm. He held his breath and listened again, but no sounds came.

“Biscuit!” He’d better find the stupid dog and get out of here before they both had to spend the night in the wilderness. Jason didn’t think either of them would ever recover, if they survived at all.

* * * *

Tom Harris took off his helmet and ear protection and wiped his forehead. His back ached, his shoulders were sore, and he wanted nothing more than to go home for the day. One more tree

He looked around, noting which trees were marked for culling. He’d do one more and then call Tristan to say he was done for the day.

“Biscuit!”

The voice rang through the woods, and Tom whirled around. “Hello?” He squinted between the tree trunks to see if there was anyone there—of course there was someone there, trees don’t shout—but he couldn’t see anyone yet.

Branches rustled, twigs groaned, and then there was a creak and a snap, followed by a stream of curses. A guy tumbled out between the spindly trunks—Tom made a mental note to weed some of them out, they were standing awfully close—and fell to the ground before his feet with a thud.

“Well, hi there. Enjoying a nice stroll in the woods?” Tom couldn’t help but chuckle as he looked at the guy. He was about Tom’s age, maybe a little younger—definitely prettier. Tom had never seen him before, and judging by the perfectly styled hair and trendy clothes, the guy didn’t belong in their town.