Beautiful Criminal Read Online Free PDF Page B

most was how much his question about her family clearly hurt her. He knew by her reaction he’d touched a sore spot. This morning, with a fresh mind, and wearing that same ridiculous caribou snow suit with handcrafted mukluks and mittens, Gabe felt like a complete idiot. Maybe this was payback on her part.
    “You look cute in that,” Mima said, her smile teasing. It made him feel like a real loser.
    Gabe rolled his eyes and walked toward the dog sled. He’d been in her cabin for about a week without one chance to use the radio. Every morning since he regained consciousness, she was up earlier than he, even though he tried to rise before dawn. Several times when she’d gone out to feed the dogs or grab firewood, he tried to use the radio, but she was back before he got the chance. The woman was an enigma. Maybe she’d be the death of him.
    But her carefree nature and genuine smile made him want to get to know her more. He wanted to learn everything he could about her. How could she possibly be happy alone out here?
    “Are you ready?”
    Her beautiful voice cut through his thoughts. Gabe glanced at her with a crooked smile. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” He clutched the sled’s handlebar. It was ridiculous for a tough guy like himself to feel so terrified. “Now what?”
    “Once you release the snow hook, you’re at the mercy of the dogs. They will run until they can no longer run or listen to your commands.”
    “You mean they’ll take off with or without me?” His vivid mind conjured up a few distressing outcomes should those dogs get overexcited. But he was a man, and real men didn’t squeal and run away when a tricky situation arose.
    “It isn’t that bad.” Her crooked grin annoyed the hell out of him. “Just make sure you remember the words and lean on the corners.”
    “Remind me why you’re not on here with me.”
    “Because my father taught me the best way to learn something is to do it yourself.”
    The same as his father would say. “Right.” Gabe pulled out the snow hook and wrapped it over the handlebar. “Gee is right. Haw is left. Whoa is stop. Easy is slow down, and Hike—”
    The team lunged forward as if a whip struck their backsides, startling Gabe. He lost his grip and fell back, right as the rope from the snow hook caught his leg. The second he hit the snowy ground, he was yanked forward and dragged through the snow. That pretty white shit slid up the back of the caribou suit, scratching the flesh from his back. He gritted his teeth and tried to pull himself up, grabbing at whatever he could to right himself. Trees and bushes blurred past, disorienting him.
    “Whoa! Whoa, for fuck sake!” Gabe shouted, but the team bolted even faster. “Help me,” he called out to Mima, who stood a good distance behind him, but his gut told him those fucking dogs weren’t going to cooperate no matter who gave the order.
    A million razorblades of crisp snow scratched at his back as Gabe struggled to grab his leg caught in the hook and pull up to a sitting position. Everything happened so fast he could barely function quickly enough. The moment he managed to grab the line wrapped around his ankle, a few of the dogs yipped and turned direction. He couldn’t see anything ahead of him from this position, until the sled was suddenly lurched into the air with him right behind it.
    He caught a brief glimpse of a snowbank seconds before he dove in headfirst.
    Minutes ticked by while Gabe lay still as a board in his snowy grave. Disoriented and frustrated didn’t even begin to describe his emotions at that moment. He wanted to lash out and punch something, but he didn’t want to scare Mima with his temper either. Then her hands wrapped around his ankles and she yanked him out. He gritted his teeth and stared straight ahead, determined not to see the laughter in her eyes. He knew she’d be laughing at him. Not a word came from her mouth, though, as she pulled him the rest of the way out