Chilled by Death Read Free Page A

girls’ own dating habits. Besides, how many wild animals mated for life? They made for a hot, unforgettable mating session, but after that they were best left to go their own way.
    She’d seen him a time or two since. From a distance.
    She hadn’t spoken to him. Or been in the same room with him. She’d been too afraid. The sparks between them were obvious. And she was essentially private. At least now that she’d locked down her emotions.
    It was easier to deal with the blows life dealt her that way.
    And she had dealt with them. It just hadn’t been easy. There was one she was still working on.
    Guilt. Being a survivor sucked in many ways. She’d had nightmares for months and still wasn’t sure why her friends had to die that day. She knew she wasn’t responsible, but she couldn’t help but think she hadn’t done enough to stop her friends from going down that side of the mountain. Surely there’d been more she could have done.
    Maybe this trip would help release her from that heavy burden.
    She watched her brother race out of the restaurant. He’d just set her up, darn him. She made a face at his retreating back then shrugged. He was right. It was time. And at least this way it would be easier. She wouldn’t be alone. She’d be hanging out with people who understood her and what she was going through. She wondered if several of the guys from work would be invited, Mark and Stevie in particular. They’d been part of her brother’s group for a long time. Rock climbing, snowboarding, hiking – their life was a big party. She’d been involved for a long time – at least when her girlfriends had still been alive. They’d been party animals too. Maybe because everyone around her was so extreme, she’d been the opposite. Quiet. Calm. Careful.
    Now she was even more so.
    Loss did that to someone.
    Considering she wasn’t planning this trip, she wouldn’t mention it to her co-workers until she heard back from her brother. Maybe the group was full up and there was no room for them to join in. A group would often run eight to ten people. Maybe a couple more, but too many and it was hard to plan meals or activities. Or keep track of where everyone was.
    Given the hour, she didn’t waste any time in getting back to her office. She had no shortage of work ahead of her. It had been great to see her brother. He was a bit of an oddball himself. He didn’t do…anything. Yet he did everything. Though he had a degree in Economics, he’d made it big time doing sports action videos. He was now working for a large camera company running around the world taking videos of crazy stunts. He had a large group of buddies that set up crazy bungee jumps and skydiving formations. He loved it.
    She had to admit it sounded like a pretty fun way to get through the day. At least while George was young and in his prime. Maybe later he’d find something less dangerous. She couldn’t help worry about him. Especially now. They’d lost their parents a long time ago. George had been old enough to live on his own and Stacy had gone to live with her aunt and uncle. She and George had stayed close. But losing her parents young had made her afraid something would happen to her beloved brother. For that reason, he usually didn’t share the details of some of the crazier stunts. Thank heavens. She had enough nightmares to keep her awake at night.
    Although outdoorsy, she wasn’t much of an extreme sports fan. She wasn’t into adrenaline. Too hard on the system. And she hated major shocks. Her brother thrived on them. He and his friends played punk ass jokes on each other all the time. To her they were horrible, but the group of guys he hung with thought they were hilarious. And true enough, he played just as many on his friends as they did on him.
    You had to be one of them to understand.
    The double doors opened automatically as she stepped on the entrance mat. She strode through and brought out her security card, sliding it down the