She was in the third row, which she’d guessed, but now had confirmation. Two more men were in the front. One had black hair, green eyes, and a feral look to him that made her shiver in fear. The driver had dark brown hair and a beard that made him look as if he could be an extra on Duck Dynasty. And all of them were clearly fit and muscular. Just great.
She didn’t say anything, just looked out the side window and was surprised to see a normal-looking log – and-brick home. It was fairly large, probably twenty-five hundred to three thousand square feet if she had to guess. As she stared they started opening their doors, in one coordinated motion. All the men exited, and then Grisha pulled down one of the seats in the middle row and held out a hand for her.
She didn’t want to touch him but gritted her teeth and let him help her out. She was going to play a role, and the more helpless she acted, the better. For now. An icy breeze kicked up and a shiver that was part fear and part cold swept through her.
Grisha and the blond both frowned, as if in concern. But no way was that right.
“Come on, it’s warm inside.” The blond held out a hand and motioned for the front door. He seemed to be avoiding touching her too.
That was fine with her. She noticed that Grisha and the two others weren’t headed for the house but fanning out along the property, which seemed to stretch on forever. There was thick forest all around them and another building that looked like a barn about a hundred yards away. Even if she screamed she guessed no one was nearby to hear.
They’d gone to a lot of trouble to kidnap her and they weren’t going to bring her somewhere where she could start screaming and alert someone to her presence. No, they would have gagged her if so.
The thought that no one was around to hear her scream made another shiver slide down her spine, this one pure terror. She tried to keep her teeth from chattering but couldn’t help it. She was alone in the middle of nowhere with four scary-looking guys.
“I’m really sorry about this,” the blond muttered as he motioned her up a short set of stone steps. “The others are checking the perimeter to make sure we’re still secure. Then we’re going to sit down and just talk. I’m really sorry we had to take you the way we did, but you’ll understand once we lay everything out.” The man actually sounded sincere as he opened the front door and stepped inside with her.
She resisted the urge to snort. Liar, liar. Instead of saying what she wanted to, she gave a half smile. “I really have to, uh . . . use the bathroom if that’s okay.” Despite the instinctive urge to attempt bolting right then and there, she reined it in. It would be foolish and she knew she wouldn’t get far. She had to be smart.
“Oh, right. Ah . . .” He shut the door behind them and led her through a living room with a modern country feel to it. No personal items like photos anywhere.
He led her to a small room with two windows that was clearly used as an office. There was a futon in it with a blue-and-green-plaid quilt draped over it. There was also a masculine desk with a laptop set up on it and a few framed pictures of nature settings on the walls. No personal photos in this room either. Maybe it was a safe house of sorts. Or where they brought people to torture and kill. Ugh.
The blond started to open one door, which turned out to be a closet, then shook his head and opened another right next to it. The way he did it made her think he hadn’t been here often. She filed that away. “This is the bathroom. I’ll be right outside.” He pulled out a switchblade and before she had a chance to reel back, he expertly cut her flex cuffs free before quickly closing the blade and putting the knife away.
The way he handled the thing made it clear he was comfortable with knives. Exceptionally so. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe, watching her carefully.
She didn’t say anything, just shut the door behind her and let out a ragged sigh. But she didn’t waste time. As quietly as possible she pulled back the shower curtain just a bit. No window, not even a small one. Damn it. No wonder he was letting her in here alone. Since she actually had to pee, she quickly relieved herself, then scanned the medicine cabinet for a weapon. Nothing. Not even hair spray or something aerosol she could use.
That icy fear set in stronger now, slithering through her veins. This was truly happening. The only thing she could do was try to take on the blond guy. It was stupid, she knew, but one against one was better than one against four.
Taking a deep breath, she’d started to open the bathroom door when she heard the guy murmur something. Not to her, though. He continued talking and his voice grew fainter along with the sound of boots stepping away.
He was leaving his protective duty.
That stupid shred of hope bloomed inside her. She had a desperate, likely-to-fail plan, but she had to try. She refused to just give up.
Turning on the faucet, she let the water run and stepped out of the bathroom. He wasn’t there. She wanted to peek out the doorway into the hallway but decided against it. Seconds would matter right now. Moving quickly to one of the windows by the futon, she slid the locks free and pushed it open just wide enough for her to climb through.
Instead of doing that, she moved back to the closet and ducked inside. Blood rushed in her ears as she heard boot steps nearby, then a vicious curse.
“I was only gone a second,” the blond said.
“She went out the fucking window,” one of the other guys snapped. “Call Tucker. I’m heading after her.”
She didn’t have time to contemplate who Tucker was, but she filed the name away. She heard muffled movement as someone climbed out the window. The bathroom door opened and someone turned off the faucet. More boot steps, then a door nearby slamming. Maybe the front door.
Though her hands shook, she knew she couldn’t hide here forever. They’d figure out what she’d done eventually, and she needed to be gone before then. With a damp palm she opened the door and peeked out.
The curtains rippled in the breeze, but the room was empty. Heart pounding, she hurried out of the closet and into the hallway. Her analytical side told her to find a phone or weapon, but the most primal part of her said she had to escape now. She had to get free, to find help.
Instead of heading to the front door, she raced down the hallway to what turned out to be a huge bedroom.
After peeking out one of the windows and finding the coast clear, she opened it and jumped out. Her sneakers sank into the snow. Hating that she’d leave a trail, there was no avoiding it, so she raced toward the nearest line of trees. They’d see which direction she’d gone, but she had a small head start. It was all she could ask for at this point.
Her breath sawed in and out of her lungs as she headed faster toward the woods, uncaring of the noise she made. The next step was finding help. Maybe a neighbor or a road where she could flag someone down. Because she wasn’t letting these bastards get her.
No way in hell.
? ? ?
“Fuck,” Tucker muttered, racing over to the window Karen had escaped from, Brooks with him. He’d yell at Cole later for leaving her unguarded.
For now, they had the SUV keys and this place was on fifty acres with the nearest neighbor even farther away than that. He knew they’d find her, but he hated the thought of her out in the cold too long, and that she’d run because she was scared of them. Not that he blamed her. They’d done a fucked-up thing by taking her, but their survival depended on her help. Because at this point they didn’t know who to trust except Burkhart.
“No footprints,” he muttered as he reached the side of the house. Brooks’s footprints were there, huge and hard to miss, but no smaller prints from Karen.
“Fuck me,” Brooks snarled, and dove back through the window.
Tucker raced along the side of the house, letting Brooks search inside. Cole and Kane had already spread out and had their phones on them in case they found her. It had been only a few minutes, so she couldn’t have gone far.
As he rounded the side of the house, he saw another set of footprints leading from one of the other windows to the trees—and a flash of red disappearing into the forest.