I didn’t even make it to the doorway.
Carson’s uninjured hand shot out, his fingers locking onto my calf like a vise. He was incredibly strong, and I cried out as he yanked me backward, drawing me into his chest like a spider retrieving the stunned fly.
I screamed as loud as I could. My mind emptied of all thought, and my body took over—kicking, twisting, shouting—and when Carson clamped a hand over my mouth, I wrenched my face to the side and bit down hard on his finger.
It was as if he could no longer feel anything but the desire to silence me, to spend his wrath robbing me of life. He pushed me down onto Marlette’s pile of blankets, sending mini hurricanes of dirt and dust into the air. Then, to my horror, he held up the syringe once again.
Seeing the needle sent me into a frenzied panic. I bucked and howled, clawing at him, kicking him, squirming to the left and right, but he straddled my chest with his legs and pinned down my arms. He leaned forward, crushing me under his full weight. My breath was forced out of my lungs, and without fresh oxygen, I had no strength to fight back.
Above me, Carson smiled with satisfaction.
“Say good night, Lila.”
I wanted to say so many things. I wanted to beg him to stop, I wanted to speak my son’s name once more, I wanted to spit in Carson’s face. But his hand clamped down over my mouth.
I had lost.
I was going to die.
“FREEZE!” a voice bellowed from across the room, and then, in a matter of seconds, the weight was lifted from my chest. As I sucked in air, I heard scuffles inside the cabin, but I couldn’t move. It was as if I were still being held down. Spots danced before my eyes.
After a few seconds, I heard the voices of several men, and I raised a hand to tentatively touch my throbbing cheek. I could feel the bruised flesh where Carson’s fingertips had dug into the tender tissue.
This awareness—that I could feel pain, that breath was rushing in and out of my lungs—allowed my vision to clear. I had survived. I was alive!
Sean appeared at my side, murmuring words of comfort while he helped me sit up. “Are you hurt? Do you need medical care?” he asked urgently, his eyes searching my body, his hands centimeters from my tear-streaked face.
I opened my mouth, but too many emotions were battling inside, and I couldn’t talk. With trembling arms, I reached for Sean. He enfolded me gently, but I clung to him fiercely, my tears wetting his shirt.
His lips touched the back of my hands, my neck, my bruised cheeks, my eyelids. They traveled to my forehead and then found my lips.
I kissed him hungrily. He had rescued me. This man, full of strength and intelligence, was my hero. Sean had made certain that I could remain a mother, a daughter, a friend. He had swept in and tackled a coldhearted killer, preserving my life in the process.
My desire for him had existed long before this moment. It was just that now, I didn’t stop to consider whether the time was right or who was witnessing our embrace. The rest of the world fell away in the circle of his arms. I lost myself in the warmth of his mouth, drinking in the taste of him—peppermint, safety, strength.
“MOM!” Trey’s urgent shout forced me to break off the kiss.
I reached out for Trey with both arms, and my son sank down on the ground in front of me and held me tightly.
“Honey, I’m okay,” I whispered.
Trey’s handsome face was creased with worry. I could see the fear in his eyes. Even though it was obvious I was only a little bruised and battered, he had never seen me in such a state. To him, I was the person who never got hurt or sick or succumbed to weakness in his presence. I was the constant in his life, and it had clearly terrified him to hear that I had come so close to death.
“Mom,” he croaked and put his head on my lap. I stroked my son’s hair and murmured soothingly to him, saying a silent prayer of thanks that I had not been separated from my boy.
LATER, AS WE sat in front of the campfire Trey had built near the co-op’s living quarters, I looked from the flames into Sean’s blue eyes. “How did you know to come for me?” I asked him.
The rest of the police officers had gone back to Dunston, but Sean had stayed behind to make certain that I was okay. Seated with his arms resting on his thighs, he poked at the small campfire with a stick. “We’ve been tailing Knight all day. Followed his car right to the base of Red Fox Mountain but lost him in the forest. He didn’t take the main path, and there are so many trails up here…” It clearly bothered Sean to admit that his suspect had given him the slip. “Luella must have shown Carson how to reach Marlette’s cabin without running into anyone from the co-op. By the time we reached this area and Jasper told us where you were headed, I knew you were in danger.”