Lydia didn’t answer and stayed in the bushes.
“That’s right. Marlaina told me all about how you wear yourself out,” he taunted. The man pushed the bushes aside, grabbed her by the hair, and yanked her from her hiding place. “Easy pickings if you ask me. I don’t know why Floyd was having such a hard time getting his hands on you.”
Lydia raised her hand and grabbed the man’s arm where he had a hold of her hair. Tears fell from her eyes and down her face as he tightened his grip. She was not going to die at the hands of this asshole, and she knew just what to say to get him to screw up. “Marlaina couldn’t kill me. What makes you think you can?”
Lydia struggled and used all of her weight, pushing back into the man to make him fall to the ground. He dropped the gun as he tried to break his fall while still holding on to her. She squirmed and wiggled to break his hold. She used her legs and knees to kick him in all the places she knew would do damage. She tried to focus on the gun as she fought for her life, but she couldn’t.
The man lifted the gun to her face, and she stilled. He cocked the hammer and pushed up to his feet. “Get up,” he yelled.
Lydia let her head fall. How she’d gotten to this point was beyond her, but she was about to die. She’d missed her opportunity to tell Rick she loved him back and now her family.
“Get up or I’m going to shoot you where you lay.”
Lydia struggled to push herself up. He grabbed her by the arm.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Brody’s voice came from the trees.
The man swung Lydia around as a shield for his body. His grip was biting into her wrist. He positioned the gun at her temple. “Stay back or she dies.”
Briggs came out from the forest with his gun pointed at her assailant.
Rick was next to him. He held his palms out in the air.
The man laughed. “I thought you’d be dead by now. It seems Floyd got something right after all.”
Rick’s gaze remained concentrated on Lydia, his eyes pleading for something she couldn’t name. Her heart was racing with the knowledge he was actually still in town. That he’d come to rescue her, just as she’d done for him. A tear fell down her cheek as she croaked out his name. “Rick.”
Rick’s lips twitched. “I’m right here, honey, and I’m not leaving without you.”
The assailant pointed the gun at Rick and then back at her temple. “Don’t even think about it. She’s not going anywhere.”
Brody doubled over and laughed. “You can’t be serious.” He paced in front of Rick. “You do know what he’s capable of, right?”
Rick narrowed his eyes. “Drop your gun and let her go and I’ll let you live.”
Brody nodded. “I’d do it if I were you. I think he means business.” Brody turned. “Look around. There is no other scenario where you are leaving this forest alive.”
Sweat dripped from her assailants’ cheek onto her shoulder.
“Rick here has skills. He’ll elbow you in the stomach and then throw your sorry ass to the ground. I’ve seen him do it.” Brody winked at Lydia.
“If I die, she’s going with me,” Jimmy spat out.
Lydia narrowed her eyes, mustered her remaining energy, and rammed her elbow into the jerks stomach. “Not today, asshole. Not by you.” He fell forward, and she slipped to the ground. She felt the last of her reserve energy slip from her body. She was going to die, but it was going to be her own doing, not at the end of a gun.
One shot rent the afternoon sky, chasing the birds and other wildlife away from where they were. Her vision blurred, and she closed her eyes for what felt the last time.
****
Lydia was in some sort of black void. It wasn’t the calming weightless place she’d been with Momma Mae. No, it was different. If she had to spend eternity here, she was going to go crazy.
Lydia slowed her thoughts and concentrated on what she was feeling. A warmth ran through her body, starting in her head and hovering above her heart. The same heart that had been made full for the second time in her life when she’d found her family and when Rick had returned for her. The warmth grew and spread like a wildfire, traveling up and down all her limbs and soaking into her organs. Her chest rose as she pulled in a breath. Strong arms scooped her up and pressed her against a manly chest. “I’ve got you now, Red, and I’m never letting you go.”
****