Movement a few yards ahead drew her attention. For an instant she thought Jake had arrived to save her from what would surely be a terrible death. Her faint hope died, though, when they reached their destination.
The man in the parka had used a chain saw to cut a rectangular square the size of a bathtub in the ice. Next to the hole, a length of heavy chain was piled on the ice like a giant steel snake. It didn’t take much imagination for her to realize what they were going to do to her.
Several yards away a small helicopter looked out of place on the ice. The pilot stood just outside its doors, smoking a cigarette.
“Any sign of Vanderpol?” Rasmussen asked.
The thug standing next to the hole in the ice shook his head. “Not yet.”
“He’s probably at the cabin,” the man gripping her arm said.
Rasmussen looked toward the chopper. “I’d hoped he would be here to witness her death.”
All three men glanced over at the pilot, who’d approached the group. “We need to take off now, Mr. Rasmussen. We’ve got lake-effect snow moving in. Visibility is dwindling fast. If the weather gets any worse, we could find ourselves stranded.”
Rasmussen nodded, then his gaze landed on Leigh. “Put the chain on her.”
Leigh had thought she knew the meaning of terror. But the thought of what they were going to do to her was worse than anything she could have imagined even in her nightmares. Her entire body began to tremble violently. Her heart beat out of control in her chest.
Rasmussen seemed to be enjoying her fear. “That twenty foot length of chain weighs almost a hundred pounds, my love. Once we wrap it around you and throw you into the water, you’ll go down like a rock.”
“Don’t do this,” she heard herself say.
“The water here is about forty feet deep,” he told her. “The ice this far north doesn’t melt completely until April. By then you’ll be little more than bones. No one will ever find your body.”
“You bastard,” she choked.
One side of his mouth curved. “Goodbye, my darling.” He nodded at the two men. “Do it.”
The man in the ponytail bent to pick up one end of the heavy chain. The other man started toward her. Running would be futile. The odds of her getting away were slim to none. But her will to live would not let her go down without a fight.
She threw herself into a sprint. The handcuffs hampered her, but she didn’t let them slow her down. She heard shouting behind her, but she didn’t take time to look over her shoulder. She ran at a dangerous speed, plowing through snowdrifts, slipping on patches of ice, maintaining her balance by the sheer force of her will. “Jake!” she shouted. “Jake! Help me!”
In her peripheral vision she saw one of the men sprinting toward her off to her right. He was so close she could hear the crunching of his boots on the snow. Leigh veered left. She ran as fast as her legs would allow, sliding and stumbling.
Her leg muscles screamed with fatigue. Her heart threatened to burst. She didn’t know how much ground she’d covered. It felt like miles. Then, seemingly out of nowhere a strong hand seized hold of her shoulder and spun her around. She caught a glimpse of a pock-marked face. Her legs tangled. She hit the ice hard, the breath rushing from her lungs.
The next thing she knew she was being jerked roughly to her feet. “Walk,” the thug with the ponytail snapped.
Oh, dear God, this is it, she thought. They’re going to kill me.
She had to face the terrifying reality that she wasn’t going to get out of this. That she would never see Jake again. That she would never have the chance to tell him she loved him.
Her heart broke as she began the long walk to her death.
JAKE CLEARED THE CABIN in less than a minute. The whole time, terror clawed at him with the fervor of a frantic animal.
Where the hell had they taken Leigh? Was it her blood he’d seen in the snow? What had they done to her?
The thought of her injured and in pain tore him up inside. Struggling to remain calm, he stood in the living room. He had to focus if he was going to think this through. If he was going to find her in time to save her life.
“Easy, buddy,” he muttered. “Come on. Think.”
He looked around the living room. There were no weapons, which meant they’d taken whatever they’d had with them. He quickly searched the bedroom and kitchen but found nothing. He found a snow camouflage parka, pants and gloves in the mudroom. He went out the back door. That was when he remembered the three snowmobiles.
Rasmussen, his thugs and Leigh hadn’t left the area. They’d merely left the cabin. But why had he taken her into the woods instead of making a run for it and taking her with him? What could he possibly have in mind?