AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m drying my face on the hand towel, newly resolved to take another shot at escape when I hear the sound of a loud engine, similar to the ATVs they use around the ranch. My head pops up, swiveling to the door. He usually stands behind it, but with the smell of the greasy burgers flooding the cabin, he might have decided to eat instead.
My fingers reach for the cold metal of the doorknob, twisting it slowly. It opens soundlessly. I push it back just enough so that I can see the kitchen table. He’s sitting there, shoving the burger into his mouth and watching a football game on his phone, propped up against a bottle of beer.
Maybe he didn’t hear the ATV.
I wait, seconds ticking by slowly. My pulse sputters as I hold my breath, growing weaker with every passing moment I remain standing. Heavy footsteps on the front porch alert the big man. His head whips up just as someone tries to open the front door. It’s locked from the inside, dead-bolted with an extra metal latch that I could hear when they brought me in. Now that I see it, I’m afraid there’s no way anyone can get through from the outside.
He inches over to the door, pulling a handgun out of the back of the waistband of his cargo pants.
Whoever’s outside starts trying to kick the door in. I jump with the first blow to the thick wood. The kidnapper reaches for his phone on the countertop, tapping on the screen before he lifts it up to his ear.
“Someone’s here. He’s trying to break down the door.”
Another blow rocks the frame of the door, and I squeeze my eyes shut, wondering who could possibly be out there, so dead set on getting inside.
“No, I can’t see who it is through the fucking door. You want me to shoot him?”
Another kick splinters a portion of the bottom part. I frantically look around the kitchen area for any type of weapon. There’s nothing in plain sight, but if I could search the drawers, maybe I’d find something. I slowly inch out of the bathroom. My bare feet don’t make a sound since they took my shoes.
“Then, fucking hurry up!” the bald man roars, slamming his phone down on the countertop.
“You’re not getting through this shit,” he calls to whoever’s outside. “And if you do, I’ve got a bullet with your name on it.”
The kicking stops for a moment. I freeze in the hallway.
No. Come back!
I have to let them know I’m in here.
“Help me!” I scream. “Please help me!”
The bald man whips around, beady black eyes lasering in on me. I run toward the kitchen area, grabbing for the first drawer I see to search for a knife. The man snatches me before it’s even half open, hauling me up to the front door like I’m weightless to him.
“She’s got my pistol in her mouth, fucker! You want me to shoot or?—”
Before he can finish, another kick to the door brings it crashing down. The wood splinters into the cabin, sending shards of cedar at us with force. I scream as I’m pincushioned with tiny fragments in my forearms. The man holding me down shielded himself with my body so that I took the brunt of the wood slivers.
I feel the cold barrel of the gun on my temple as I look up to see who it was that burst into the cabin after literally breaking in the door.
Holden.
Before I even have time to react to seeing his handsome, blindly enraged face, a blast sounds right next to my ear, sending ringing noises through my head as the body of the man goes limp. His arms were tightly wrapped around me, so I fall down with him.
Holden descends on us, peeling the beefy arms back from around me. His hand cups the back of my neck, the other sliding underneath the back of my knees. My heart is pounding. I can’t hear anything besides the blood rushing in my ears. My gaze slowly rises to meet his as I reach to grip the collar of his shirt.
His ebony eyes are darkened with wrath, but they soften into concern as he peers down at me, inspecting my entire body from head to toe. The scar on his jawline flexes as he steps over the dead body, holding me tightly to his chest. He leans in close to my head, pressing his forehead to mine.
“Who did this to you, angel?” His voice is barely above a whisper.
I melt into him with shaking limbs, whimpering in pain and sheer relief.
I’m safe now. I’m safe with him.
28
HOLDEN
My body is vibrating with rage and horror. Rosie is cradled against me on the front of the ATV as I blaze over the heavily wooded trail.
