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I could not believe what I was seeing. A while back there had been a dog barking, and I thought it sounded like Bluey. I wanted it to be Bluey so much but guessed it was just someone walking their dog, oblivious to what was going on in this house of horrors. I wanted to cry, but I wasn’t safe yet.
The two men tumbled across the floor and Kevin thumped Ryan in the abdomen. He went to aim another punch at his head, but Ryan blocked it.
Bluey bit Kevin’s leg but yelped as he was kicked away. The dog didn’t give up and was back in there as the two men fought.
Kevin turned and grabbed a knife off the coffee table. He’d been threatening to cut me before and had left it there to tease me. He kept saying no one but him would want me with no leg and covered in scars. Kevin had been sick when I had known him in the UK, but now he was worse. There was no reasoning with him. His plan was to gradually wear me down until I was so weak I would agree to anything. I would rather die, but I didn’t want anything to happen to Bluey and Ryan because of me.
Kevin was capable of killing us both if he didn’t get what he wanted. I would never forgive myself.
Kevin swiped at Ryan with the knife.
“Who the fuck are you anyway? Has she been sleeping with you? I’ll slice away the stink of you from her body if I have to.”
I had never given Kevin any inclination that I was interested in him. He had just become obsessed with me now and would not give up. Ryan made a move forward, but Kevin ran toward me and held the knife to one of the cords on my hands.
“Leave now and take that filthy mutt with you or I’ll cut this rope.”
Bluey moved closer to Kevin and growled, and Ryan stood there with fisted hands. “I’m not going anywhere, Mate.”
I could see the madness in Kevin’s eyes as he slashed at the rope. There were so many things I wanted to do with my life, so many things I wanted to say to Ryan. The main one was that I loved him. I tried to keep my balance and lean into the room, but my legs hung over the edge. I gripped the rail with my hand so I didn’t fall while the other one was still tethered above my head.
Kevin moved to the other rope. “She’s mine or nobody’s. I kept telling her that, but she won’t listen.” Kevin raised his hand to cut the cord.
There are moments in your life that seem to slow down, and this was one. Ryan ran forward and collided with Kevin. Two immovable forces. One wanted to save me and the other would kill me. It was as if my heart stopped and the whole world stood still as they both slowly toppled over the railing.
My own scream brought me back to reality as I tried to stop myself from falling as well. I wavered and regained my balance. Were they gone? I peered down to see Ryan holding on to the bottom railing. Kevin was just below him, struggling to get a grip on the rock face. Bluey was barking next to me. I took two deep breaths to calm myself before I wriggled and got my legs back over the railing. I stared around to find the knife, but it must have toppled to the ground below as they fought. I attempted to undo the knot at my wrist with my other hand.
I had to save Ryan. “I’ll pull you up,” I said through tears.
Police sirens echoed in the distance, and it was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard. My hand was numb, and I struggled to untie the rope when two police officers stormed into the room. For the first time in a while, I gave myself the chance to believe things might turn out okay. One ran over and cut me free while the other peered over the banister.
“The man holding onto the railing is Ryan—he’s my partner. The man below him is Kevin Patterson—he kidnapped me.”
The police officers reached down over the railing, grabbed Ryan’s arms, and heaved him up. Bluey jumped up and tried to lick me, but my legs gave out as Ryan caught me and pulled me into his arms. He was as bruised and battered as me but the most wonderful sight in the world. I cherished this moment with his arms wrapped around me. I had thought it would never happen again.
The female police officer called to Kevin. “We’ll throw a rope down and draw you up.”
Kevin was laughing, if you could call that sound laughing.
I held onto Ryan as I peeked over the edge to see the maniacal grin on my attacker’s face.
“I don’t want to be saved. Rot in hell, Autumn,” he screamed as he leered at me. With those words, he let go and fell. He landed with a sickening thud on the rocks below.
Even though I hated the man, the doctor in me had to look to see if he could have survived. Kevin lay contorted at the bottom of the ravine. His head was bent at a strange angle with his neck clearly broken. Blood seeped from the back of his head and flowed onto the rocks around him. I shivered. It was a sight that would take a long time to erase. It didn’t matter—I had Ryan and Bluey with me and I would cope.
Ryan kept his arms around my trembling body, then picked me up and took me to the couch.
The police officers called in what had happened to the station. They were talking about needing a team to rescue the body. They also called for an ambulance for me. I started to shake—I was well aware shock was setting in. Now the adrenaline was wearing off, every part of my body ached. Ryan grabbed a cover off the couch and placed it around my shoulders. I grabbed onto him and never wanted him to let me go.
He touched my chin and tilted my head toward him. “You’re safe now. I will always be here for you. I love you, Autumn. I should have said it ages ago. I thought I would lose you if I did. I almost lost you anyway.”
I couldn’t stop the cascade of tears falling down my cheeks. The sobs wracked through me as all the tension of the last few days, if not years, eased out of me just a little bit. Bluey kept licking my hand as if to tell me it was all going to be fine.
Ryan hugged me and then chuckled. “That wasn’t the response I was expecting from my declaration.”
“I love you, too,” I managed to get out between sobs. “I’m more than happy to stay close to you for as long as you want and won’t let go.”
“That’s just what I was planning on doing.” Ryan wiped away my tears with the corner of the blanket and kissed me on the lips. “I also called Grant and he’s on his way over.”
