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“I don’t have a clue what games these people are playing, but his picture has been on the national news all afternoon, asking the public to call in any information. You and Sebastian don’t want to be caught up in whatever twisted power struggle the Fontana’s have going. And you certainly don’t want to be accused of kidnapping. My ultimate priority is you. You’re my client. My advice is to distance yourself from all of them. Get the ledger back and call me immediately.”
“I’ll call you back,” she said with a quivering voice.
“Morgan? Don’t hang up? I’m worried about you. Tell me where you are?” he sounded panicked.
“I’m fine. I promise I’ll call later. I’ve got to go.”
“No one who says they are ‘fine’ actually…” She never heard the rest.
After several steadying breaths to calm herself, Morgan threw on her clothes and slipped on her boots without bothering to tie them and her coat. Looking around for her phone that had disappeared in the covers, she gave up and quietly pushed open the door. Max and Bash were sleeping as she eased outside.
Then she ran. And ran. And ran. With no idea where she was going. Tears stung her eyes. The cold air burned her lungs. It was still dark, with the only light coming from a few scattered lampposts along the road. The sound of rushing water reminded her she must be running parallel to the creek, swollen from the night rain. Get away. Get away. The words pounded in her head in time with her footfalls.
She didn’t notice the road had veered to the left until she was slapped in the face with an evergreen branch, but it barely slowed her down as she swung her arms wildly to block the foliage. Suddenly, she felt her right boot sinking, the ground shifting under her foot. The forward momentum of her body sent her flinging forward, landing face down in the freezing water. The shock took her breath away. It wasn’t that deep on the edge, but with her feet elevated (her one boot still stuck in the muddy bank), her head and upper body were underwater. She frantically felt around the creek bottom for something solid enough for her hands and arms to be able to support her weight, allowing her to get her head above water. Feeling a collection of stones, she was able to lift her head enough to catch a full breath of air but then slowly sank back into the muddy silt, pulling her head back under. The frigid water seeped through the armholes and neck of her waterproof coat. Her body shivered from the shock.
She had to get herself out before she went into hyperthermia or drowned. There was no one to rescue her. Allowing her panic to override her common sense, she had foolishly fled without telling anyone. By the time Bash and Max even realized she was gone, she would be dead. A million thoughts swirled through her head. A cluster of emotions. Longing. Sadness. Regret. Clarity. She didn’t have time to sort them out, but she never would if she didn’t save herself.
“Evaluate your situation with a calm head, then decide your best options,” she heard Pops’ words in her head. My right boot is stuck solidly in the mud, so no help there. Then she remembered. With her laces untied, her boots should have a looser grip on her feet. The angle of the right foot made it impossible to move her leg, but maybe her left foot could slip free with a little maneuvering. If she could wiggle her left foot out, she might be able to use her toes to push the lip of the right boot down enough to ease her right foot out. At that point, her legs should drop level with her upper body and allow her to get up on her feet. If she could make it back to the bank without cutting her bare feet on the jagged rocks, she would be safe.
Readjusting her hands to another pile of rocks, she pushed up enough to get her mouth above the water to take a few deep breaths. As her head went back under, she concentrated on working her left foot out of the boot. A small surge of relief shot through her as it pulled free. Once her foot released, she wedged her toes under the shoestrings on the stuck boot, trying to loosen them. Pushing against the tongue of the boot, she felt its grip on her right foot loosen and then release. As her legs began to fall, she bent her knees just before they hit the bottom of the creek. With her arms pushing against handfuls of bottom silt, she thrust herself backwards and upright onto her knees, gasping for air. She shakily got to her feet and carefully made her way to the bank, grabbed a branch, and pulled herself out of the water. As exhaustion took over, she fell to the ground and rolled over on her back. Looking up into the now dawning morning, red streaks of light breaking through, her body began to tremble violently as she sobbed.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Seconds after Morgan stealth routine out the door, Bash was out of bed, pulling on his jeans.
“Why didn’t you stop her?” Max asked, getting out of his bed.
“Why didn’t you?” Bash shot back, buttoning his flannel shirt and tying his boots.
“I didn’t want her to know we heard her whole damn conversation. That attorney said something that scared her. He planted doubts. Made her second-guess herself. Maybe us or at least me,” Max suggested.
Bash grabbed his coat and flew open the door. Max caught his arm and peered deep into his son’s eyes. “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt either one of you. I swear on my life, Sebastian. Initially, I just wanted to meet you. See who you grew up to be. But now… I’d forgotten what it was like to connect with someone you truly care about. Laugh. Share jokes. Work together. Those things aren’t part of my world and probably never will be if I don’t make some major changes in my life. I don’t want to lose this…ever. If it means giving up my place in the family company, I’m willing to do that. Sell my shares. But first, I must insure my employees are not subjected to men like Enzo and Leone. Men who will force them to break the law. Leverage their families’ safety as motivation. They deserve a leader who will have their best interest at heart. Once that’s done, I’m out.”
“Do they ever let you go?” Sebastian asked skeptically.
“As I tried to explain before, we aren’t the mafia. My cousins are unscrupulous, dangerous members of our wealthy family. Enzo and Leone are the last of the instigators. Their grown children want nothing to do with the company business and are all estranged from their fathers. It is a lot to ask, I know, but please believe me. I’ll do everything in my power to fix this mess. Morgan’s, too. If she’ll let me.”
Bash nodded and rushed out the door.
The sunlight barely peeked through the clouds when Bash stepped on the grave road in front of their campsite. He watched the lights on the automatic lamp posts slowly turn off one by one as the sunrays grew brighter. Looking both ways, he saw no movement. Even though he doubted she had gone to the restroom, he checked there first. He couldn’t resist a quick look in the SUV when he passed by. Both men were snoring but still secured.
Seeing no sign of Morgan, he headed in the opposite direction toward the main campground. He had gone about a quarter of a mile when he caught sight of a red pickup with a camper attached. A young woman with a small shovel was cleaning soggy ashes out of a firepit.
“Good morning,” he called.
She looked up in surprise. “Hi.”
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Bash said.
“It’s okay. After we got visited by two men in the middle of the night, I’m a little jumpy.”
Bash winced at the thought that they might have been hurt. “I’m looking for a friend who went for a walk. She left a little while ago. I wanted to make sure she didn’t get lost.”
“Like in the dark?” she asked, furrowing her brows.
“Yeah.”
“Did the owner give you a map?”
