Page 170 of Running to You

The video feed went dead.

More grunts. He had no idea what was happening. “We’re coming. I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love—”

Her audio cut off.

She was gone.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Everything was falling apart, and it was Eliza’s fault.

All her fault.

Shouts came from far away, Jed issuing instructions. Men following his commands. Footsteps, a mountain of them.

She lay on the floor where they’d left her. Everything hurt. She pushed to a sitting position, then paused to breathe through a wave of pain.

She tried to see…something. Aside from a tiny bit of light coming from beneath the door, the room was completely dark. She wanted to stand, but she couldn’t do it. Maybe if she had something to hang onto, but there was nothing. She crawled toward the light, tried the knob.

Locked. Of course.

She shifted to lean against the wall and dropped her face into her hands.

If only she’d followed Jon’s instructions and kept her mouth shut.

If only she hadn’t trusted Nicole.

If only she hadn’t trusted Jed and Lola.

Regret filled her mind and lungs like toxic smoke until she could barely breathe. There was no escaping it now.

Lord, what have I done?

The whisper in her soul was a cool, clean breeze.

Trust Me.

Trust Him? After everything… After all the mistakes she’d made, could God really fix it?

There was no way.

He’d promised her that He would keep her and Levi safe. Back on The Ranch, after Michael had emailed his rescue plan, she’d gotten on her knees and prayed for guidance. And God had told her to do it.

He’s My warrior. Go with him.

So she had. And if she’d obeyed what Michael and Jon told her, everything would have been fine. But she’d screwed up. She’d gone against their instructions.

So of course God owed her nothing. Of course she couldn’t expect Him to fix her mess.

And yet, that breeze, that sense of His presence. Trust Me.

Was God still on her side? Even though she’d made horrible mistakes, could He still make it right?

Her father’s voice found her. All you can do is your best.

Could she trust that God had her, even now, even after she’d made such a tragic blunder?