Page 98 of Rekindle My Heart

He huffed out a breath, then came closer. “Fine, but the hands stay cuffed.”

Thank you, Jesus!

The elation was cut short as his words registered. Stay cuffed? Her face scrunched. She had no clue how she’d do her business without hands, but if it got her unbound from the tree, she’d figure it out. She nodded.

He loosened the ropes and zings of feeling cramped her legs as she stood. She started to walk around the tree.

“Na-ah. Not going to happen. Right here.” He motioned her to the next tree.

He walked up to her, undid her pants with one hand while holding the gun in the other.

“Can you help me get them down, please?” The last thing she wanted was him touching her, but she couldn’t do it herself.

He shifted his dark eyes away as he tugged down her pants and undies in one yank. At least he wasn’t a rapist.

Erica leaned back against the tree. Rough bark bit into her butt cheeks as she relieved herself. When she finished, she leaned forward, but her body started to slip.

“Oh shit.” She’d leveraged her weight to keep her pants from the splash zone. Now, she couldn’t get up. If she moved, she’d fall into the puddle of urine.

“Problems?” He holstered his gun and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Please, help me.” This was it. She would die in the woods in her own pee with her pants around her ankles.

“Fine.” He grabbed her under the arms and hoisted her up. He bent to grab her pants. Now or never.

She slipped her arm around his head, effectively putting him in a headlock with her elbow. She used her body weight to throw them both off-kilter.

He slipped on the puddle of urine, and with a twist he didn’t see coming, fell sideways, taking her with him.

The crunch she heard when they landed was deafening.

Fuck. Did I kill him? She wiggled her arm free and reached for his gun, but with her hands behind her, she had no way of shooting it.

Blood coated his face. He groaned.

Thank, God. He was alive.

Wait. He was alive, and she’d injured him. She looked down at his prone form. A leg moved. He was getting up.

Oh shit! She kicked off her shoes, then her pants that were around her ankles. She got up and ran. First to the water, but then what? She couldn’t swim with her hands behind her.

She flung the gun in the river and ran along the shore looking for the boat she’d heard.

“Help! Anybody?” she yelled as loud as her sore throat could. Nothing. No boat. Not even lights in the distance. “Where did you go?”

“I’m right here, bitch.” Johnson limped closer. Blood streamed from his nose. His eyes were wide with murderous intent. “You think you’re so smart. Well, I don’t need my service pistol to kill you.”

She ran down the rocky shore and cut back into the trees, hoping the cover would hide her until someone motored by.

A bullet whizzed by her head. She dropped to the ground. Her heart raced. She yelled from behind a tree, “You said you didn’t have a gun.”

“No, I said I didn’t need one to kill you. But it does make it easier. I have my backup piece.”

Crap, why didn’t she think to frisk him for more weapons?

Her chest heaved as she scanned the shore. Travis’s boat was on the other side of the island. He could have left the keys in it.

She took off at a full sprint through the trees. Rocks and sticks cut her bare feet, but she didn’t slow down. She zigged and zagged, hoping to make herself a harder target to hit. She could hear the rustle of brush as he followed. She pushed harder.