Page 4 of Rescuing Macie

It was only a matter of time before one of the men found her under the car, though. This wasn’t a game, and she wasn’t a kid anymore. Macie was sure they were looking under each and every one of the vehicles. It wouldn’t work to simply roll under the one next to her; eventually she’d run out of cars and be stuck.

Quickly, still trying to be as quiet as she could, Macie backed up. Her knees were getting torn to pieces, but she barely felt the rough asphalt digging into them. She wiggled her way to the back side of the SUV she was huddled under and turned around. She was at the edge of the parking lot, and there was a row of hedges, then the trees and creek she so loved to look at while she was working.

Remembering what Colt had said, she resisted the urge to get up and run into the trees. Instead, she stayed on her hands and knees and hurriedly crawled to the thick hedge. She pushed her way between the leaves, thankful it wasn’t winter and there were actually leaves to hide behind. The branches scratched at her arms, but again, she didn’t feel the slight sting. At five-seven, she wasn’t exactly small, but she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped an arm around them. She brought the phone to her ear and ducked her head into her knees, trying to make herself as small as possible.

“I crawled into a bunch of bushes,” she said in a toneless whisper. “Colt?”

“Yeah, Mace? I’m here. Are you hidden? Are you safe? Are the men still looking for you?”

“I can’t breathe.”

“Yes you can. You’re doing amazing. In and out. Remember how you breathed with me that night? Close your eyes. Imagine we’re back in my bed. I’m behind you, and my hand is on your chest. In…and out. Slow down your breaths, Mace. That’s it. They’re gonna walk right by you. They can’t see you. In…and out. That’s good. You’re doing great.”

Amazingly, his voice in her ear, along with the way she was pinching her thigh to try to force her attention away from her situation, was working. She breathed with him, not making a sound. Macie could feel her lungs loosening up a bit.

“You start on that side, I’ll start over here. If she’s not under the cars, I’m guessing she ran into the trees. We can catch up with her and make sure she hasn’t found the shit and blabbed about it to the pigs.”

“Then I can have my fun?” the other man asked.

“Jesus, you have a one-track mind. Yes, once she spills her guts, you can do whatever the fuck you want with her.”

Their voices were loud enough that Colt heard them.

“Don’t listen to them, Mace. Concentrate only on me. You’re good. We’re almost there. You just have to hang on for another couple minutes. You can do that. Piece of cake.”

Colt’s voice was almost as good as the drugs she used to control her anxiety and panic attacks. Almost.

Macie heard the men getting closer and closer to her hiding spot, and she felt her breathing speed up once more. She couldn’t help it. They were going to find her and torture her until she gave them information. She had no idea what they were looking for when they’d broken in, but she’d tell them whatever they wanted as long as they didn’t hurt her.

“Eaaaaasy, honey. You’ve got this.”

That was the thing. She didn’t have this. But by some miracle, Colt thought she did. His voice was still even and controlled.

“Shit. She’s not here!” one of the men complained after they’d passed by her hiding spot.

“Come on, she’s got to be here somewhere. She’s barefoot and in her fucking pajamas. No cars have left, so she hasn’t driven off. Stupid bitch is just hiding from us. You go that way and I’ll—”

His voice abruptly cut off when the sound of sirens wailed in the distance.

“Fuck. She called the fucking cops!” the man who wanted to “have his way with her” said. “We gotta get out of here.”

“Dammit. There goes that extra thousand,” the other man complained. “We’ll come back after the cops leave. She won’t get away again.”

Macie didn’t move a muscle after she heard the men run off. She stayed where she was, refusing to do something stupid, like come out of her hiding place too soon and have the men catch her after everything she’d done to keep away from them.

“Are those sirens?” Colt asked in her ear.

Macie nodded, knowing he couldn’t see her, but not able to speak. Her vocal cords had closed up and refused to work. Her lips were dry and she didn’t have enough spit in her mouth to even lick them.

“Don’t come out, hon. Just stay where you are. We’ll be there in”–there was a pause and Macie could imagine him looking over at her brother—“less than ten minutes. Even if you hear the cops, just stay put. Truck’ll tell the 9-1-1 operator that you’re too scared to come out. You won’t get in trouble. Hear me?”

Macie nodded again, but didn’t speak.

“I’m proud of you, Mace. You’re doing great. You did the right thing. You got out of your apartment, called for help, and stayed hidden. That’s exactly what you should’ve done.”

His praise was like a balm to her soul. She wasn’t sure she believed him—she felt like the biggest coward ever—but for now, right this second, she chose to take his words to heart.

She could hear the sirens getting louder and louder, but she kept her concentration on Colt. If she didn’t, she knew she’d completely fall apart.