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She negotiated her way around carefully and took a step, aiming for the next rock. Her foot slid out from under her, causing Scarlett to fall backwards into the creek, hitting her head on a rock. Shit. Her head ached and she was chilled from the water. This was not the grand moment of freedom she had planned.
Eventually she tried to stand, crying in pain when her ankle refused to bear her weight. Dragging herself out of the water, Scarlett propped her back against a good-sized rock, and tentatively touched her head. Blood, not much, but enough that she knew a concussion was probable.
Without thinking about it, Scarlett eased off her sneaker and sock to inspect the ankle. It was already an angry shade of purple and starting to swell. After regrouping her wits, she put the sock back on and reached for the shoe. Her ankle had swollen enough that the sneaker wouldn’t fit on properly. When she tried to force it, the pain was bad enough to bring tears to her eyes.
Indulging in the tears, Scarlett let them flow for a few minutes before she wiped the moisture away. Assessing her situation, Scarlett realized she was stuck by the stream until someone came to find her. She couldn’t put enough weight on her ankle to walk and found the thought of traipsing through the woods without her shoe less than appealing.
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The ache in her head was also making itself known, and her vision was a little blurry. Even without the ankle injury, the head wound would have been enough to immobilize her, at least for a while.
Would Carter send someone to look for her? Would he even realize she was missing?
She tortured herself, imagining he’d forgotten all about her, and no one would realize she was missing. In six months her father would show up to collect her, and they would remember Scarlett Terini had briefly been with them. They’d find her dead body, near the stream in the woods.
Okay so perhaps that was a bit dramatic. Even if no one at the house realized she was missing, she wouldn’t be here longer than a day at most. Surely within a few hours, her ankle would be okay enough to walk, and she would eventually find her way out of the forest.
Dreading it, but knowing it was necessary to reduce the swelling, Scarlett removed the sock and swung her body around, plunging her ankle into the icy water. Shivering, Scarlett wished she knew how to build a fire. At least it couldn’t get any worse, she consoled herself.
Not two minutes later, a huge bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. It was followed by a boom of thunder, as the sky let loose a torrent of rain, changing her from sodden to drenched in a matter of seconds. It finally abated to a steady stream, before tapering off to a trickle that did not stop.
4
Carter
“Boss,” said Darren, leaning his head into Carter’s study.
“Yes?” Carter looked up from his quarterly budget reports for Roche Electronics.
Darren came into the room. “Sorry to bother you when you’re busy and all, but nobody’s seen Scarlett in hours.”
Carter removed his reading glasses, and looked at Darren. “I saw her this morning around eleven. She was leaving for a walk.”
“It’s six now, Carter, and no one has seen her,” Darren repeated. “I looked everywhere and so did the staff, but I don’t think she ever came back from her walk.” He frowned before tentatively suggesting, “Do you think she flew the coop?”
Shrugging, Carter stood up from the desk. “It’s possible, but I don’t think so. She probably got lost in the woods just to spite me because I told her not to. Take out a small team and look for her. Keep me updated,” he said as Darren hurried out. “Every hour,” he called after him.
At seven, Darren called. “No sign of her yet, Carter. Want us to keep looking?”
“Yes.” Carter was growing concerned himself. She was probably sitting at Terini Manor this very moment, enjoying a hearty chuckle about him with her family. If she wasn’t though, they had to find her. The woods on his property weren’t extremely dangerous, but she was probably scared. And now she was his he had to protect her.
Keep her safe.
Keep her close.
After waiting in the house for what felt like the whole night Carter called Darren. He knew he’d be surprised to hear from him, but Carter was also surprised. Surprised at how worried he was. “If you haven’t had any luck by nine, we’ll call in the police.” How was he supposed to explain the circumstances of this strange arrangement to the authorities? He should probably call Rocco to see if she was home, but didn’t want to show his cards just yet.
Scarlett
Scarlett was shivering from the cold and her clothes were soaked. Her head and ankle throbbed, and she was miserable. Her chin was resting on her chest as she tried to stay awake, knowing she must stay conscious in case she had a concussion. It took her a moment to recognize the difference in the sound, and then she realized there was something walking through the undergrowth. “Over here,” she called, praying it was someone to rescue her instead of an animal come to eat her.
Darren and two other men found her within minutes, and he knelt beside her. “What the hell happened?”
“I fell off the stones.” Her voice wobbled with embarrassment and stress. “I hit my head and sprained my ankle, or maybe I broke it. Either way, I can’t stand on it, and it hurts just as bad as my head.” She took a deep breath to avoid bursting into tears. “Then it rained, and it hasn’t stopped,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“Let’s get you back to the house,” Darren suggested as he reached for his cell phone. She watched as he made a call. “We found her, boss. She’s hurt, so you might want to arrange for a doctor to meet us at the house.”
“I can’t walk. How am I going to get there?”
