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“Ugh!” She kicked at it over and over, hoping whatever was holding the door shut would loosen, but it didn’t.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady her thoughts. When she opened them again, a ray of sunlight glinted off the shard of a broken beer bottle in the corner of the barn. She moved toward it, inching across the dirt floor, then kicked at the dirt with her boots, trying to loosen the glass from the hard earth.
After a moment of kicking, and too much strain on her bruised ribs, it broke free. She picked up the shard with her fingers and angled it across the rope tying her wrists together, starting to gnaw away at the fibers. It was slow going. Very slow. But she was making progress.
She wondered if the guy with the hoodie would be coming back or if he’d just left her there to die of starvation. Or lack of water. She tried to remember how many days one could go without water, but couldn’t. Didn’t matter, Josh and Jared would find her before then.
Or Chase.
She thought of Chase and the look on his face when he was in the stables with Cash yesterday. She would really like the chance to go riding with him again. She didn’t know if they could ever rekindle what they had before, or if she even wanted to, but at least they could be friends. She’d trusted him once, with all her heart, and having him back here made her realize how much she’d missed him. More than she would let herself think about.
She’d like to have him back in her life. What about that kiss? Her mind played over the memory, sending a shudder through her as she relived his gentle touch. She felt a flutter of butterflies in her belly and bit down on her lip as she pushed thoughts of him out of her mind.
Footsteps crunching leaves sounded outside the barn.
She sucked in a breath and held it, keeping perfectly still for a moment while she tried to gage what and how far away the source of the sound was. What if it was Chase?
What if it was the hoodie guy?
What if it was someone who didn’t know she was here? Should she call out? If it was the man who’d attacked her, he’d already know she was here anyway.
No, better to just get free. Furiously, she rubbed the glass against the rope faster and harder, trying as she might to break free. A crash sounded outside, and then the small door opened. Chase’s head and shoulders entered the doorway as he crouched down and peered through the opening.
She dropped the glass and sucked in a huge sigh of relief.
His eyes searched her body before breaking into a relieved half-smile. “You okay?”
She nodded her head. He climbed inside next to her and pulled the gag off her mouth.
“Thank you,” she said, breathing in a large gulp of stale air. He took a pocket knife out of his pocket and cut the ropes tying her wrists, then the ones around her ankles.
He held up the broken piece of beer bottle. “You were doing a pretty good job. You might have broke through in another day or two.”
She gave him an amused side-eye and wipe her face with her arm. “Gee, thanks.”
Killer started barking ferociously outside the barn.
Alarmed, Jacquie looked at Chase, and adrenaline dumped into her system, leaving her shaky and primed to run, or fight.
Chase headed toward the door. “You need help getting out of here?”
“No, I’m good.” She grabbed the ropes and gag and shoved them in the pockets of her white shorts that were now caked in dirt, then crouched down and followed Chase out of the barn. Killer was tied up to a tree, barking at the bushes on the far side of the barn.
Chase hurried forward to check it out, while she scooped up Killer into her arms and snuggled her close. “You and I have had way too much excitement lately.”
“I’ll say,” Chase huffed as he returned.
“Anything?”
“Nope.” He looked around, still wary of the shadows in the surrounding woods. “How about I get you two home?”
“Yes, please.” Jacquie rubbed a crick out of her neck. Her arms and clothes were smudged with dirt from the barn floor and the rope had left a raw ring around her wrists. “A hot bath is in order.”
He nodded as he took in the shabby state of her, his eyes going soft as they met her face. “All right. This way.” He gestured forward. “I need to call your brother and let him know you’re okay.”
As he did so, she brushed more bits of hay out of her hair, still feeling the intense relief of seeing his face come around that corner to rescue her.
Once he hung up the phone, she stopped and turned to him, and took his hand. It gripped hers back, warm and strong and sure. “Chase. Thank you.”
