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Sprinted toward the woods. Sucked wind. Stepped on a sharp pebble.
Voices called out. More gunshots.
Raindrops pelted down. Faster, harder. Snaked down her bare skin, got into her eyes. Made her face slimy after having that gross rag rubbed forehead to chin and back countless times.
Bang! Bang!
It would be a miracle if she still had her hearing after tonight. She rubbed her ears as she made her way toward the cover of the trees.
Almost there!
Her feet skidded in another soupy puddle. Everything became a blur as she pitched forward. Pain shot through her knees as she landed on them. Stars danced in front of her eyes, between her and the trees. Air burst from her mouth as she crashed onto the ground, rocks digging into her chest.
Voices called out. Sounded closer, nearer.
Bella struggled to pull air into her lungs. To push herself up.
Needed to get to the woods.
Her chest burned as she struggled for a single satisfying inhale. Knees burned as she crawled, ankles protested as she tried to stand. Mud clung to her. Rain pelted down. Her vision, her consciousness, clouded.
Hands pressed around her waist.
“Gotcha!”
She stiffened as she was hauled upright.
Bella found herself standing, pressed against a warm body.
“You think you’re getting away from our wedding?” Neil’s fetid breath heated her ear. “Never! And you’ll spend the rest of your life paying for all of this. Running away, worshiping the devil, fleeing again. You’ll be lucky if I can beat the sin out of you. Maybe one day I’ll offer you forgiveness. But don’t count on it.”
He squeezed her harder.
She cried out.
Neil dragged her toward the building.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Ariana yanked off the last of her duct tape. She’d been secretly cutting at the one over her wrists since she managed to reach a piece of broken glass. Hardly anyone had given her a second glance, so it hadn’t been too difficult to slide the shard over with her feet then nudge it into her fingers.
It had gotten even easier after Bella made her escape. With all the hollering — and eventually gunshots — everyone had forgotten about her completely.
Despite her dire predicament, she couldn’t stop worrying about Bella. Had she escaped? Or had one of the bullets stopped her for good?
No gunfire had rung out in the last several minutes. That almost confirmed her worst fears.
She couldn’t give up hope. Wouldn’t unless she saw Bella’s corpse with her own eyes.
Hopefully, it didn’t come to that. She prayed her friend was still alive.
Ariana scrambled to her feet. Looked around. Her eyes had more than adjusted to the dim lighting. Both dresses remained here since Bella had fled in nothing other than her underwear.
The costume was beyond repair, and she wouldn’t likely want to wear the wedding dress, but what other options were there? It was better than being in her underwear.
She grabbed it and hurried to the door. Peeked out into the main room. It looked like a typical church with rows of pews and a raised pulpit. The only difference was the lectern and some of the seating had been knocked over, and the only light came from the many candles around the exterior. People bustled around, some tending to flowers on the stage and others righting the fallen furniture.
Bella was nowhere in sight.
