AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Apparently so.
The clock on the end table said an hour and a half had passed since he’d left the house, and all her attempts to get out the window had failed. The steel was bolted to the side of the house and it wasn’t budging.
Trying to get the door open had resulted in the same frustrating failure. Now she examined the bathroom once more, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon.
Before she could find anything, the door opened. “Brianne?”
She pulled in a ragged breath, whispered another prayer, then flushed the toilet and stepped out to find Keith standing in the doorway, a frown on his face. “What are you doing?” he asked.
She raised a brow, doing her best to hide her fear. “Using the bathroom?”
“You can come out of the room now. But if you try anything, I’ll have to use this.” He held up a taser and she shuddered atthe thought of being zapped with it, but at least it didn’t shoot bullets.
She nodded and he backed up.
“You came prepared.” She waved a hand at the window behind her.
“Of course. Didn’t know it was going to be you in there, but glad I was thinking ahead.”
“Right. Thinking ahead.” With a plan to kidnap a boy and terrorize him, perhaps traumatize him for life. She swallowed her words, but noted Keith never turned his back to her. He was being very careful and she needed him to drop his guard.
Once they reached the end of the hallway, he motioned to her to step past him.
She really didn’t want to get that close to him, so kept her back against the wall, not taking her eyes from him.
The front door slammed open and a gunshot sounded. Raina screamed, dropped to the floor, and rolled behind the recliner.
“What are you doing here?” Keith yelled.
“Cleaning up your mess.”
Another shot cracked and a hard thud echoed. Raina’s ears rang in the sudden quiet.
Raina looked around the edge of the chair and spotted Keith on the floor, empty eyes turned her way. She swallowed a gasp and another scream even as she noted the taser in his outstretched hand. Raina grabbed it.
The gun fired again and the chair’s back exploded.
“What are you doing? Why are you shooting at me!”
Another bullet whipped past her face and Raina’s heart pounded. She was a sitting duck. And it didn’t look like the shooter was interested in talking.
The gun cracked again, and Raina moved, launching herself up from behind the recliner and racing back down the hallway.
Footsteps hurried after her.
She bypassed the room that had been her prison and ran into the master bedroom, slammed the door shut, and locked it. It wouldn’t hold long, but maybe long enough to get out the window. With shaking fingers, she unlatched the nearest one and threw herself out. The screen bounced and Raina landed hard on top of it.
Gunshots sounded from within the house. Raina had to get moving, but she needed a second to get her bearings.
Trees, snow, cold. Solitude. A mountain cabin on several acres. No telling which way would take her to safety.
Of course he would pick a place like this to bring his kidnapped son. She headed for the cover of the trees, shivering, but thankful she’d kept her heavy coat on in anticipation of getting out of the room and making a run for it. Thoughts churning, she glanced back at the cabin to see a figure standing at the window, watching. All she could make out was a flannel jacket and a baseball cap. The person disappeared, and Raina figured it was to head to the door to come after her.
She put on a burst of speed and scrambled behind a tree, only to realize she’d left a trail in the snow. Whoever had killed Keith—and obviously planned to kill her—could follow her with no trouble.
Panic tried to set in, but she kept going.
If she couldn’t hide, she was going to have to come up with a plan to fight back.
