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I’d found a weak spot in the fencing, a part that had already been damaged, perhaps by a deer getting caught in it. It hadn’t taken much to widen the gap farther, allowing me to slip through. I’d remained poised for the sign of any patrolmen, the swathes of yellow torchlight cutting through the night, but none had come. That pissed me off even more. Rasmus clearly thought he was in safe territory.
Rasmus’s daughter barely weighed a thing, but it was still harder going with the bulk of her over my shoulder. Her head and shoulders hung down my back, and I kept her steady with my hands on the backs of her thighs.
I’d been lucky Rasmus hadn’t even bothered to lock his own front door. That cockiness had been his downfall. He must have thought that the fencing surrounding the property was enough to keep people out, or he’d relied on people who’d let him down.
I wasn’t sure how long the girl would stay unconscious for. I hoped she wouldn’t die while I was carrying her around—it was easy enough to kill someone by choking them, even if you didn’t mean to. On the other hand, I also didn’t want her to wake up and cause me problems. I’d only had my tie to bind her hands but didn’t have anything for her feet as well. I figured my legs were far longer than hers and I’d be able to catch her easily enough if she tried to run—especially barefooted and with her hands tied behind her back.
Once outside of the perimeter, I had to stop to pull up a compass app on my phone to make sure I was heading in the right direction. I’d had to use the torch on my phone as well to find my way in the dark—I clearly hadn’t been prepared for this—and my battery was dangerously low. It wouldn’t be a good idea to get lost out here. There was nothing but endless trees, and if my phone died, I was going to struggle to find the four-by-four I’d rented. The temperature had dropped noticeably. How long would it be before Rasmus realised his daughter was missing? Assuming I hadn’t been seen, he might just think she’d gone out of her own accord. That would buy me more time. If no one spotted the hole in the fence that I’d made, there was no reason to think anyone else was involved in her disappearance.
It had taken me about half an hour to walk from the rented vehicle to the fence surrounding the property, but that had been when I’d been alone. Now I had the weight of the young woman across my shoulder, and it made the going much more difficult. It was also pitch-black, and while the torch on my phone allowed me to pick my way between the trees and ferns and bushes, it was still more difficult than it had been during daylight.
It occurred to me that I was going to have to pull some serious strings to get her into England without any issues. The owner of the private plane I used was always open to a bribe, but kidnapping and people smuggling was on a whole new level. Then I had the problem of needing a passport for her at the other end. I wouldn’t be able to take her straight back to the UK.
Shit. I clearly hadn’t thought this through.
My phone battery was draining at a rapid rate. Which option was more important—the light or the compass? If I switched off the torch, there would still be some illumination from the screen. Insects attracted by the light bumped against it. It was better I walk with less light than I got lost out here which I imagined would be frighteningly easy to do. The forests were endless and barely inhabited, which was why, I assumed, Rasmus had set up out here. There weren’t any neighbours to report suspicious activity.
The girl over my shoulder let out a moan and shifted in my grip.
Damn, she was waking up. This was going to make things even trickier. But she fell still again, slumping so her legs swung with my every step.
I made the decision and switched off the torch on my phone. I hoped my battery would last longer now.
The girl suddenly stiffened.
I sensed the change in her but not quickly enough to brace myself. She drove her foot straight into my balls; the air exploded from my body. I folded in half, my eyes watering from the pain. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. I’d dropped my phone, but more importantly, I’d dropped her. She rolled into the darkness, and then I heard the scramble in the fallen pine needles as she struggled to her feet.
Bitch!
She ran.
How far away from her father’s property had we travelled? A twenty-minute walk? But she didn’t have any way to navigate through the forest, and her hands were bound, and she was running in the dark. How well did she know this area? Would she be able to find her way home despite all those things?
I sucked in a breath and straightened. Forcing myself to ignore the pain, I took after her.
Chapter Six
