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He hummed in thought. “We’d need to move soon. They could be looking for the car. If we get to Queenstown, I can swap it for another.” He glanced at me. “I’m going to cut the rope around your ankles, but if you try to run, I’ll be forced to shoot you.” His expression was hesitant. “I don’t want to do that.”
Then don’t, I almost retorted.
“I won’t run.” I opened my eyes wide, hoping I looked sincere. It would be best if he underestimated me. I allowed my lower lip to wobble. It didn’t take much. “I don’t like pain. Please, let’s do it this way. I promise not to try anything silly.”Like staying with you for one second longer than necessary.
“You’d better not,” he warned. “Remember what I said earlier. I’m a good shot.”
I nodded, hoping he didn’t have much experience shooting at moving targets. I knew Blair disapproved of hunting, so hopefully Tyler—his friend—shared that sentiment, and there must be a difference between shooting at a target versus a person, right?
He reached into his pocket and extracted a Swiss army knife, which he used to sever first the zip ties and then the coarse rope. Blood flow returned to my feet. They prickled and burned, the sensation verging on painful. He returned the knife to his pocket and offered me a hand.
“Just remember, if you run, I’ll shoot. And don’t bother screaming. No one will hear you.”
Dread curdled in my stomach.
Just where were we? I’d imagined us not far from Destiny Falls, but if he’d taken me somewhere remote, any attempt to run might prove pointless. He had the ATV, after all. Even if he missed the shot, he’d be able to come after me faster than I could run away.
Reluctantly, I took his hand. He pulled me to my feet. They throbbed uncomfortably beneath me, and when we took a few steps toward the exit, I had the strangest sensation that my limbs were separate from the rest of my body. They didn’t seem to be going where I thought they should, and I felt dissociated from them. I wondered if it was an aftereffect of the drug or if it was because of the poor circulation to my feet for the past however many hours.
As we approached the window, a flicker of movement outside caught my attention. I glanced at Tyler, but he didn’t seem to have noticed. I looked again, squinting to make out the details. The motion had stopped, but I could swear there were darker patches among the tussock that hadn’t been there earlier. Perhaps it was a trick of the fading light, but I didn’t think so.
My heartbeat picked up, and I felt as though the organ might race right out of my chest. I stared at one of the dark patches, noticing it had a faintly human shape. Had the police finally tracked me down? Were Tyler and I walking into an ambush? More importantly, were they as trigger happy as he was, or would they try to separate us before they started shooting?
A bead of sweat trickled down my spine. I hoped they wouldn’t shoot immediately, but if they didn’t, it would give Tyler the chance to use me as a shield, and then who knew what would happen? I couldn’t risk it. I shivered, and Tyler noticed. He paused, shrugging out of his sweater and offering it to me.
“No, thanks,” I said, aware that if someone was out there, the sweater might cause them to mistake me for him.
“Put it on.” The way the gun twitched in his clasp made it clear I shouldn’t argue. I did as he said. Once, I might have found it romantic if a man offered me his jacket, but now, I wished I didn’t have to touch something that had been against his skin.
The sweater on, we continued to the door. I held my breath as he opened it, trying to make myself small in case bullets started flying.
None came.
I sought out one of the dark patches from before to see if I’d been mistaken, but I was almost certain it was a person. Tyler guided me to the edge of the small wooden porch where the four-wheeler motorcycle waited.
“I’ll drive. You get on behind and hold my waist,” he said. “If you run, I’ll shoot.”
“Okay.” I felt a burst of hope mingled with fear. This was it. My moment.
As we started down the steps, I lurched to the side and shoved Tyler with as much force as I could muster. Then I ran from him as fast as my numb feet could carry me. I heard a shout. Figures rose from the tussock, weapons drawn.
There was a shot. A sharp burning pain tore through my shoulder. My feet stopped working.
Another shot.
I hit the ground.
Noise surrounded me. Murmured voices. A vicelike grip clamped on my good shoulder and rolled me over. Above me, the sky was an endless gray. A bank of cloud that seemed to go on forever. I stared up at it, unable to blink. My vision swam. Then a face appeared. A beloved pair of blue eyes awash with concern. Somebody was saying my name.
My vision flickered.
Liam’s lips were moving, but all I could hear was the pulse banging in my ears and the sound of my own thoughts.
Black tinged the edge of my vision, slowly easing inward, swallowing Liam’s golden face into the darkness.
Nothing.
Jostling. More shoulder pain. A blur of movement.
