Emily whimpered.
His gaze slid back to Jennie. “I haven’t tortured you in a while.” Not for five days, thank God. But each time he left her alone, he hurt Emily. If he spared one of them, he abused the other. Emily had suffered the brunt of his abuse lately. Now it was Jennie’s turn.
Jennie straightened her spine. Met his gaze. She would endure his abuse one last time in order to escape. Even if the thought terrified her.
She’d been his prisoner for 545 days. The tiny square window in the corner was the only indicator of day and night. Jennie had counted each time she saw light through that window. 545 times. 545 days.
Light trickled in through that window now, indicating it was daytime.
Jennie’s gaze never wavered from the man as he approached. She didn’t count how many times he abused her. She didn’t want to remember that. Tried her best to block it out whenever it happened. But it had happened so many times that once more wouldn’t kill her.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
He stepped toward Jennie’s bed. Her heart hammered in her chest. Be brave, Jen. You can do this.
“Your arm’s bleeding,” she said, trying to sound like she cared. “It must hurt. Do you want me to fix it up for you?”
His gaze narrowed on her. “Yeah.” He fished into his jeans’ pocket and pulled out the key to remove the shackle from her wrist. Jennie sat completely still on the bed while he undid the shackle. She’d been planning her escape ever since he’d abducted her. But this guy was smart and had never given her an opportunity to get away.
She watched as he slid the key back into his pocket. His left front pocket.
She rubbed her sore, bruised wrist. She was free.
He grabbed her roughly by the arm, yanking her off the bed. Jennie’s gaze collided with Emily’s as the man dragged her toward the stairs.
I’ll be back for you, she promised silently. Today we’re all going to escape.
She glanced at Gray as the man shoved her across the room. Even you, Gray. I won’t leave you behind.
The wolf’s yellow gaze locked on hers. Gray let out a soft whine and sank back against the wall.
Be ready, Gray. I may need your help here.
The animal stiffened her haunches, raising her rear end off the cold floor. Her intense yellow gaze never wavered from Jennie’s.
Good girl.
Their captor paused on the first step. His gaze bounced back to Emily. “I’ll be back for you,” he said with a leer.
Emily shrank back against the wall, her eyes wide with terror.
Jennie glanced down and noticed the pipe lay near Gray’s front paws. Within reach. If she bent down quickly, she could snatch it up…
The man’s hand tightened cruelly around Jennie’s wrist. He yanked her toward the first step.
“Let’s go.”
She had a split second to make her decision. It was now or never.
Jennie lunged toward the wolf, attempting to drag her captor with her so Gray could attack. She reached out for the pipe…
Gray’s fierce snarls echoed across the cold room. Praying the wolf wouldn’t bite her, praying she understood what Jennie had been trying to convey to her through her mind, Jennie grasped the pipe, wrapping her fingers around it. Her face stopped within inches of the wolf’s. Their gazes locked. If the animal wanted to eat her, she could do it in a flash.
“You bitch!”
The man caught his balance. He yanked Jennie back.
But she already had her weapon.
The wolf leapt forward, latching onto the man’s ankle before he could step out of the way. The man howled in pain, kicking out at the beast and scrambling backward. But Gray wouldn’t let go.
Her captor’s grip on her arm loosened and Jennie wrenched free.
You can do this Jen, you can do it.
She lifted the pipe and swung it at the man’s head.
Emily screamed.
He ducked to the side at the last second. Jennie had put every ounce of strength into that swing. Her arm swung around. The pipe flew from her fingers, clanging against the wall.
Dammit!
Hold on to him a little longer, Gray! Please don’t let him go!
The wolf continued to snarl and yank on their captor’s ankle. The man cursed and kicked out at the beast. But he was gradually pulling back. He was almost free.
Jennie raced after the pipe.
The man’s hand snaked out, wrapped around her ankle. He yanked. She went down hard, scraping her hands and bouncing off her knees when she hit the concrete floor. Pain ricocheted up her arms. Her knees screamed in agony. She gasped. Jennie reached out for the pipe that lay several feet away…
The man broke free of the wolf’s grip. His hand clamped around Jennie’s ankle. He pulled her toward him.
Gray snatched the pipe in her jaws and tossed it toward Jennie.
Jennie nearly laughed.
I love you, Gray.
Jennie grabbed the pipe. She swiveled around on her butt and swung it at the man’s head. This time she maintained a death grip on the weapon. She would not drop it again.
The pipe made a disgusting thud! when it connected with the man’s skull. His eyes rolled back into his head. His grip loosened on her ankle. He fell back onto the floor.
Gray whined.
Emily whimpered. “B-be careful, Jennie. He might not be dead.”
Jennie struggled to her feet. Blood trickled from her palms where they’d scraped across the concrete. Her knees throbbed with pain.
Free the wolf first. She can keep the man occupied while you help Emily escape.
Hurrying to Gray’s side, she reached for the chain around the beast’s neck, hoping the animal wouldn’t bite her.
It’s okay, Gray. I won’t hurt you.
Jennie felt through the beast’s thick fur, trying to locate the chain’s connection. She jerked back in horror when she discovered the chain was deeply imbedded into the animal’s neck. Poor Gray. How long had the beast been chained like this? Years, obviously.
The wolf had no reason to trust humans after what she’d been subjected to. Yet she remained still, her gaze watchful, intense, as Jennie attempted to free her.
Jennie followed the chain to the wall. Relief swept through her when she discovered the chain was hooked to the wall with a heavy metal snap.
She unclipped the snap.
You’re free Gray. I’ll figure out how to get the chain off you later.
The wolf whined.
“Hurry Jennie, he’s waking up!”
Jennie spun around.
The man was rising from the floor. He pulled something from his sweatshirt.
Oh crap! A gun!
Jennie’s gaze focused on the pistol in his hand. She hadn’t anticipated that.
The hood had slipped a little to the side of the guy’s head, revealing a lock of black hair. His cold gaze focused on Jennie as he rose. He pointed the gun at her.
“You’re going to pay for that one, bitch. Drop the pipe and come over here.”
“Run Jennie run!” Emily screamed. “Just run! Ruuuun!”
Her heart in her throat, Jennie threw the pipe at the man and dived for the staircase.
A gunshot rang out.
The pipe clattered against the floor.
Wood splintered near her head. Pieces of sheetrock fell away as the bullet wedged into the wall of the staircase.
Jennie scrambled up the stairs as fast as she could, her knees protesting with pain. Another gunshot rang out, spiraling past her head with a whizzing sound and embedding into the ceiling.
When she reached the top of the stairs, a rattling sound caught her attention. She glanced down to see Gray at her heels, the chain dangling behind her.
Jennie let out a sob and raced across a small country kitchen. There was a door to her right. It looked like it went out to a garage. She thundered across the kitchen and yanked open the door.
A single-car garage
with an ugly green car parked inside. An old Caddy. Probably late seventies, early eighties? Did it run?
She punched the garage door opener with her hand.
Please God, let that car run.
“You bitch!” the man screamed from inside the house. “I’m going to kill you!” His footsteps clumped across the kitchen floor.
Jennie raced to the car as the garage door slowly venture upward. A cold wind swirled into the garage, bringing a gust of snow with it. She didn’t have a coat, but she couldn’t do anything about that right now.
Jennie yanked open the car door and slid behind the wheel. Before she could close the door, Gray leapt in after her. Jennie leaned back so the wolf could wiggle between her and the steering wheel. The beast landed in the passenger seat, the chain rattling as it struck the floorboard.
Jennie yanked the door closed. She felt for the ignition. Her fingers brushed against a set of keys.
Thank you, God.
Jennie turned the key in the ignition. The engine grunted once, twice, then turned over. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Jennie rammed the car in reverse just as the kitchen door swung open and the man stepped out. His eyes black with fury, he pointed the gun at her and fired.
Jennie screamed and ducked, at the same time slamming her foot down on the gas pedal.
Glass shattered. Splinters sprayed her face, landing in her lap.
Gray yelped.
The car screeched backward, peeling out of the garage and into the snow covered ground.
The vehicle spun around in a circle in the driveway. Jennie slammed on the brakes, narrowly missing a large pine tree. There was a black truck parked in the center of the circular driveway that ran around the front of the house. Jennie barely missed the truck when she peeled out of the driveway and down the snow-covered road.
It was snowing hard. Thick, heavy flakes. She couldn’t see any more than a few feet in front of the car.
More gunshots rang out, slamming into the side of the car. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
More glass shattered. Pain speared her shoulder. She’d been hit.
She glanced over at Gray. The wolf’s thick matted coat was rapidly darkening with blood. Crap. She’d been shot too.
Jennie slammed the car back into gear and peeled out of the driveway, the tires spinning in the thick snow. She wouldn’t get very far in this thing. Not with all that snow. But she’d take it as far as it would go.
Another gunshot rang out as she hit the road. Damn! Wasn’t he out of bullets yet?
A loud popping sound pierced her senses.
He’d shot out one of the tires.
Jennie gunned the car, fishtailed around a corner, and picked up speed. She had no idea where she was. No idea where she was going. All she could see was a flurry of falling snow.
Her chest constricted when she thought of Emily back there at the man’s mercy.
I’ll come back for you Emily. I promise.
The road wound around and through huge pine trees. She was in a forest somewhere.
The road turned to the left, then to the right. Left again. Right. Jennie fought to keep the car on the winding road. With all the snow, it was difficult to tell where the road ended and the forest began. The car slid one way, then another.
She rounded another corner. The back end fishtailed again. She fought to keep the car under control.
Then she saw the drop off ahead.
And the river below.
Crap!
The car was moving too fast. Jennie slammed on the brakes. But the cliff kept coming toward her.
The car sailed over the edge. Trees flew past in a blur. The river reared up at her.
Jennie knew she was going to die.
I’m sorry, Emily.
The car splashed into the river.
Jennie’s head slammed into the windshield.
Then she blacked out…
Jennie jolted awake.
Gasping for breath, she bolted upright in the bed, her heart hammering wildly in her chest.
Max stirred next to her. His eyes opened.
“Jennie? What’s wrong? What is it?” He sat up, rubbed a hand over his eyes.
She forced her breathing to slow, willed her heart rate to calm down. She sucked in a breath. Pushed it back out. Another breath. Out. In. Out.
“It…was a dream,” she whispered. “A bad dream.”
Max gathered her into his arms and held her tight. “It’s all right,” he soothed, gently brushing her hair away from her face. “Everything’s going to be all right.”
Jennie closed her eyes. She shuddered against Max’s warm chest. His fingers gently threaded through her hair.
It hadn’t been a dream. But a memory. She’d just remembered how she’d escaped.
She drew in a deep breath as more visions slammed through her mind.
Memories. Thousands of them. All at once.
Jennie as a small child, riding a horse.
Jennie as a teenager, yelling at her father with tears streaming down her cheeks. Calling him a murderer. Telling him he’d killed her mother.
Jennie as an adult in an arena with a horse and a crowd watching. Cheering. Clapping.
Jennie arguing with her father about her “gift” and how it was wrong to deceive people.
Jennie as a prisoner being abused. Again and again. Longing for escape.
She squeezed her eyes shut against the onslaught as more memories flooded into her brain, swirling like an angry tornado.
She moaned softly. Too many memories. Too much.
Her head throbbed.
“It’s okay,” Max said soothingly, holding her tight. “I’ve got you.”
But he was wrong. It wasn’t going to be all right. It would never be all right.
Because she’d just remembered everything. Everything. She knew who she was, where she lived, and what she’d done.
What she’d done.
Max would never forgive her.
When she’d fled from her captor, she’d left Emily behind.
Her heart pinched. Her breath caught.
How would she ever tell Max that she’d abandoned his daughter?
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
He watched the house as the last light finally went out. They’d gone to bed. Were they together? Was Max giving it to her?
He chuckled. Poor fool. Max was probably in love with the bitch. Which would make his revenge that much sweeter, because it would wound Max that much more.
He crept closer to the house, gripping the small pistol in his pocket. He didn’t know where the damn wolf was, but he suspected the ugly thing was in the house somewhere. He wouldn’t let that beast catch him off guard again. He planned to wait. And watch.
Strike when they were least expecting it.
He paused near the back porch and listened.
The wind whistled through the pines. A branch creaked above him. Goosebumps snapped to attention on his skin. But he was good at ignoring the cold. The cold didn’t bother him. It never had. It just kept him more alert.
He crouched at the bottom of the porch. Cocked his head. Listened.
He lifted a foot up onto the bottom step.
A whisper of sound came from behind him. He swung around, his foot slipping on the ice-slicked step. He went down. Something latched onto his arm when he hit the snow, something sharp that sank deep into his flesh.
He cried out, tried to pull away.
He yanked the gun out of his pocket, firing blindly at the yellow eyes glittering at him through the darkness.
The jaws released his arm.
The eyes disappeared.
He jerked upright, scanning the darkness. The gunshot had probably woken Max. He needed to get out of there. Pronto.
He lurched to his feet. Started to run.
Something slammed into him from behind, pulling at his coat, snapping at his legs, tearing at his pants.
Again he went down, his face slamming into a frozen snow dr
ift. Pain arced through his jaw and ricocheted into his skull. Dizziness swirled in his head.
Snarls filled the cold night air. Teeth ripped at his pants, tearing the fabric. More teeth latched onto his arm, sinking deep into his flesh. He screamed.
Jaws snapped near his head. He lifted an arm to cover his face, yanked his other arm free of the vicious fangs.
Shit! There was more than one. A whole pack of them. Where had they come from?
He struggled to his feet and tried to run away, but they dragged him back down into the snow, ripping at his legs, his arms, tearing at his flesh.
He screamed again, lifted the gun. Fired.
A yelp pierced the forest.
The wolves backed off.
He lunged to his feet and raced toward the river. Toward where he’d parked his snowmobile.
His breath was loud in his ears.
His heart thundered like a jackhammer.
His lungs burned.
They were close behind him. Beside him.
Their yellow eyes followed his every move.
Their panting breaths made his ears tingle with terror.
He could feel blood running down his legs where they’d bitten him, blood seeping through his coat sleeves where their fangs had penetrated his flesh…
He leapt through the air and landed on the snowmobile, fumbled with the key. He glanced back toward the house just as the porch light flicked on.
He started the machine and revved the throttle. The snowmobile shot through the air, away from the blood-thirsty wolves. Away from his worst nightmare.
As he raced away into the cold, dark night, his blood pounding through his veins, he knew what it felt like to be the prey, rather than the predator.
What it felt like to be hunted.
For the first time in his life, he knew true, unadulterated terror.
* * *
A loud boom! exploded just outside the bedroom window.
“Shit!” Max set Jennie away, leaping out of the bed. “That sounded like a gunshot.” He grabbed his sweats from off the floor and slipped them on.
Jennie rolled off the other side of the bed, her eyes wide. “Gray’s out there,” she whispered, her gaze darting worriedly to his. She snatched up one of Max’s discarded shirts from off the floor and stuffed her arms into it.
“Stay here,” Max said, hurrying from the room. When he reached the hallway, Jennie was right on his heels. She’d pulled on the pajama pants he’d bought at Walmart. He wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t listened to him. But there was no time to be upset with her. Someone was outside. Shooting.
Abducted (Unlikely Heroes Book 2) Page 21