Authors: Marla Monroe
Once, he tried to trick her and pulled off, but came back a few minutes later on foot. She nearly got caught that time. Thank goodness she had just sunk back down to rest when he did.
He began yelling out at her.
“You better come on out now. I’ll find you eventually, and when I do, I’ll make you wish you’d never left the cabin.”
He jumped back in the truck and rolled out of sight only to repeat the same warning a little farther ahead of her. She moved while he was ranting. When he stopped, she stopped moving and concentrated on controlling her heavy breathing.
“Brandy. You need to come on out of there. You know there are snakes and all sorts of bugs out there in that grass. I can’t help you if you get snakebitten.”
She shuddered. No doubt he was right, and there were snakes and bugs out here, but she would rather get snakebit than put up with Jim’s advances. The man was nasty, had bad breath, and generally made her sick to be around.
“If you don’t get your ass out here in the next thirty seconds, I’m going to set this place on fire and you can burn with it. Do you hear me?” he called out.
Oh, God. If he did start a fire, she might never get out of it. She knew how grass fires spread. She’d be burned to a crisp before she could even make it to the road. She started weighing her options. She had little doubt he would do it, since he was obviously crazy. He’d burn half the state up trying to get to her. Did she want to burn, or risk Jim’s rutting body over hers? Brandy honestly wasn’t sure which was worse.
Finally, she decided to stay where she was and call his bluff. If he made good on his promise, she’d try and outrun the flames and get on the gravel road to do it. She would make it. She had a reason to make it. Two reasons, actually. She had a new life ahead of her. She would get her chance at it, or die trying.
Jim kept walking up and down the road now. He cursed and called her all sorts of names. He was fast deteriorating and becoming more and more unstable. She knew if he ever caught her, he’d end up killing her.
When he took the truck and disappeared for a good twenty minutes, she made the most of it and hurried through the grass to where she hoped was a road leading to town. The long gravel drive had to end up on a road somewhere. She stilled and heard the unmistakable sound of his truck coming back. She ducked beneath the grasses and waited to see where he would stop. This time, he stopped ahead of her and ranted and raved for her to show herself and come out.
Finally, he gave up yelling at her and brought a can. She knew it would be gasoline. She panicked and began running in the opposite direction of the truck. He yelled at her to stop. She ignored him and continued running full out. Her legs pumped even though she was tired. She managed to find a little more energy to push herself to run faster.
When she tripped over her own feet, Brandy fell face-first with her hands out in front of her. She screamed when her hands hit the hard, unforgiving ground. She rolled over to her back and gasped in pain as she heard Jim’s boots hit the ground, coming for her. She bit back the pain and got up and began running again. She risked a glance behind her and wished she hadn’t. He wasn’t that far behind her.
Brandy kept pumping her legs in an effort to put some distance between them. Jim didn’t take care of himself and spent a lot of time in front of the TV. Surely she could outrun him with the adrenaline flowing in her body.
She ran closer to the road where the grass was easier for her to run though. She couldn’t afford to try the gravel road. She could fall and twist an ankle on the rocks. She would stick to the edge where the grass was shorter. Her lungs were burning, and she had a stitch in her side from running, but she didn’t slow up. Her life might depend on it.
All she could think about was that she wanted her men. She needed them. Now that she’d found someone who would love her and take care of her, she was going to lose them. They would never want her if Jim got hold of her.
Tears nearly blinded her as she fought not to cry. She couldn’t afford to lose her balance and fall again. He was right on her. It would be a test of endurance now. If she could just outlast him, she could possibly make it to a main road and flag down someone to get her back to town.
“You, bitch! I’m going to get you. You’re not getting away from me.”
He was so close to her now that she thought she felt his breath on her neck. She knew it wasn’t possible, since he would have her if he were that close, but it spurred her on. The pounding of his shoes against the ground matched the wild beat of her heart.
Please, please, please, God, help me get away from him.
She heard him stumble and fall, grunting when he did. She let herself believe for the first time that she would make it after all. She didn’t slow up, but kept running full out. There was nothing that said he couldn’t catch back up with her. He was just as determined to catch her as she was to get away from him.
If only she could hold out until it grew dark. If she could hide again, she would have a better chance of getting away. If he couldn’t see her, he couldn’t find her. If she could just make it until then, she might be able to lose him for good.
Suddenly, she slid to a shaky stop when she came up on a deep ditch full of water. She almost lost her balance and fell in. Instead, she managed to sit down and keep from sliding on down into the murky water. She’d have to get on the road and go over the ditch on the bridge.
It took a great deal of effort to climb back to her feet and climb up the side of the bank to the road. She stumbled across the bridge and then moved back to the side of the gravel and began jogging. The pain in her side grew the more she jogged, but she refused to stop. She would make it. She refused to give up. Then she heard the truck coming up behind her.
Chapter Eleven
“Okay, we’ve got it,” the sheriff told Kyle and West. “He has an old cabin left to him by his grandfather outside of town. We’re on our way.”
“We’re going with you. No way you’re going without us.” Kyle grabbed his helmet and climbed on the bike. West was right beside him.
They pulled out onto the main road then turned down a blacktop road about five miles later. Kyle felt as if they were driving out into nowhere. A few minutes later, they hit a gravel road. Here, they had to slow down, as dust from the two vehicles ahead of them cut visibility way down.
After about three minutes the brake lights went on ahead, and they had to stop hard to keep from hitting them. Kyle climbed off his bike and raced up to see what was going on. West made it there before he did, and he heard a roar from his best friend.
“I’ll fucking kill you.”
The sheriff and a deputy were holding him back.
“You need to see about her. We have him.” The sheriff jerked West back from Jim, who was cowering next to the deputy holding him.
“Brandy, fuck. Brandy!” West ran over to where she lay crumpled in the grass like a rag doll.
“I’ve called for an ambulance. Don’t you boys go moving her.”
“What the hell happened?” Kyle demanded.
“He hit her with the truck,” West managed to get out. They knelt next to her, afraid to touch her.
“How bad?” Kyle demanded.
“I don’t know. I didn’t see him. I just saw her fly off to the side.”
“Brandy, baby. Can you hear us? We’re here, baby. We’ll take care of you.” Kyle could feel the tears in his eyes. He could see them in West’s eyes as well. They gently touched her face. She opened her eyes and moaned before trying to sit up.
“Don’t move, baby. You’re hurt. We don’t know how bad.” Kyle gently pushed her back down.
“He just grazed my hip is all. I think I turned my ankle, though, when I fell.”
They continued to talk to her and touch her while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. One of the deputies brought over a blanket and laid it over her to keep her warm.
Kyle prayed that she would be okay. He couldn’t lose her when he’d just found her. He and West had so many things to show her. They wanted to take her to the Grand Canyon and to see the ocean. He just couldn’t lose her now.
The ambulance finally pulled up after what seemed like hours. The paramedics rolled her onto a backboard and put a collar around her neck before carting her to the ambulance. They wouldn’t let either man ride with her, so they followed the ambulance to the hospital.
Once there, they wouldn’t let them back with her. No matter how much they begged or threatened, they were made to wait in the outside waiting room.
“We’ll come and get you once the doctor’s finished with his exam and all the tests. You would only get in the way. I know you don’t want to be in the way,” a nurse told them.
Kyle growled at her, and West scowled, but there wasn’t much they could do. She just shook her head and disappeared through the emergency room doors.
“She’s going to be all right, West. We just found her.” Kyle was telling himself more than his friend.
“I can’t stand the idea of being without her,” West confessed.
“We need to call Cole and let him know what has happened,” Kyle realized.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Cole’s number. The other man answered on the third ring.
“Yeah?”
“We have her back. She’s in the emergency room. The bastard hit her with his truck.”
“Fuck, how bad?” Cole asked.
“We don’t know, but she was conscious when they brought her in. Her hands and arms were covered with blood. I don’t know anything more.” Kyle sighed.
“We’re pulling for her. Don’t worry about anything but her. We’ve gotten back on track since the men realize the law is in on this now. They evidently don’t want to lose their jobs or go to jail.”
“I’ll keep you informed, but so far, we don’t know a damn thing. You be careful. Someone is awful serious about that hotel not getting finished on time. You don’t know what else they might try,” Kyle warned Cole.
“I’ll be listening for you to tell me how she’s doing.” Cole hung up
Kyle paced one side of the waiting room while West paced the other.
Neither man could be still. Every time someone came through the ER doors, both men stood up to see if it was for them. The longer they waited for someone to come tell them something, the more serious they thought it was.
Finally, the sheriff walked out. He’d been allowed to go in because he was law enforcement. He had a grim expression on his face. Kyle felt his heart sink. She wasn’t doing well.
“What is it? How is she?” West beat him to the question.
“She’s conscious and wanting to get up. I kept waiting for them to let me talk to her, but they won’t let me until they finish all their tests. I know she has some pretty deep cuts on her hands and right arm, and has a badly sprained ankle. Her hip is bruised where the truck struck her, but I don’t know about any broken bones. I just overheard that much.” The sheriff sighed and shook his head.
“What?” Kyle demanded.
“She’s going to be sore all over from this. They plan on sedating her so she’ll rest. Right now she’s fighting them, wanting to go home. They want to keep her overnight just to be safe.”
“She can’t have a head injury, then, because they wouldn’t do that.” West had one about two years prior, and they wouldn’t give him anything but Tylenol for pain for twenty-four hours in case he had complications.
“That’s something, anyway.” West sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets.
“Thanks for telling us what you know. We’re dying out here not knowing what is going on back there with her.” Kyle shook the sheriff’s hand.
West pulled his hand out of his pocket and did the same thing. “Thanks.”