CHAPTER 31
Indie groaned. Jesus Christ, her head ached. It felt like someone had taken a hammer to her skull.
She scrunched her eyes before opening them.
Darkness. It surrounded her. Then she noticed other things. The dull rumble of an engine. The gentle vibration beneath her.
She was in a car. The trunk of a car…that was why it was so dark.
How did she get here?Think, Indie, think!
They were at the hospital for Sylvia. Colt and Ben stepped out, then…
She gasped.
Gordon. He’d been hiding behind the bathroom door.
Dammit, why had she gone in there? Why hadn’t she run out to Colt the second she’d heard something?Stupid.
She lifted her hands and pushed on the roof of the trunk. Of course it didn’t move. But she still pushed again and again, her movements becoming quick and desperate, until her fists were basically pounding at the metal.
It was only when her hands began to ache that she dropped her arms and swallowed a sob. She was stuck. Stuck until Gordon decided otherwise.
Panic clawed at her chest. She wasn’t a claustrophobic person, but right now, the small space combined with the darkness and the knowledge that she couldn’t get out made her want to crawl out of her own skin.
Breathe, Indie. Just breathe.
She closed her eyes, put a hand on her belly, and sucked in one full breath of air.
“It’s okay, Peanut. We’re going to be okay.” Her whispered words sounded loud in the silence. But they were also comforting. A reminder that she was strong, and shecouldfigure her way out of this. She had to, for her baby.
What she needed was a weapon.
Blindly, she reached around the trunk. Her fingers ran over cables, clothing…when she touched what felt like a flashlight, she grabbed it, feeling for the switch.
The second it turned on, light blinded her, causing pain to shoot into her skull and her eyes to snap closed. They remained closed for a few seconds before she slowly cracked them open.
Finally, her eyes adjusted. She turned her head. So much stuff, but none of it looked useful.
Hang on…
She reached out and grabbed a spray cannister. It was about the size of a water bottle. She turned it around.
Bear deterrent.
Yes!This could work. If she sprayed it into Gordon’s eyes, she might give herself time to get away. Plus, Gordon had just had major foot surgery. He wouldn’t be fast. There was a chance she could outrun him.
Hope began to bubble in her chest. But so did another emotion—fear.
Not fear for herself, but fear for the baby. What if she fought him and didn’t win? That could put the baby at risk. But then,notrunning could be just as much of a risk.
No. She had to fight.
She just had to trust that she was going to be okay. And the baby was going to be okay.
The dull rumble of the engine stopped. Her breathing hitched, pulse taking off.
This was it. She turned the flashlight off and pointed the cannister up, finger on the lever.
