Where was Libby? His brow wrinkled in confusion as he thought of the empty car outside. If they had succeeded in taking her, why was the car still outside?
His heart leapt up into his throat as he saw the bathroom door, splintered and leaning against the door frame. It had obviously been beaten down, and his heart froze in his chest as he thought of Libby hiding in the bathroom, totally defenseless, completely vulnerable, praying for his return.
He pushed his self-recriminations aside. He had no time for that now. Instead, he eyed the tiny, opened bathroom window hopefully. Had she managed to escape through the window before they broke down the door? It seemed the only feasible explanation for the car still parked outside.
He looked at the window, hope flaring alive in his chest as he saw the tangled, wooded area directly behind the cabin. She was out there now, hiding, trying to evade the men that sought her. She needed him. He turned on his heels, his heart racing anxiously. She needed him, and God, he needed to find her.
* * *
Libby ran like the wind, afraid to stop, afraid to look behind her. Just as she had hit the ground outside the bathroom window and picked herself up, she heard the explosive sound of the bathroom door coming apart. She hadn’t wanted to see if anyone was going to follow her, she had simply run, unmindful of the thistle bushes and thorns that tore at her.
Tears blinded her, along with panic, as she raced, stumbling over tree roots, ducking beneath hanging limbs. She ran as fast and as far as she could until the combination of thick underbrush and a painful stitch in her side made her slow down. Her chest heaved from her efforts and she took in large gulps of air. The sides of her hips were on fire where she knew she’d skinned and bruised them as she’d shimmied out the window.
At least I’m alive,she thought, but this did nothing to still the fear that remained deep inside her. Had she run far enough to lose the albino? Was he still following her, hunting her down like a wild animal? Should she continue to run until she dropped from exhaustion? Oh, God, she wished Tony was here to tell her what to do.
She stood completely still, straining to listen to the sounds of the woods. She was somewhat reassured by the silence that surrounded her. There was no crashing noise, no crunching of leaves beneath footsteps—nothing to indicate that somebody was on her trail.
She slid down at the base of a large tree, crouching down behind a fallen log in front of her. All she needed was a moment or two to get her bearings, catch her breath. When she had taken off running, she had zigzagged back and forth. Now she had absolutely no idea where she was. In fact, she had no idea in which direction the cabin was.
She wanted to cry. She needed to cry. But she had never been a noiseless crier, and the last thing she wanted to do was make a noise that would draw unwanted attention. Instead she chewed on her bottom lip, wishing she was back in the safety and warmth of Tony’s arms. She wished she was back in her own little apartment with Twilight curled up at her feet. She wished she was anywhere but here. She wasn’t cut out for this kind of stuff. She wasn’t meant to be a hero.
From out of nowhere a huge hand reached from behind her and fastened firmly against her mouth. Libby’s eyes widened in shock and her blood went cold. She stiffened, trying to pull herself away from the hand that held her tight. She gasped as a second hand snaked around her waist and jerked her upright against a taut, lean body.
“Shh, I’m here,” Tony’s voice whispered in her ear, and she sagged against him in relief, tears spurting from her eyes. She turned herself around and threw her arms around his neck, molding herself against him. She wanted to wrap herself around him, crawl inside of him, never let him go.
“Don’t say a word, don’t make a sound,” he breathed into her ear, gently stroking her back reassuringly. “They’re about a hundred yards from here.” He pointed to the left. “We’re going to circle back around and find the car. Then we’ll get the hell out of here.”
Libby nodded, still clinging to him in silent desperation.
“Uh…Libby. You’re going to have to let go of me so we can walk,” he whispered, tipping her face up with his finger. He kissed the tip of her nose, and she longed to crawl into the tenderness and caring that radiated from his dark eyes. “Are you all right?” he asked, tightening his grip on her for a moment.
Libby released a huge, tremulous sigh and nodded. As if by some unspoken communication, they moved silently through the woods together.
It took them almost an hour to get back to where their car was parked at the edge of the woods behind the cabin. It was the most excruciating hour Libby had ever endured. Twice they nearly walked into the men who hunted them. She shivered as they hid in the thicket, hearing the curses of the nearby albino.
When they reached Tony’s Buick, the sports car was still parked in front of the cabin. Looking around cautiously, Tony and Libby jumped into their car and Tony started the engine with a roar.
He drove like a maniac, fast and frantic, needing to put as much distance as possible between them and the men who wanted them. Once again they kept off the main roads, instead going over trails and cow paths that kept them traveling in the general direction of the lab.
When they’d gone some distance with no indication that they were being followed, Libby’s tightly controlled rein on her emotions gave way. Even though she wasn’t aware of her need to cry, tears began racing down her cheeks, and her entire body trembled uncontrollably. She turned her head away from Tony, feeling ridiculously foolish as the tears continued to run unchecked down her face.
Tony reached out and pulled her over next to him, feeling the trembling that had seized her body. He put his arm around her, trying to absorb the trembling into his own body, imagining how frightened she must have been before he found her. She was so strong. She’d earned these tears. She deserved the release he knew they would bring.
“Everything is all right now,” he crooned softly as she leaned against him weakly. He wanted to stop the car and take her into his arms. He wanted to hold her and stroke her until the horror was gone, replaced with sensations of passion and life. But he knew better than to risk pulling the car over. They needed to keep traveling while they had the slight advantage.
Hopefully it would take those men some time to discover that he and Libby had taken the car and fled. So instead of pulling over to comfort her, he did the best he could, hugging her close against him, stroking her hair and crooning words of assurance.
Within a few minutes, her trembling had stopped and her tears had dried, but she didn’t move from Tony’s awkward embrace. “Feeling better?” he asked softly, leaning over to press his lips to the top of her head.
She nodded, offering him a tremulous smile. “I guess I’m just not cut out for this kind of thing. I thought I’d die when I walked out of the bathroom and that…that man was sitting at the kitchen table.”
Tony hugged her once again. “How did you get away?”
“I guess you could say I had the help of some divine intervention,” she said, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Again he marveled at her strength of character, her courage. “What do you mean?” he asked curiously.
“He demanded I give him the necklace and I pretended that’s what I was going to do, then I threw the Bible at him.” She looked at him, suddenly horrified. “Oh, Tony…the necklace…I don’t know where it is.”
