CHAPTER 14
“Shh.”
Libby came awake immediately, feeling Tony’s hand pressed tightly against her mouth, his body lying directly on top of hers. She lay still, listening to the snapping, crunching sounds of somebody walking outside their little hiding place. The noise of heavy footsteps was close, too close for comfort. Somebody was walking just on the other side of all the vines and brush. The beam of a high-powered flashlight swept across the overgrowth behind which they hid.
She closed her eyes tightly, fear making her heart thud loudly in her ears. She wondered if Tony could hear the frantic beating of her heart. It sounded to her like it was beating loud enough to alert whoever was on the other side of the bushes.
Tony’s body was hard and taut against hers, his muscles tightened with tension, as if anticipating the need to jump up and fight, or run. He stiffened as first one voice, then another called out. There were at least three men out there, and Libby had a feeling they weren’t out looking for mushrooms.
Horrible visions played in Libby’s mind, as if on a large movie screen. The only difference was that in a theater she’d be able to close her eyes and make the picture disappear—but now, eyes open or closed, the images remained. The visions were all the same…the albino, with his cold, deadly eyes, and his sharp knife glittering wickedly. She remembered the sound of his rage when she had managed to evade him and lock herself in the bathroom. His anger had been an awesome force, and Libby shivered uncontrollably at the thought of finding herself at the mercy of his rage.
As she shivered, Tony pressed down more firmly on top of her, as if to still her shivering with his own body. His weight only managed to force the air out of her lungs, making it difficult for her to breathe. Yet she was grateful for the weight of his body, for with his strength and warmth pressed against her, she almost felt safe.
She wrapped her arms around him tightly, wanting to hold on to him forever. She wanted to pull herself up inside of him and hide there until the danger had passed. She had never known that fear could taste so bad—she could taste it now, and it was something she hoped never to taste again.
Seconds passed, minutes…minutes that felt like years, but finally the footsteps moved away, and the voices receded deeper into the woods. Tony eased his weight off her by raising up on his elbows, then gazed down at her, and she was suddenly aware of his heart beating as rapidly as her own.
She was also aware of the fact that night had passed while she slept, and the world was illuminated with the first stirrings of dawn. She looked up into Tony’s face, wanting to memorize each line, every feature. She wanted to remember him the way he looked at this very moment. His chin was darkened with the stubble of whiskers, and dried pine needles clung to his dark hair, but it was the look in his eyes that she wanted to remember for the rest of her life. For in his eyes, she saw the love she felt for him reflected back to her. His onyx eyes reflected his vulnerability, and his love for her. Her memory of his denials from the night before faded. He loved her. She knew he did.
Neither of them spoke a word as his lips slowly descended to hers. He kissed her deeply, passionately, with all the emotion he had not spoken of the night before.
When the kiss finally ended, she looked at him with sad longing, recognizing the kiss for what it had been—a goodbye.
“You’re a damn fool,” Libby whispered softly, and Tony nodded.
“It’s time to go,” he said, releasing his hold on her and sitting up. “We’ve got to get to Walker’s Grocery, and we’re going to have to be very careful. They’re looking for us.”
Libby nodded and followed him as he crawled through the doorway of the brush. “Stay right behind me and don’t make any noise,” he warned in a whisper, reminding her that they were not out of danger yet.
She did as he instructed, staying behind him as they moved through the woods in the direction of Walker’s Grocery and Dock. She had no sense of direction and was grateful that Tony moved through the semidarkness with the assurance of a born trailblazer, pausing only once momentarily to get his bearings.
As Libby followed him, she thought of the past week of her life. She had been robbed and assaulted, had faced danger and death, yet she knew these memories would eventually fade. It was the love she had discovered that she would find difficult to forget. Her bruised neck, her scraped hipbones—those injuries would eventually heal, but her heart would forever carry the scars of her adventure.
Tony stopped suddenly as they neared the edge of the woods. Ahead of them was the grocery store. It was closed. Not a light shone from within, and the small parking area in front was empty.
“Where are your friends?” Libby whispered, dismayed to find nobody waiting for them, no friendly faces waiting to take the necklace from them and relieve them of their deadly burden.
“It’s still early,” Tony whispered back, his eyes searching the eastern skies where the sun was reaching out with tentative fingers of light.
He scanned the area, searching out the best place for them to hide and await Cliff and his people. He didn’t like being this close to the store, where anyone could sneak up on them from any direction. His gaze landed on the large gas pumps at the end of the long boat dock. If they could make their way down there, they could hide behind the pumps. They wouldn’t have to watch their backs because their backs would be to the open lake.
He eyed the sky once again. In minutes the sun would peek fully over the top of the horizon and they would no longer have the advantage of semidarkness. They needed to move right now. “Come on, follow me.” He touched her arm lightly, then took off running across the clearing.
They ran quickly, their feet barely making a sound as they crossed the small graveled parking area and hit the boarded ramp of the dock. They didn’t stop running until they crouched down behind the pumps.
“Whew.” Libby expelled a gasp as she tried to catch her breath. She sat down on the wooden dock. “Do you think anyone saw us?”
Tony shrugged. “We’ll see,” he said tersely, praying the store hadn’t been under surveillance, praying their luck held until Cliff and his men arrived.
Libby leaned her head back against the gas pump. She was tired, tired of the whole mess. She was suddenly anxious to give the necklace to the proper people. She should be feeling euphoric—they had almost made it. But instead she felt a weary resignation she’d never known before. She looked at Tony, loving him…wishing things were different between them. She hadn’t allowed her heart to listen to his denial of love the night before. But this morning his words, combined with the bittersweetness of the kiss they had shared, caused a dreaded heaviness in her heart.
She sighed, raising her face to the healing warmth of the sun as it suddenly shot over the horizon and fell brightly to earth.
She turned and peered in the direction of the grocery store as he heard the crunching of gravel beneath car tires. A black Mustang pulled up and came to a stop in front of the grocery store. “It’s them, isn’t it?” she whispered anxiously to Tony.
“Probably.” His eyes narrowed as he stared at the car. So far, nobody had gotten out. “Just be patient.” Another minute passed, then Tony hissed a curse.
Fear clutched Libby’s heart as she peered around the side of the pump. Her heart plummeted to her stomach as she saw the albino and the husky, dark-haired man get out of the car. For a moment they looked around, then focused on the pumps at the end of the dock. She moaned softly as they approached the edge of the dock, both with guns in their hands. “How did they know we were here?” she whispered, unsurprised when Tony merely shrugged, his eyes black and intense.
