The guy kept driving for at least an hour, and I hadn’t managed to loosen the ropes at all. “Who are you?” I asked, trying to listen for help. Was anybody coming? Tears pooled in my eyes but I couldn’t stop them.
“Jareth Davey,” he said, turning again onto a trail that was barely there. “I won’t hurt you. But I need a bride.”
I didn’t believe him. If he didn’t want to hurt me, he wouldn’t have pushed Lacey down or tied my hands together. What if my dad didn’t find me? I sucked in air.
The sound of a helicopter pierced the nice Spring day. Was it for me? Were they coming? Then the sound of four-wheelers and dirt bikes echoed around the mountains. It was Memorial Day weekend, and there were a lot of campers, but maybe those were looking for me.
What if I never got free? My legs shook. This had to be a bad dream.
“Shit,” Jareth said, driving the machine to the right and aiming toward a weathered cabin that seemed to almost go into the rocks. I hadn’t even seen it before. He parked beneath some trees, undid my rope, and then carried me toward the cabin.
I screamed and punched him, fighting and trying to fall to the ground. He kept going and opened the door, hurrying inside where it was quiet. Would anybody even see the cabin? I punched him in the throat.
The cabin only had one room with a kitchen that had a hotplate and several mismatched pans on a counter. A bare mattress was on the floor with one pillow and a dirty looking blanket. I punched him again in the throat, and he put me down.
“We’re married now,” he said. He was crazy. I’d heard about how some people could go nuts and make up their own rules, and I think that’s what happened to this guy.
I ran toward the counter and grabbed a heavy pan to ward him off. It was heavy and hurt my shoulders, but I held on so tight my fingers hurt.
He laughed and walked toward me.
Panic caught me around the throat, and I swung, hitting him in the side with a loud thud. He fell back, and his face turned an ugly red. Then he jumped for me.
The door burst open, and a dark-haired boy ran inside, smashing into the man so hard they rammed into the opposite wall. The boy started punching Jareth Davey in the face, neck, and stomach, grunting wildly each time. Jareth hit back, and blood flew from both of them.
I dropped the heavy pan and screamed for help. The boy was from the high school, and I’d seen him around town.
He grabbed the pan and swung it, hitting Jareth right in the face. The bad guy fell back, and his eyes closed.
I gulped and tried to breathe. My legs wanted to run but I couldn’t get them to move. Everything froze.
“You okay?” the boy asked, breathing heavily. His blue eyes focused on me, and a bruise was already forming above one of them.
“No,” I whispered, my voice shaking.
“You will be.” He took my hand and pulled me toward the door.
I clutched onto him, holding as tight as I could.
“My dirt bike is outside. I’ll take you home,” he said.
I sniffed and hurried toward the door and away from the bad man. We had to get out of there before he woke up. I swallowed and tried not to cry.
The boy looked down and smiled. “I’m Aiden. You’re safe now. I promise.”
I jerked awake and sat up, noting the sunlight pouring through the sliding glass door that led to a small balcony. Tamarack Lake sparkled merrily this morning, the slight waves shining like diamonds. I sat up and pushed my hair away from my face, taking inventory.
My head ached a little, but my body felt okay and I no longer needed to puke. The paranoia was gone. What a crazy trip I’d taken. Yeah. I always reacted oddly to medication, so it wasn’t a surprise that I’d had the extreme trip of the night before. What had I been thinking to show up at Nick’s place?
Dishes clattered, and soft voices wafted up the stairway.
I used the bathroom, finding a new toothbrush already waiting for me. After taking care of my teeth and trying to finger comb my curls away from my face, I gave up and walked toward the stairway, noting the too-long sweats and roomy JAG T-shirt that covered me.
Pausing, I rolled up the bottom of the sweats so I wouldn’t break my neck on the stairs down to the kitchen. Then I descended, sniffing as the smell of breakfast hit me.
I was starving and had to hold the waistband to keep the sweats up.
Passing the living room, I gingerly walked into the kitchen where Tessa sat at the counter with Nick scrambling eggs at the stove. Both were smiling.
