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As she heard him drawing closer, she prayed she’d be safe. She needed to get back to her precious little boy. She wanted to get home to Gramps. He would be blaming himself because he’d left the front door unlocked. Even if the door had been locked, she knew Jean-Luc would have come right through it.

Finally, she wanted to get back to Johnny. She wanted to be in the shelter of his arms again…safe and warm with him gazing at her like she’d hung the moon. She desperately hoped he was with Danny, being the father he was destined to be.

Jean-Luc was so close she could hear his slow, careful footsteps and labored breathing. So close she thought she could smell acrid sweat and the odor of unpleasant breath.

She held her breath and closed her eyes like a child who thought if she couldn’t see him, then he couldn’t see her. He was obviously slowly hunting for her. As he walked, he hit brush in an obvious effort to flush her out. She didn’t release her breath until he finally went by her.

Should she double back and head out to the road? How long would it take her to flag down a car? Would a car even appear on the road and would it stop for her? It would be a big risk.

However, it would also be risky to go deeper into a swamp she didn’t know, especially with a killer hunting her down. She remained in the bush for several minutes, indecisive but knowing the next decision could be her last.

She had to have blind faith that she’d make it out of this. She had to believe that, despite all the odds she was going to hold Danny in her arms once again. She had to believe that she would see Gramps and Johnny again.

She made her decision. She would sit tight for the moment. She felt reasonably safe here for now since Jean-Luc had already searched the area. She’d give it more time. She could hear him in the distance, cursing and smacking the brush. As long as she could hear him with some distance between them, she took a moment to catch her breath.

She still couldn’t believe this was all happening. It was a nightmare she couldn’t have fathomed taking place. That it was Jean-Luc hurt her deeply. But the man who had held her at gunpoint, the man who had kidnapped her from her loved ones wasn’t the friend she had known. He was the boogeyman in her nightmares and truly a monster,

Time passed slowly. She remained hypervigilant to her surroundings. Insects buzzed all around her, and she fought the impulse to slap them away. The thorns pricked her, making her want to somehow get away from them. Still, she feared making a single sound that would being Jean-Luc back in her direction.

She didn’t know how long she remained hidden in the sticker bush, but she eventually had to move. She needed to get away from the thorns, and more than anything, she needed to get away from Jean-Luc. She didn’t even want to think about what might happen if he caught her again.

Believe, she told herself. She had to believe that she would get back to her shanty, back to her son…to Gramps and to the man she loved with all her heart.

She had two choices. The first was to find another hiding place in the unfamiliar swamp. The second was to leave the swamp and run back toward the road.

If she chose the latter, she would be in the open until she reached the road, with no guarantee any cars would be there to help her. She would make a perfect target for Jean-Luc to shoot.

She held her breath and slowly rose from her position. She stood for a moment, and hearing him someplace still in the distance, she ran back to where she could exit the swamp. She could only pray that she had made the right decision and she could get away from the man who wanted to lock her up and keep her forever.

JOHNNY’S PHONE RANG. It was Beau. “Johnny, I’m not sure how reliable this information is, but two phone calls came in just now reporting that there was a woman running away from a man shooting at her.”

It had to be her. It had to be them. Every nerve in Johnny’s body lit on fire as a rush of adrenaline filled his veins. “Where?”

Beau named a highway. “It’s around the fifty-three mile marker. We’re on our way there now.”

“I’m going there, too,” Johnny replied. It had to be Mimi, and nothing was going to keep him from her. Danny would be fine now with Renée and Gramps and the other officers on guard.

“I’m leaving for a little while,” he said to Gramps and Renée, giving no more information about where he was going. If it was some sort of false report or things went sideways, he didn’t want anyone to know what was going on.

He didn’t hesitate but immediately left the shanty and got into his truck. He knew that highway. The mile marker Beau had mentioned was about seventy miles from here.

It had to be Mimi. The reports scared the hell out of him. A woman running from a man shooting at her? He was at least an hour away from that scene…an hour!

He tromped on the gas, unmindful of the speed limit. All he could think about was getting to Mimi as soon as possible. If it was really her, had she been able to get away from Jean-Luc? Or had she already been shot?

That thought was too horrendous to keep in his head. He hadn’t been on the road long before three police cars whizzed by him with sirens blaring. Once again, he stepped on the gas in an effort to keep up with them. Thankfully, his trailer rode smoothly behind him as he reached eighty miles per hour. He remained right on the last cop car’s tail.

He thought of Danny…sweet, loving Danny who needed his mother back. However, one thing that had come out of the horrible afternoon was that Danny needed his father as well as his mother. God, keep his mother safe, he prayed.

The miles clipped by, and he fell into a headspace where there were no thoughts except for Mimi. His fingers held the steering wheel tightly as he wondered if he was rushing only to find her shot to death by Jean-Luc.

Tears filled his eyes, forcing him to swipe them off his cheeks as they fell. His heart hurt so painfully he thought he might have a heart attack.

He didn’t know how long he’d been driving when he hit roadwork and was forced to slow down. Up ahead he saw the patrol cars all parked along the side of the road, along with an unfamiliar car. Johnny pulled his truck to a halt, parked and jumped out of the vehicle.

Almost immediately, he saw Mimi running out of a swamp-like area. Oh thank God, she was gloriously alive. He raced toward her, his heart beating fast. He ran far faster than all the officers who were rushing toward her.

“Johnny,” she cried, sobs choking out of her. She looked horrible with bleeding cuts on her arms and legs. But she was alive, and that was all that mattered.