Page 48 of Captive at Rescue Ridge

Annalee shouted, “No!”

And then she dove in between the business end of the barrel and her mother. Another shot was fired.

Cold, wet liquid ran down her chest as shock set in. No way had she been shot. Her brain argued against reality—a reality that was next to impossible to process.

“Annalee!” The fear in her mother’s voice confirmed the worst. This was bad. Annalee would likely die out here in the woods.

She rolled into a ball on her side, hugging her knees to her chest while making certain she faced away from Russ. The move was meant to lull him into thinking she was defenseless. But she had one more card to play.

He walked over toward her. She didn’t move a muscle.

Sounds of her mother wailing filled the air.

He brought the toe of his boot to her right shoulder.

The vibration of footsteps shook the earth beneath her. It sounded like a herd of elephants but was probably feral hogs.

He used the toe of his boot to shove her.

Last straw, asshole.

Annalee rolled onto her back, placed her hands beside her ears, and then bucked. She shot to her feet, toe-to-toe with Russ. He staggered back a few steps after she knocked the weapon out of his hand. It went flying into the scrub and disappeared.

Becca’s screaming and cursing was drowned out by one thing…Annalee’s rage. She could already sense blood loss was weakening her. Acting fast while she still had strength left was key.

At least she’d knocked the weapon out of his hands. He dove in the direction it had flown. She followed, landing on top of him, kicking and screaming like a wild banshee.

When he rolled over, it was as though hell came with him. There was so much hate in his eyes it almost stunned her.

And then a devastating blow to the side of her head knocked a few screws loose. Russ had something in his hand. A rock? The gun? She prayed it wasn’t the latter.

Blinking through blurry eyes, she tried to get her bearings and fight back. But she was woozy and nauseous. In fact, she wanted to vomit. Immediately.

Fighting the darkness tugging at her, the last thing she remembered seeing was Russ pulling her mother by the hair toward the road before everything went black.

“Wake up, sweetheart.”Archer’s voice cut through the fog. It was distant, like in a long tunnel. His breath came out in gasps like he was in pain.

Annalee gravitated toward the sound but couldn’t quite reach it.

“Please, Annalee,” he continued, insistent. “I need you to come to. I need to talk to you again and hear your laughter. Stay with me.”

With all her might, she resisted the urge to fall deeper into sleep. With a jolt, she forced her eyes to open. “Archer.”

“You’re back,” he said, a mix of relief and surprise in his deep timbre. “Keep those beautiful eyes open for me. Help is coming.”

She glanced around. “Mother.”

“I haven’t seen her.”

“Russ?” she asked.

“No sign of him, either.” He frowned. “I’m sorry.”

She took a second to let that sink in.

“We heard footsteps. Travis and Owen took off toward them. I haven’t seen them since. As far as I know, your mother is still with Russ.” He issued a sharp sigh. “Best-case scenario, Travis and Owen caught up to them.”

He didn’t have to outline the worst case. It was obvious.

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