Page 50 of Mystery at Rescue Ridge

Gathering her strength, she fisted her hands, ready to throw a punch.Her back hurt.Her head throbbed, and she clenched her back teeth so hard she feared her molars might crack.

Lawrence’s laugh was half-cackle, half-screech.The sound imprinted on her brain.It was also a warning because the fact that he wasn’t afraid to let her scream meant they were all alone in some abandoned barn far from anyone or anything that could help.

She’d already warned herself not to expect the cavalry to show, but this reality bit harder.It confirmed no help was on the way.Lawrence had the upper hand.And even if she managed to escape this building, she would have to find her way through the woods with him two steps behind.

You’ll have to kill me before I go willingly back to that bed.

Evie took a punch in the chest so hard that it broke a hole through the last of the wood, and she tumbled out of the opening.

She rolled onto her side, jumped to her feet, and ran like hell as Lawrence forced his way out.

Completely turned around in the dark with nothing recognizable, Evie picked a direction and ran.

18

The fastest route to the abandoned barn was to take the farm road, lights on, sirens blaring.It took all of ten minutes to drive there.Owen hopped out of the passenger seat as Travis called in their location, requesting backup.

“The nearest deputy is on a call on the other side of the county,” Travis said as they ran into the dark woods.

“Then, it’s just you and me,” Owen said.He liked those odds if Evie was still alive.

Running at full speed as branches slapped him in the face and torso while the underbrush threatened to trip him, it took another ten minutes to get close enough to the barn to slow down.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness, so he cut the flashlight app off as the building came into view.He couldn’t get a clear look at the door from this distance, and he’d outrun Travis.Common sense told him to wait for the sheriff to catch up before making a move.Emotions pleaded with him to storm the shelter and get to Evie before it was too late.

Were there cameras mounted by the door?Would they trigger an alert if he got close to the building?

Owen had no idea.He listened for any noises coming from the barn.Anything that might indicate Evie was inside.If willpower alone could alter her circumstances, he would have willed her to be home a long time ago.Woo-woo might work for Ms.Bart, but it had no place around Owen.

Footsteps nearby meant Travis was getting close.Owen remained silent.Shouting for Travis would give Lawrence a heads up that the barn was about to be stormed.A few seconds later, Travis was beside Owen.

“Ready?”Travis whispered.

A flashback assaulted Owen of being bound and gagged in a building that looked much like the one in front of them.The details of the structure might be different, but the scenario was the same.

“You take the left, and I’ll take the right,” Travis said.“See if we can get eyes inside the place before we go in.”

“Let’s roll.”

Travis split off to the right, walking in a big circle around the barn.Owen did the same on the left.Dim lights glowed on the inside of the barn, which would give them an advantage.Lawrence thought he’d outsmarted everyone.Think again, asshat.

Getting a closer look, Owen didn’t see any camera equipment.Didn’t mean there was none or some other kind of monitoring equipment, but since Lawrence had sped up his plans, he might have compromised security alerts.

Owen moved closer to the barn, risking triggering an unseen alarm.Crouching low, he closed the couple of feet gap and leaned in to peek between the boards.The scene inside caused his muscles to tense.

The place was set up like this was some kind of romantic date happening instead of abduction and…

He couldn’t go there in his mind, where unspeakable things had happened to Evie.

A scan of the room, however, caused more dread to ball up inside his gut.Empty.The place was empty.

Evie was nowhere to be seen.Lawrence was gone, too.

Anger mixed with frustration formed a fireball of emotions to blast the center of his chest.

Were they too late?

Evie was almostcertain she was making one big circle.Every chirp or animal call—coyotes?—caused her pulse to race a little faster and her heart to jackhammer so loudly she could hear her own heartbeat in her ears.

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