Page 4 of Shadowed Rubies
I didn’t like the odds of this plan working, but it was the best idea I had. I needed to at least try because I had the feeling that Kevin was taking me to his lair, which the local police hadn’t been able to find, despite massive, long-term searches.
Since Kevin had managed to keep Claire as a hostage in his basement for a year, the odds of me finding a way to escape him once he had me secured somewhere would be very slim. Now was the best time for me to try to get away.
Going for it, I forced my body to go limp. As soon as he lost his vice grip on my upper arm, I planned to run like hell.
Unfortunately, my big move––or rather, lack of movement––didn’t seem to surprise Kevin in the slightest. His step barely faltered as he reached over to lock his free arm around my waist. In a flash, he hefted me to his hip as if I was as tiny as Meg.
I squirmed and bucked in an attempt to break free from my prison as he carried me at his side, but my movements only served to make him further tighten his grip. Finally, when he had my rib cage so constricted that I could barely breathe, I stopped struggling. It was obvious that I wouldn’t be able to beat him physically, so I would need to outsmart him.
During our seemingly interminable walk, I cursed myself for coming out here alone. In hindsight, it was easy to see that this certainly hadn’t been my smartest move, but the idea of being abducted had never even crossed my mind, until it actually happened.
It wasn’t like me to go out in the woods by myself. I guess I’d been seeking some time for introspection, and, if I was completely honest with myself, I’d been hoping to feel a bit closer to my dad. He’d passed away from an aggressive form of lung cancer just a few weeks ago, and Thanksgiving was quickly approaching.
This would be our first major holiday without him, and I just couldn’t bring myself to imagine it. He had always been the calm, quiet backbone of our family, and nothing felt right without him here with us.
Mom and I both blamed ourselves for not being able to save him. We were doctors. We saved people’s lives every day. It was in our job descriptions. Yet when it came time to save Daddy, we had both failed.
Dean was so busy with his adorable son, Jaxson, and his fiancé, Josie, it was hard to tell if he was as devastated by Daddy’s death as Mom and I were. Being male, he probably just showed his emotions differently than we did––like, not at all. I just hoped he wasn’t internalizing it all, leaving it to emerge later in an unhealthy way.
The jostling of being clutched at Kevin’s side as he trudged along the rocky, leaf-covered terrain made it difficult to focus on my introspection about my father’s death and its repercussions on our family.
I wondered if Dad was watching over me now. I needed to believe that some part of him continued to exist and look out for me. He would be horrified as he saw this scene unfold. I knew he would do anything in his power to help, but he might not be able to intervene.
It was then that I felt the intuitive nudge. I’d like to think it was from my Dad, but I couldn’t be sure. In any case, some innate sense told me that now was the right time for me to try again to make my escape. I’d been cooperating by not struggling for a while, so I thought I might be able to catch Kevin off-guard.
After taking inventory of precisely how and where he was holding me, I slowly angled my face up to look ahead of us. When we reached a slight incline that had Kevin huffing a bit, I made my move.
Arching backward and kicking my leg out, I made hard contact with Kevin’s knee. He stumbled to the ground and momentarily loosened his grip on me. I took full advantage of the brief reprieve and yanked myself away from him.
Despite being stunned that I was able to actually free myself from his grasp, I rolled quickly away and hurried to my feet. Not daring to look back, I took off running.
I didn’t make it very far. The sound of the crack against my head instantly sickened me, just before everything went black.
6
Max
Somehow, I made it across the fiery expanse and to the other side. Knowing we didn’t have long until the rest of the floor gave way and the entire building caved in on itself, I hurried to the door.
As I jogged down the steps, it crossed my mind that if I was carrying a rat to safety, the guys on the crew would never let me live it down. They would place stuffed rats in my bed and pictures of rats in my locker for years to come.
Once we reached solid ground, I tilted my head down to get a good look at the animal shivering in my arms. It was so ugly it was almost cute, and it boasted a fire-engine red collar with a gemstone encrusted, bone-shaped charm that read Bruiser.
“Hey, Bruiser,” I said as the frightened animal gazed up at me like I might be an angel sent from above.
Seeming to sense that I had just saved him, the pint-sized dog burrowed up into my neck. I snuggled him there as I rounded the bend to the front of the building where the growing crowd was anxiously waiting.
A gossipmonger from The Brunswick Bay Gazette used an oversized, old-school camera with a bright flash to snap a picture, nearly blinding me in the process.
I heard, rather than saw, Meg rush forward to reach up and scoop Bruiser out of my arms. Snuggling her face near the shivering dog, she said, “Oh, thank goodness you’re okay.”
“Yep, I’m good,” I answered, even though it was obvious she wasn’t referring to me.
I blinked a few times to clear my vision. The flash was evidently still playing tricks on my eyes because it looked like tiny, angry Meg Stark was beaming a smile up at me for the first time in our entire lives.
Meg further stunned me by reaching up and lightly patting my cheek before saying sincerely, “You’re a hero, Max. Thank you.”
I shook my head over the odd exchange as I turned and walked away. Love sure did strange things to people. Thank goodness I was in no danger of having to worry about that.
