Page 4 of Wanted

As I traveled down a dead-end street, there was a house on thecorner which looked to be abandoned. The roof was old, shingles hanging off thesides, threatening to fall off given one more rainstorm. The front porch wasmissing and the siding was rotting away, as if whatever was housed inside hadcaused all the damage.

Instinct told me she was there. Plus the tracker suddenly pickedup a stronger signal.

I ended up two hours outside of Seattle.So much for her being close by.Although, I would drive to the endsof the Earth if it meant I would find her, bring her home with me where she’dbe safe and away from Samuel. I couldn’t even imagine what she was going through.To be taken…twice…by the same man. The fear she must’ve been experiencing wasenough to reduce me to tears.

Fighting back the lump in my throat, I knew I had to be strong. Ihad to search, hopefully find her inside the decaying house and get the hellout.

Quickly.

Parkingdown the road, I gently closed my car door. I steadily crept along, trying asmuch as I could to stay hidden behind whatever shelter I could find. Trees,shrubs, vehicles parked along the street—they were all the camouflage I neededright then.

Withevery step I took, I prayed she was still breathing. I didn’t think he wouldkidnap her only to kill her right away. Although I was trying my best to seethings through his eyes, I simply wasn’t hard-wired as a mad man.

When Ifinally came upon the house, it was eerily quiet. There was but one light on, inthe back, toward what was probably the kitchen.

It wasall I needed.

Creepingalong the side, I searched for a basement. I didn’t know why my mind went therebut it did. Maybe it was all those damn scary movies Sara made me watch. I muchpreferred action flicks, but if her insistence on the horror genre was whateventually led me to her, then I would watch each and every one she wanted fromthere on out.

As Istood there, my thoughts overtook me. Dark thoughts. Hopeless thoughts. I’denvisioned what my life would be like without the infuriating, amazing andbeautiful woman who had come crashing into it.

Thatsort of fate I wouldn’t survive. I would be but a shell of a man. At leastbefore, I had no idea what I’d been missing out on. But now…there was no goingback.

For asmuch as I wanted to spend the next fifty years of my life cherishing, arguing with,and loving her, I couldn’t shake the feeling I was doing more harm than goodbeing so involved in her life.

In allthe years I’d committed to protecting her, watching her and staying in thebackground, her safety was never once compromised. But ever since I’d made theselfish decision and invited myself into her world, up-close and personal,she’d been put in two very dangerous situations.

First,the creep at Carlson’s who attacked her in the hallway, and then Samuelkidnapping her again.

Pushingmy uncertain thoughts to the back of my mind, I knew I didn’t have time tocontemplate what it all meant. Sara was still in grave danger and with everysecond that passed, I ran the risk of losing her forever.

When I’dsnuck around to the back of the house, I cautiously tried to peer through everyavailable window, but it was of no use because they were heavily shaded fromthe inside. I decided to try the back door, praying it wasn’t heavilybarricaded.When my fingers circled thehandle, it turned. But the door didn’t open.

As quietlyas I could, I hit the frame with my shoulder. It was loud at first, especiallysince it was the only sound drifting through the air around me. I hit it again.Finally, the woodsplintered and the door flung open. I caught it before it hit the wall inside.

I’m pretty good at breaking down doors, it seems.

As Istepped over the threshold, I was bombarded with thoughts of an ambush. Did heknow I was there? Was he waiting for me?

Moving threemore steps inside, I cautiously moved around the rooms as if they were booby-trapped.Taking my time to peer around corners, stopping every few feet to listen forany kind of sounds, had started to try my patience. But I had no other choice. IfI had any hope of escape, I had to be careful.

I wasn’tafraid of Samuel, not in the least. The last time I’d lost a fight, I’d been inthe fifth grade and it was only because there were three of them. I knew if Icame up against the man who took Sara, he would be lucky to crawl out alive.

What Iwasafraid of was coming across him inone of the dark crevices of the house and strangling the life right out of himbefore I was able to locate Sara. I had to remind myself not to act withoutthinking, and to rein in my rage long enough to be able to rescue her.

Then allbets were off. Whatever happened…happened.

As I roundedthe corner to enter a different room, I heard someone yell above me, followedby a loud crash. An object had been thrown against the wall, shattering into amillion pieces.

If I wasa betting man, I would guess Samuel had found the tracking device hidden inSara’s cell phone because the signal I had went dead at the exact moment ofimpact.

I heardheavy footsteps circling, the creaking of the floorboards above my head onlyadding to the direness of the situation. Samuel was probably pacing around, notquite sure if someone was on their way to rescue her or not.

But itwas too late.

I wasalready there.

Before Itook another step, someone wrapped their fingers around my arm, tugging mebackward.Whirling around to fight offthe intruder, I’d thankfully stopped my fist in mid air before connecting withthe man’s face.

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