Page 145 of I'm Watching You

White teeth flashed. ‘You’ll see.’

Lindsay had trouble shaking the effects of the drug. Her mind wanted to drift and her eyes to close. She wanted to float and let the drug take her.

But as seductive as the drug was she knew if she gave in to it she would die.

She had to keep her thoughts focused. To get free of the ropes binding her was a challenge. To keep herself awake, she started to talk.

‘Mom, if you’re up there, I could use some help. Zack’s a great cop, but I don’t think he’s going to figure this one out.’

She’d managed to loosen the binding around her right hand, though she’d not freed her hand completely. Her wrist was raw from the constant rubbing and pulling against the rope. She focused on the pain in her wrist and the stones on the ground that now dug into her back.

It was hard to judge how much time had passed. But she knew she had to hurry. Time was running out. She moistened her dry lips and opened her eyes. She shook her head from side to side.

‘Remember how we dreamed of driving to California?’ She kept twisting her right wrist, ignoring the pain. Blood ran down the wrist. ‘Remember how we’d pore over the maps and imagine every step of the route?’

The silence was her only answer, and it was a stark reminder that her mother was gone and that she was so very alone. Terror burned inside her. ‘Help! Help!’ She screamed until her voice was hoarse.

The odds were stacked against her and it would be so easy to give up.

Above, blue sky peeked through the slats of the roof. For just a moment, Lindsay felt as if something touched her hair. Like a caress.

‘Mom …’ The word felt wrenched from her.

There was no answer. Whether it was her mother or just a trick of her imagination, she didn’t know. But the sensation was enough to calm her a little.

She drew in a deep breath as she had done so manytimes in yoga when she felt overwhelmed and scared. She kept breathing deeply. Her mind started to calm and refocus. ‘Don’t panic. Don’t panic. I can do this.’

She swallowed and started back on the binding. ‘Where has Richard taken me?’ She sucked in a deep breath and released it as she shook her head. ‘The sun is high above, so it can’t be much past noon. He couldn’t have taken me far. Mercy is in the center of the city.’ She was willing to bet he’d taken her east.

The heavy scent of dirt, cow dung, and hay mingled with the heat. In the shadowed corners mice squeaked.

‘I’m in a barn. East of the city. Farmland east of the city. It’s abandoned.’

She thought about the new mall that was going to be constructed soon in the far eastern end of the county. The farmland had been purchased and the owners had left months ago. Now the land waited for the bulldozers. It would be a perfect place to take her.

Just imagining where she was gave her a sense of control. She tried to pull her right hand free. It slipped a little in the binding but she couldn’t quite free it.

She wasn’t sure how much more time she had, but she knew if she didn’t get her hand free before Richard returned he would kill her.

Richard had brought her here because he wanted to make sure that no one interrupted him when he returned. She guessed he was going to bring Nicole back so that she could watch what he did to her. Her death would be the death he would use to terrify Nicole into submission.

Ignoring the pain in her raw wrist, Lindsay started tojerk harder on the rope. ‘That son of a bitch is not going to win.’

Somehow she had to get herself and Nicole out of this.

The Guardian stayed several car lengths behind as Richard moved onto the four-lane highway. When Richard reached the interstate, he headed east toward the airport. It made sense that the bastard would take his wife back to San Francisco. Familiar territory.

Once Richard left Richmond, finding Lindsay would be almost impossible. He couldn’t let that happen.

Tightening his hands on the wheel, he considered ramming Richard’s car. But even if he got his hands on the bastard there was no guarantee that he’d say where Lindsay was.

There were so many variables. He had to stay the course and keep his cool. ‘Stay close and he will lead you to her.’

Then Richard made an unexpected move. He drove past the airport exit and continued on until he reached the off-ramp for Route 33. The rural route cut through the town of West Point and then snaked into the countryside. Where the hell was Richard headed?

The fear and exhilaration had made the Guardian forget the pain of his cracked ribs. This was his moment to redeem himself. He would save the child when he hadn’t saved the mother.

‘God has brought me to this moment. This is my test.’

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