Page 83 of Wilderness Daddy

He gives Landon a quick glance. “He’s awfully protective of you.”

I nod. “That’s true.” I move closer to him and whisper, “He makes me call him Daddy.” Billy’s brows rise.

“He owns that wilderness store in town. It’s a chain so they’re all over North America.”

Billy scratches the back of his head. “He’s got money. He could be your sugar daddy.” He smirks at me and I pull a face.

“My parents own a sporting goods store and they want me to marry him so our companies can merge.” I roll my eyes. “I need away from them all.”

His interest is undeniable now. “Like an arranged marriage?”

I nod. “Enough about me. How’d you get mixed up with these guys?”

“Gillie, the one with the patchy beard. He’s my mother’s boyfriend.” Billy shrugs. “He’s an asshole, but my mom wanted me to get to know him better so I went on this hunting trip with him and his brother. I don’t even like to hunt. And the shit these guys are into can hardly be considered hunting.”

“So have you gotten to know him?”

He shoots me a knowing glance. “Enough to tell my mother to run for her life,” he whispers and shakes his head. “What kind of a nut-job baits grizzlies and hunts Sasquatch?”

“Stop chit-chatting with the captive,” Red says and points to the right with his shotgun. His handgun is tucked into his filthy pants now. “Three more kilometers that way. Let’s take a minute. Gillie’s not back and I don’t want to go too far without him.”

I catch Landon’s eye. I read his lips as he asks me if I’m okay and I nod.

We wait for what feels like half an hour and Red is starting to pace. “Where the fuck did he go? He only went for a piss.” Red looks at Billy. “Go find him.”

“Why don’t we just get to camp. He’ll show up when he’s ready.”

“I said go find him!”

Billy gathers a breath. “Fine.”

As the older man watches Billy, I pull the can of bear spray up from my pocket slightly to show Landon. He holds up two fingers and I nod. A quick check to make sure Red isn’t watching and I check for a signal on the GPS.

It’s weak but there’s one. I quickly send an SOS to my brother, praying it goes through.

“What was that? What did you just do?” Red growls and storms toward me. Just as he passes Landon, Landon’s foot comes out to trip him. He stumbles and I grab the can from my pocket and aim. As soon as he starts to rise, I spray.

He howls and tries to grab at anything he can. His screams of rage and pain assault my ears, the pepper spray permeates the air and my eyes water uncontrollably as I stumble toward Landon and dodge Red’s reaching hands.

“Run!” Landon shouts as I get to him, but I ignore his command and start untying his ropes. “Kari, I mean it, run!”

“I will,” I promise as I quickly loosen his binds. Red has pulled his handgun out of his pants and starts spinning and shooting blindly. Landon grabs me with his now free hands, yanking me down as a shot heads our way.

“Go, I’ll be right behind you,” he says and pushes me forward. This time I don’t hesitate. He’ll be right behind me, I tell myself and then I run.

At first I head the way we’ve been going, but then realize that’s right toward their camp so I veer left.

“Just run!” Landon shouts from behind me. He’s not as close as I’d like but he’s not too far so I keep going.

* * *

I don’t know exactlyhow long I’ve been running. I’ve lost all sense of time and direction. I slow and look behind me. No one’s there so I find a tangle of trees and slide on the ground to get behind them. I wait and listen over the sound of my rapid breathing and pounding heart. Nothing.

Not a sound. I wait, panting as quietly as possible. Anxiety sits like a boulder in my gut. Where’s Landon? Did they get him? Did I leave him behind?

Time ticks by. My heart rate returns to normal, my breathing easy again. I can hear the sounds of birds but nothing else. I move from my crouched position to sit, my legs burning from exertion. I need to get my bearings. Think, I tell myself. What do I do now?

A snap of a branch sends my heart back into a frenzied pace and I scramble to my knees, holding my breath again. Tucking lower into the protective alcove, I chant ‘please don’t see me’ in my head, trying desperately to stay absolutely still.

Another branch breaks and I cover my mouth to keep the scream of terror I feel in my throat at bay. As the seconds tick by, my eyes start to cloud. I’m desperate for breath but I can’t risk being heard.

Black spots float in front of my eyes and still, I hold my breath, fighting my desperation for air. And just when I think I’m not going to make it, I look up to see the Sasquatch standing over me and then I black out.

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