Page 66 of Seized by the Lawman

Chapter 23

MELLY LOOKED DOWN at the white bandage now red with her blood. Her wound was oozing, but at least it had stopped bleeding some. She jerked her arms against the rope binding her wrists and shifted in the rickety old chair. The binding was too tight and there was no way she’d get it off so her best bet was breaking the wood of the chair to at least try and get away.

Scanning the camper, she searched for something—anything—that might help her. The small confinement was a mess. Melly guessed Claire had gone apeshit when she heard about Spider getting shot and ransacked the place. The smell was so overwhelming that Melly thought she would vomit.

Melly had tried to talk the woman out of this craziness, but she’d been hell bent on making Nix—anyone really—pay for Spider’s death.

Well, the one thing Claire didn’t include in her plans was the fact that Melly was the daughter of a lawman who’d taught her to never give up, even when things seemed bleak. So, that’s what she planned to do. No way in hell would she go down without a fight.

It took her three tries and she was finally able to stand, but clumsily because the chair was strapped to her. Wobbly and awkwardly, she took the three steps to the table and with a force hindered by the rope, she struck the chair against the edge of the Formica. She heard splintering, but the wood stayed intact. This time she pulled the chair back as far as the limited space would allow and hit the chair again. One leg went flying and the other zoomed past her head. At least she was getting somewhere…

Third time was the charm. The wood fractured into pieces and Melly was free enough that she could move inside the camper, dragging splintered wood with her. There had to be something she could use to help her cut the rope at her wrists.

Using her feet to push around the contents, she finally found something that might work. An open can that had the jagged lid sticking up. Perfect.

Lowering to her bottom, which was far from easy with pieces of the chair still stuck in the rope, she moved the can in a position that worked in her favor. Putting her wrists above the lid, she made a slicing movement, missed the rope and caught her skin. She flinched in pain but was determined to make this work. She didn’t know how much time she had until Claire would go completely batshit. Melly guessed by now the woman had called Nix.

Another slicing of her hands and she felt the rope give way some. Not sure how many minutes had passed, she hadn’t gotten too far and sweat beaded her forehead and she felt dehydrated. The camper was sweltering. Although her shoulders were cramping and her wrists were aching, not to mention the wound on her arm was bleeding again, she couldn’t quit. Claire would be back and if she found Melly like this, it was hard telling what would happen. Melly knew the quickest way to get revenge on Nix would be to kill her, and because she loved Nix and her baby, she refused to go down like that.

After several more minutes, she felt the rope fray, loosen, and then her wrists were free.

“Thank God!” She hurried to a standing position and, because her body was weak, she wobbled and caught herself against the counter. Bending over the small sink, she turned on the faucet and drank thirstily. She knew time was wasting and stepped to the door, not surprised that Claire had locked it from the outside.

Melly flittered from window to window, which didn’t take much time considering there were only four, and finally the last one was the only one that didn’t have the knob broken off. It would be a tight fit, but Melly believed she could squirm through the opening if she pushed out the glass. There wasn’t anything in the camper heavy enough to help. Climbing up on the twin bed, she gave the frame a good kick and the glass cracked. Another good kick worked to her advantage and the entire dry rotted frame fell out.

The second her boots hit the dirt outside of the camper, she felt cool metal against the back of her head. Her heart dropped to her ankles.

“Did you think it would be this easy to escape?” Claire asked. “Now lift those hands.”

Hesitantly, Melly did as the woman demanded. There was one thing left that could be done, but Melly knew she had to bide her time. Slowly, she turned to face Claire. “It’s not too late, Claire. Spider manipulated you and now he’s gone. Tomorrow is a new day.”

Her eyes turned cold and she didn’t even look like the same woman who’d feared her own shadow. “Stop talking.”

At that moment a cat scurried over and startled Claire just long enough for Melly to reach into her pocket and pull out the pink vestibule. She pressed the trigger.

Thank God she’d gotten into the habit of carrying around the mace.

~~~**~~~

Nix heard the gun shot and his lungs deflated. There was no time to waste. He rushed through the maze of crushed cars toward where he believed the shot rang out. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of movement. He spun on his heels and fifty feet away he spotted Melly. She was alive. Relief spread through him, but didn’t last long. Claire was right behind, one side of her face red and her eyes oozing, with her gun pointed at Melly’s head.

“Good thing I’m a better shot with a gun than she is with mace,” Claire said.

Nix lifted his gun. “We both know I’m a better shot.”

Claire grabbed Melly by the hair and dragged her to use as a shield. “Sure, but you wouldn’t risk hurting her and the baby. Would you?”

He swallowed through the constriction of his throat. He searched Melly’s pale features, then dropped his gaze over her to visually examine her body for injuries. The bandage on her knife wound was covered in blood and it dripped down her forearm and off her wrist. One wrist was bleeding from a cut, but none were life threatening. The biggest danger was the gun pressed against her head. He calculated the best odds of shooting Claire without her gun going off, but no matter how he premeditated the act, it always came down to the muscle in her finger jerking and pulling the trigger once she was shot. His only chance was to watch and wait. She’d screw up, and when she did, he’d do what he had to do to save Melly.

“Listen, Claire. Let Melly go and I’ll put my gun down. You can take me. I’m the one you’re angry with. You’re not the type to kill a baby, and if you shoot Melly, they’ll both die.”

He could see the wheels turning by the flittering of expressions on Claire’s face. She was thinking hard. “I can’t trust you.”

“Look,” he held up the gun, hooking it on his finger. “You can trust me. I love Melly and the baby enough to die for them.”

“Nix...,” Melly whimpered.

“Shut up!” Claire tightened her fist in Melly’s hair. “You want to save that baby, don’t you?”

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