Page 40 of Protecting Andie

“Nothing. When you took that corner too fast, my left hand came undone.”

“Fuck.” Tony started working on the knot on her right wrist. It was tight, maybe too tight for him to get undone. He pulled and pulled again, but the knot wouldn’t come undone. “Dammit. I need to get the scissors.”

A car drove past slowly, and Tony clenched his fists.

“Don’t do anything stupid like try to yell for someone. I’m grabbing the scissors and coming right back out.”

She nodded, unsure why he thought she would obey him. If someone was walking past, she was going to do everything she could to get them to help.

Tony slammed the back door of the car, and she started working on the knot, trying to get it loose. This one was harder than the binding on her left wrist.

Panic was setting in as she pulled at the knot. Then the car door opened, and she might have yelped. It was a strangerwith a big knife. She gasped and jerked away, but her wrist was anchored to the back of the front seat.

“Shh, be quiet. Backup isn’t far away.” The knife sliced through the rope, and she scrambled out of the car, following the stranger who’d come to save her.

Tears ran down her cheeks as he guided her around the building. They didn’t stop until they were almost a full block away. He moved her behind a dark van and used a small flashlight to check her.

“Are you injured?”

She shook her head. “Just bumps and bruises.” She held up her wrist with the rope. “This.”

He nodded and spoke into a radio she hadn’t noticed before. This guy was a police officer. How had the police known? The sound of Tony yelling filtered down the block and the officer put his finger to his lips. “Backup is a block away. Don’t make a noise. You’re safe.”

She nodded as more tears came. Time passed slowly and then the roar of multiple people yelling could be heard down the block. She met the officer’s gaze. “Did they get him?”

He held up one hand and touched his ear with the other one. She guessed he had some sort of device in his ear so he could hear. He nodded. “Yes. They got him. You’re safe.”

She slumped against the van, relief filling her. “How did you know where I was?”

“Your friends were tracking you. They gave us the information about your location. You’re lucky. I doubt we ever would have found you if you didn’t have those friends.”

She nodded, then grasped her phone from her pocket and whipped it out, needing to talk to Rider.

29

Rider felt like his skin was too tight, and he needed to crawl out of it. He desperately needed to know Andie was okay. When his phone rang, he jumped and almost dropped it. He answered, his hands shaking.

“Andie.”

“Rider.”

Her voice squeaked, and he could tell she was crying. His heart stalled. He didn’t know if this was bad or good.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. The police—thank you. Thank you. They got him.”

He heard scratching on the phone, and then a man started speaking. “Hello, this is Officer Thomas. I’m with Andie. She’s okay. She has a few bruises and bumps. The paramedics are about two minutes away. They’ll probably want to take her to the hospital, but she is safe.”

Rider cleared his throat. “Thank you. I can’t express my gratitude enough.”

The officer cleared his throat. “Yes, sir. It is the job, but some days are better than others. I’m glad she’s safe.”

Rider heard the phone being passed back to Andie, and he knew he needed to go up there and be with her. He would need to get an emergency leave or something.

“Rider,” Andie said. Her voice sounded so good he sighed. “He couldn’t get the rope untied and left me in the car. That’s when they rescued me. He didn’t even get me into his house.”

“Good. And I’m going to try to come up there. I need to get some emergency leave.”

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