Page 41 of Protective Assignment
Well, not her father.He had tried to get them out.And, in the case of Haven and her mother, he had succeeded.
River just needed to find a way to leave this all behind, and she would have fulfilled his last wish.
He spun around to face her and drew his hand back, landing a sharp slap on her face.She gasped at the pain, her head reeling.
“I’ll call him whatever I want,” he sneered at her.“Come on.We’ve got to get to the meeting point.Then we can get out of here.”
Get out of here?River slowed, trying to pull him back, but he grabbed the ties still binding her hands and yanked her forward.
“Don’t think you’re getting out of it that easy.I’ll get what I’m owed yet,” he told her, and dragged her onward.
“How did you find me?”she suddenly asked, tripping over her own feet trying to keep up with him.Maybe if she could slow Ryker down some, she could try to make an escape.
He stopped suddenly and River almost ran into his back.He turned with a scowl on his face and she was almost sorry she’d asked the question, but she really wanted to know.
“I’ve been looking for you since you pulled your stunt and took off.I’ve had the guys branching out in all directions since we left home searching in every hidey-hole along the way.Just so happened a couple of the guys decided to stop by that lodge where you’ve been staying and thought they recognized you.Since we hit a warehouse not too far from here, I decided to stop in for a look.We’ve been keeping an eye on you since, looking for an opportunity to get you back without one of those men around you.”
River’s eyes widened at his reply.They’d been watching her, so she’d never been safe like she’d thought.Shecouldn’t stop the horrible what ifs running through her mind.Thank goodness they’d just waited to take her away from the lodge instead of doing something more violent.If they’d attacked the others to get to her, she would have never forgiven herself.
He quickly turned and jerked her forward again.She did her best to follow him, but she was so cold, the freezing air clinging to her skin and making her shiver hard.Ryker looked at her, shaking his head as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“You’re getting soft, River,” he scoffed.“But don’t worry, we’ll get you hardened back up once we get back to base.I can’t have a weakling as my wife.How will you raise our children if you can’t even stand a little cold?”
River’s teeth chattered too hard to reply, but her mind registered the horror of what he’d just said.Their children?She couldn’t imagine having kids with this monster.She couldn’t even imagine him touching her without feeling ill.
He continued to pull her along behind him and she felt like a yo-yo.She was beyond frozen and her body was becoming so stiff she didn’t know how much longer she could go on.Not that Ryker cared about her well-being.He just kept yanking her behind him until all at once, her foot caught on a rock.Unable to brace herself, she toppled forward and crashed down on the ground, bringing him with her.
“Damn it!”he exclaimed.For a split second, he let go of her.River’s mind raced—she had to take this chance.She might not get one again.If he got her to the meeting spot and managed to haul her out of here, she would never see anyone from the lodge again.
She forced herself up as quickly as she could manage and willed her body to move, darting off into the woods, her breath tearing from her lungs in huge gasps.She heard Ryker screaming after her, but she didn’t dare turn around to see where he was.She had to put as much distance between herself and that man as she—
Suddenly, the earth dropped away in front of her, and she came to a sharp halt.She was next to a drop-off that led down a steep slope to the frozen river below.She was trapped!She had nowhere to go.She could hear Ryker slashing through the trees, his heavy footsteps getting closer.She looked around frantically and spotted a large, jagged rock sticking out from the snow.With her frozen fingers, she tugged it out of its spot, clutching it in her closed hands.It was the closest thing she had to a weapon right now.
“There you are.”
Her heart stopped when she heard Ryker’s taunting voice.Spinning around, she found him standing a few feet away from her, with a maniacal grin on his face.
“I’ll jump!”she threatened him.
He shook his head.“I don’t think you have the nerve,” he replied calmly, and he reached under his shirt and pulled out a gun.River stared at the black barrel aimed at her and wondered if this was similar to the last moments of her father’s life before he was murdered.
“Go on, then, jump,” he told her, motioning to the cliff’s edge with the gun.Her foot skidded back slightly, and she looked down toward the water.It was frozen solid.The drop alone would break her legs, or worse.
“That’s what I thought,” he remarked, taking anotherstep toward her, his feet crunching on the snow as he drew closer to her…and closer still.Her heart sank and she realized this was it.She couldn’t escape, there was nowhere to run.The only way she could survive was to willingly go with him.But if she did that, she feared she would never see the lodge—or her friends—ever again.And Cade…
She gripped the rock tighter, wondering if she had it in her to fight him off.He was almost on top of her now, and she stepped back on instinct, her heel skidding over the sharp drop to the openness below.She felt the world shrinking around her as Ryker took the final steps to stop in front of her, and she knew this was it.No more running, no more trying to escape.This next moment would determine if she’d live or die.
Would Ryker grab her and force her to their next destination or would he finally decide she’s been enough trouble and kill her where she stood?
Either way, it was over.
Then she saw it.A slight movement in the woods behind him.Her lips parted, her eyes widened, and her heart leaped when she realized who it was.
“Cade,” she breathed.
“What?”Ryker demanded, and he spun around to see where she was looking.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion for a moment while she debated what to do.The rock was still in her hand, and she was close enough now to take a swing.If she was going to do this, she had to do it now.
