Page 95 of Unexpected Danger
Her leg muscles cramped, and her arms fell asleep. Dustin whistled as if it were just another day at the lake. Would screaming do any good? There was no one to hear her.
“Why are you doing this?” Her words wavered, and she regretted that she didn’t sound strong and capable.
“Why am I doing this? You had a chance, Londyn.”
“What do you mean?” She needed to keep him talking.
A sneer crossed his face. “What do I mean? It was always supposed to be you and me. I gave you every chance to realize we were meant for each other.”
How should she play this? Pretend to agree with him that she had made a mistake in not accepting his overtures? Tell him she’d never like someone like him? Offer a fake apology? It was obvious Dustin was mentally unstable. His nostrils flared, and his gaze contained even more animosity than before.
“I gave you every chance to realize I’m the only one who will ever love you.”
“Why did you send me texts, call me, and break into my apartment?
“How else was I supposed to prove to you that you needed my protection? A woman new to the city who’s receiving texts and phone calls from someone who is watching her is a little unnerving, right?” Dustin threw his head back, his laugh maniacal. “You needed someone to keep you safe, someone like me. Someone to keep you safefromme.” Dustin’s pupils dilated, and he launched into a story from the third person. “How could he make her see that it was fate that brought them together? That he was there to help her when she received texts or visits outside her window and door? That when someone was peering at her through binoculars as she perused the Internet, that he was there. There to save her. Be her hero. It was the only way he could prove his love to her.”
Dustin cracked his knuckles. “Of course, she didn’t make things easy. He told her time and again he had feelings for her.” He grinned, his breath heaving in rapid spurts. He then glowered. “But she wouldn’t agree to date him.” He spat intothe water. “This is all your fault, Londyn. If only you had cooperated.”
Fear caught her in its jaws. Dustin was a lunatic. “Where are you taking me?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Would he kill her? Allow her to live or hold her hostage? Tremors filled her words. “How are you able to miss so much work?
“My grandmother in Washington is very, very sick. Sonja is an understanding boss. I have to take care of my grandmother and will be back when I can. Besides, you worry too much about things. Someone who’s an employee of the quarter twice in a row pretty much has the boss in his pocket. And my poor, poor ailing grandma. I never cared much for her, but a grandson always takes care of his family. And as far as anyone knows, that’s where I am right now.”
Dustin tapped the paddle that rested across the width of the canoe. “What matters is that we’re together. If only you had realized sooner, if only you had told me you would be interested in dating me rather than that sheriff, I wouldn’t have had to kill him. And it’s all your fault, Londyn.”
A strangled sob escaped her throat. Surely Brodie was still alive. Surely. He’d been breathing when she’d checked on him. She hadn’t seen any signs of him being shot.
The if onlys ran through her mind again, and she peered up at the bright sky above. If Brodie had succumbed to his injuries and she didn’t make it out alive, they would both be in the presence of their Savior. And while that would be a glorious day, she wasn’t ready to go yet. She wasn’t ready for Brodie to go either. Londyn must do all she could to see that they both survived.
“No one will think to look for us on the water,” said Dustin. Londyn didn’t counter his statement with the fact that theyactuallywouldlook for them on the water since Brodie’s canoe was missing.
Dustin steered them from the lake and toward the river. If it had been the day she’d planned, Londyn would be riding in the canoe, enjoying Brodie’s company and beholding the amazing beauty of God’s Creation.
“Not too much farther now.” Dustin lifted the paddle and maneuvered the boat skillfully through the calm water.
“Are we going to stay in the mountains?” she asked.
“I didn’t realize I needed to give you my itinerary, but yes, we are staying in the mountains in a pleasant little cabin that I think you’ll like. I’ve been crashing there periodically during my visit to Pronghorn Falls.” He shrugged. “No one would ever think to find me there. Brilliant, wouldn’t you say?”
Londyn could think of other words to describe Dustin’s wicked intentions. Words like crazed, deranged, demented, or unbalanced. Brilliant, no.
This time, Dustin flashed her a broad smile, and his gaze roved over her. “Just you and me, passing the time away together. Sounds perfect, doesn’t it?”
More like the next scene of the nightmare she’d been thrust into. “I didn’t know there was a cabin here.”
“It’s Dorena’s parents’ cabin. They’re only here a week out of the year. It was easy to convince Dorena to hand over the keys to me when I told her I was mourning my grandma and needed some time away in nature.” Perspiration shone on Dustin’s brow. “But, hey, all I had to do was promise her a few things, sweet-talk her, and lie about caring for her, and I pretty much got what I wanted.”
“Dorena?”
“Yeah, you know Dorena Mohr, a nurse at the hospital? We hit it off right away that day you decided to drive off the road andland yourself in the ER.” Dustin shook his head. “She’s almost as foolish as that dippy dispatcher, Juanita.”
Londyn’s jaw dropped. “Juanita?”
“She’s been a big help. Amazing what can happen when you schmooze someone lonely.”
