Page 69 of Unexpected Danger
“You need to let me go. Brodie will be here any minute.” Her eyes smarted as he yanked harder, and she groped for her gun.She wanted to use it at the most advantageous time possible, but with Dustin’s proximity, she struggled with knowing when that time was. The last thing she needed was for him to wrestle it from her.
“I don’t think he will be. He’s just been called out to a disturbance on Hannon Road. Nice try, though.”
With difficulty and attempting to ignore the searing pain in her knee and the awkward position Dustin had put her in while pulling her hair, Londyn twisted and elbowed him hard in the gut. Dustin faltered a second before Londyn lifted her leg and kicked him as hard as she could in the shin. He released her hair, grunted, and bent over to rub his shin.
Londyn clobbered him over the head with her water bottle and attempted to ignore the throbbing pain in her leg as she hurriedly limped away.
She heard the rush of feet and Renee’s voice asking Dustin if he was all right.
But Londyn didn’t wait to find out what transpired next.Lord, please give me the ability to run.
As much as she willed her legs to cooperate, she failed. But Londyn could walk, although she only had a few seconds' lead time.
She needed a game plan. A chance to call 911. To use her gun.
Unfortunately, she was afforded none of the three.
Dustin gripped her shoulder and called her a few choice words.
Londyn screamed, then grabbed the underside of his arm in the delicate tricep muscle area while simultaneously aiming for his eyes. He shoved her to the ground. Londyn extracted her gun from its holster and directed it at her attackers.
“Dustin, do something!” wailed Renee.
Dustin charged her as she fired, knocking the gun from her grasp. It skidded along the ground and into a crevice.
Londyn crab walked back away from him. She needed to get her gun. Needed to get away.Hadto get away. If he had a chance to drag her to the car, Brodie would never find her. She turned over and hoisted herself to a standing position, but Dustin had already recovered. He ran toward her, head-butting her and knocking her backward.
“That was a good one, Dustin.” Renee clapped her hands. “Kinda like in the movies.”
Renee’s words were the last Londyn heard before everything went black.
Chapter 18
Nightmares were not an entirely foreign thing for Londyn. She’d had them a time or two in her life, especially after Dustin started stalking her. So why then would she think this was anything but a bad dream?
Blurred vision met her gaze, and she attempted to reach her bound hands toward her eyes. Londyn’s head throbbed, as did her back, her legs, and just about everywhere else on her body. Speaking of legs…
Her ankles were also bound by a rope.
The stench overwhelmed her, and she gagged, thankful that she was able to draw breath at all.
As she shook her head to awaken herself, the realization set in that she was not dreaming. This was real life. She was somewhere in a small room, tucked against a wall near where a pile of dried feces was clumped in the corner. A desk was shoved to one side, and an exorbitant amount of clutter covered the floor and rose alongside the walls. A bird cage, newspapers, magazines, a hula-hoop, cardboard boxes, cassette tapes, dishes,moldy food, a dartboard, and more littered every available space except where she sat. Fecal matter was smeared in several places.
Was she alone? Could she escape? Was there a way to remove the binding on her hands and feet?
Lord, please help me.
She scooted toward a door and pressed her ear against it. Where was Dustin? Where was Renee?Where on earth was she?Londyn was about to attempt to somehow turn the doorknob when she heard a knock.
“Yoo-hoo.”
Londyn scuttled away from the door and back against the wall. If she had the opportunity, she could kick Renee, even with bound feet.
The door opened, and Renee stood in the doorway with a cat in her arms and a large, dark brown boxer at her side. “How are you doing, Londyn?”
“Why are you doing this?”
Renee shrugged. “You should know why.”
