Page 92 of Unexpected Danger
She and Brodie had been given a second chance—one she vowed to do right by.
“Guess we should go. The lake is calling us.” Mixed anticipation swirled within her. She could easily kiss Brodie again, but she also looked forward to some time on the water. Brodie unstrapped the canoe, and in tandem, with her on one side and him on the other, they lifted the canoe off the rack and set it at the edge of the lake. Brodie grabbed the paddle and thelife jackets from the truck bed and stuck them inside the canoe. Visiting on a weekday proved a perfect idea. On the weekends, Pronghorn Lake was overly crowded.
“I’m going to use the restroom,” Londyn said after she withdrew the ice chest with their lunch from the back seat.
It was a short walk uphill to the vault bathroom, and she could see Brodie from its location. He was leaning over the canoe and ensuring everything was properly stowed before their excursion. He would then move the truck out of the way and to the upper parking lot so others could launch their own canoes and kayaks if desired.
A few minutes later, Londyn emerged from the outhouse. She perused the lake area, looking for Brodie and wondering why his truck was still in the launch area instead of in the upper parking area near the restrooms. She stood on tiptoe and peered around a line of trees, but still couldn’t see him. The canoe was where they’d left it. Had he needed to use the restroom as well? She turned the corner to the men’s outhouse. The door, as always, was shut, and she didn’t hear any noise inside, but she decided to wait for him, and they could walk back to the lake together.
In the distance, a rabbit scampered across a trail that wound around to a warming hut. Years ago, she, Brodie, Roarke, Grayson, Danny, and Drea had snowshoed several miles to the hut where they drank an abundance of hot chocolate and ate a barrage of snacks. Such fond memories.
Londyn moved back around to the other side of the outhouse and spied a mama deer with her two speckled fawns, but there was no sign of Brodie.
She rapped again on the outhouse door. “Brodie?”
No answer.
He was probably wandering through the woods as he often enjoyed doing, and she walked down the hill to his truck. The windows were down as they had left them, but Brodie wasnowhere in sight. The warm sun beat down on her while a chill simultaneously ran through her. Brodie wouldn’t wander off too far without telling her.
She cast a glance back at the outhouse. Hopefully, he hadn’t gotten sick. Usually, the winding roads weren’t a problem for him. She hiked once more back up to the men’s outhouse and tapped on the door and called his name. She repeated it when there was no answer, then returned to the truck and decided to wait for him. A short hike without telling her seemed out of character, but maybe he got sidetracked by a moose or fawn he wanted to get a picture of.
Londyn kneeled and removed her life vest from the canoe. That’s when she noticed the truck tires had been slashed. She stilled, unable to move as worry clouded her thoughts.
A sudden yank on her hair jerked her neck back.
A voice hissed in her ear. “Get on your feet.”
She would recognize that voice anywhere.
Bile rose in her throat, and her heart raced so fast it caused her chest to hurt. She slowly stood, her legs shaking beneath her as Dustin held the metal barrel of a gun to her temple.
“Walk this way,” he growled.
Thoughts of ways to escape from someone with a gun ran through her mind from the situational awareness training. But her mind drew a blank. Dizziness nearly tottered her off her feet.
Dustin shoved her forward a short distance through several pines immediately past the edge of the lake. On the ground lay Brodie. “Too bad your boyfriend has to suffer for your stupidity.”
“Brodie!” she screamed, emotion clogging her throat.
Dustin laughed. “Go ahead, check on him. Make sure he’s still alive.” He shoved her again. Londyn fell to her knees beside Brodie. He was unconscious, a bloody wound on the back of his head where he’d likely been hit by a gun.
She felt for a pulse. He was alive.
Thank You, Jesus!
Londyn wasn’t a nurse, but shedidknow that concussions, which was what Brodie likely had, could be dangerous. “Brodie, it’s Londyn. Can you hear me?”
Brodie stirred slightly, and his back rose and fell with his breath.
A snore waffled through his nose, and Londyn experienced an unexpected release of some of the tension. No one would ever say they were thankful Brodie snored.
Until now.
She bent over him once again, feeling the brush of his hair against her cheek as she placed a kiss on the side of his forehead. “It’s going to be all right,” she whispered in his ear, for his benefit, but also hers.
“All right, that’s enough.” Dustin grabbed her arm and thrust her backward. She slipped and fell onto the ground before he grasped her upper forearm, his nails digging into her flesh and causing her to cry out in pain.
“You’re coming with me. Don’t think of trying anything. If you do, I’ll finish him off.”
