Page 94 of Unexpected Danger
Dustin seized her by the hair and held the gun near her cheek. “I told you if you tried anything, I would finish off your sheriff. What about that did you not understand?”
She held her breath, afraid to breathe, and without moving her head, scanned in Brodie’s direction. There was no blood or any other sign that the bullet had hit him, but there was a skiff in the dirt where the bullet landed.
“Get into the canoe.”
It would be game over if he removed her from the area, but she couldn’t risk Dustin shooting Brodie. She fiddled with the clasps on the front of the lifejacket.
Dustin urged her forward, stopping her in front of the boat. He collected a roll of string sitting on a horizontal log. “Put your hands behind your back,” he demanded.
He was going to tie her up?
“I promise you, Londyn Siegler, if you give me any trouble—even the slightest bit—I will shoot the sheriff, and this time Iwon’t miss.” A spark of wrath ignited in his eyes, and his poison-tipped gaze seared right through her.
If she could get away, then she could use her own gun. An idea percolated through her mind.
“Put your arms behind you.”
Londyn reluctantly did as she was told, and Dustin moved behind her and pulled the rope tightly around her wrists. She lifted her right leg and kicked him hard, donkey-kick style, in the shin.
Dustin groaned and released a stream of oaths, his words singeing her ears. He rammed her from behind, shoving her to the ground. She hit hard with no way to catch her fall.
Londyn’s eyes smarted.
“Was that worth it?” he jeered.
There was still hope.
There was always hope.
She squirmed, attempting to break free. Dustin put a knee on her shoulder blade and pressed hard into her skin, hard enough to feel it even through the lifejacket. He bound her ankles.
“Now, my love, if you will behave yourself, this will all go well. We’re meant to be together. Quit fighting it. Quit fightingme.” Dark frost lit his eyes, and she bemoaned the fact that she hadn’t realized what kind of person he was before. He hurled her into the canoe. “Sit down.”
She did so and attempted to wiggle her ankles, but the binding was too tight. She could already see where the rope was digging into her tender flesh. “I know you wouldn’t want me to be uncomfortable,” she said in a tone she wished sounded more confident. “Can you please loosen the rope a little bit?
Indecision captured his gaze. He grabbed the paddle and started rowing. When they were in the middle of the lake, he stopped the canoe, put the paddle in the notches, and marginally loosened the binding on her ankles.
“And my hands, too?
“Nope. You’ve already given me too much trouble. I’m not going to have you get any ideas about escaping.”
She scanned the area and saw no one else in the vicinity. A verse from Psalm 50:15 reminded her that the Lord was never far away.Lord, I call upon you in the day of trouble, and you will rescue me.
He would rescue her, wouldn’t He?
The jackhammering sound of a semi’s Jake break on the highway broke the silence, but Londyn doubted the driver could see her from the road, and even if he could, he would have no idea she was in danger.
Dustin paddled further from the shore. Further from Brodie. Tears strained at her eyes. Brodie remained in a heap near the pines, and there was nothing she could do.
Nothing she could do to help him.
That was the worst part of it all. He may lose his life because of her. Because of her foolish decision to leave Pronghorn Falls and seek employment at a place where a man named Dustin Haack had first befriended her, then showed his true colors.
It was a peculiar thing knowing the man whose heart she had broken might not survive. That she might not truly have another chance with him, not because he didn’t want to give her that second chance, but because his life had been stripped from him by a ruthless lunatic. A man Londyn once trusted.
She started shaking, fear rooted deep within her. The pastor last week had spoken about fear. Of how it wasn’t of the Lord. Of how God gave us peace amid troubling times.
Lord, please. Let someone find Brodie. Don’t let it be too late. Help me escape from Dustin.
