Page 66 of Squatch Out!
Before Darren can threaten her again, I step out into the open. “Let her go.”
A sick smile spreads across his face, revealing yellowed teeth. “There you are.”
“Let her go, and you can do whatever you want with me.” I stare at Olivia when I say it, willing her to trust me because Iknow she’s going to fight. And sure enough, she starts twisting against the ropes holding her to the tree.
“Sean, don’t!”
Darren pulls the gun away from her head, and I relax. But then he slowly points the gun at me. “Come closer. But if you change, I’m going to shoot you.”
My squatch is writhing beneath my skin as I slowly step toward him, keeping my eyes on the finger resting on the trigger. I’m faster than a human, but I don’t think I’m faster than a bullet, especially this close. But maybe I can move enough to make sure a hit won’t be fatal.
Olivia is cussing up a storm as she fights against the ropes. I glance between her and Darren, trying to silently tell her it’ll be alright. I need her to trust me, because I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.
“Let her go, Darren,” I repeat as I slowly close the distance between us. “If you hurt her, I won’t be able to keep my squatch from coming for you, and you won’t win that fight.”
“Your squatch might be strong, but it’s no match for a bullet,” Darren scoffs as he waves the gun at me recklessly. His finger is still resting on the trigger, which is making me nervous as hell. The way he’s acting, this idiot is going to shoot me without even meaning to.
“Let her go, and you and I can talk about this.”
“Darren,” Olivia pleads, trying to talk some sense into him. “Put the gun down before you hurt someone.”
He turns to her with a snarl, “Shut up. I’m not going to–”
The second he takes his eyes off me, I make my move. My squatch rushes to the surface, and I reach him in two quick steps. Wrapping my large hairy hand around his wrist, I manage to push the gun to the side, and away from Olivia before he squeezes off a shot. The discharge is sharp and loud and makes my sensitive ears ring.
With an angry growl, I shove him into another tree and pound his hand against the trunk until the gun falls harmlessly to the ground. As soon as he’s unarmed, I grab him by the front of his shirt and lift him off his feet so we’re nose to nose. Then I roar directly into his face.
The sound echoes through the trees, silencing the sounds of nature. Darren blinks at me, then all the blood blanches from his face, and his eyes roll back in his head.
I let his limp, unconscious body drop to the ground at my feet, and then I use my claws to shred the ropes holding Olivia to the tree. The moment she’s free, I pull her into my arms and turn to get her away from this place. I need to take her somewhere safe so I can examine her for injury. I need to get her as far away from Darren as possible.
“Sean, wait,” she says quietly when I turn to run. “We can’t leave him here. He’ll only come after us again.”
I hate it, but she’s right.
Olivia pushes herself out of my arms and reaches down for the rope. “Help me hold him while I tie his arms and legs, then we should take him back to your place so we can call the police.”
Again. Her reasoning is sound, but all I want is to get her away from the enemy, not bring him closer to her. Still, I can’t refuse her. Putting a knee to his stomach, I hold his arms together so Olivia can wrap the rope around his wrists, much like he did to her. Next, she ties his ankles and stands up, dusting off her hands.
“That should hold him. Can you carry him back to the house?”
Of course I can. But I don’t.
I scoop Olivia up and set her against my side. Darren lets out a low moan when I grab him by his tied ankles and start dragging him across the ground. Making sure to aim for every rock and root along the way.
“I can walk,” she argues, although she isn’t fighting me.
Her bare feet must be sore, and she weighs nothing. So, with her in one arm, and Darren being dragged behind us with the other, we make our way back to my house.
As soon as we reach the porch, Olivia slides down my side and hurries off to call Owen. I stay outside with Darren, who is beginning to wake up as I return to my human self.
When Owen arrives, I switch places with him so Olivia and I can get dressed before the police come. This time, she agrees to press charges for his kidnapping attempt, and, thanks to his insistence that I’m a bigfoot, he’ll end up on a psych hold.
“I feel kind of bad,” Olivia’s head rests against my shoulder as we watch the police cruiser drive out of sight with Darren secured in the backseat, “since he’s not really crazy.”
“Oh, he’s crazy.” I press a kiss to the top of her head. “It just happens that his hallucinations are real. But no one sane behaves that way.”
She lets out a soft sigh. “You have a point. Still, I hope they’ll help him.”
