Page 11 of Ghost
She had to hurry.Now that she had a sight line to escape, she’d free her ankles.There had to be something in the car that she could use.Wedging her shoulder low between the two front seats, she examined the interior of the car.
The moonlight illuminated something shiny in the cupholder—a pocketknife.A strangled grunt of gratitude caught in her throat.Getting the damn thing with her arms behind her back and her feet tied wouldn’t be an easy feat, though.
Turning so she sat on the center console facing the rear seats, she leaned backward and stretched her hands toward the cupholder.Her fingers bumped over the smooth plastic.Her wrists and forearms burned in protest.She stretched her hands farther from her body and her knuckles hit the polished metal.Grasping the knife, she straightened and then spilled into the back on the folded-down seat.
Hair stuck to her face, her breath hot and frantic, she felt the tape around her ankles with her fingers—he’d wrapped them three times, the asshole.
Grunting, she got to work.At least some moonlight spilled in.She unfolded the blade, brought the sharp end to the edge of the tape, and sawed.The knife nicked the inside of her ankle.She grimaced.Warm, sticky blood spread over her leg, but she didn’t stop.Focusing on keeping the blade on a straight path, she didn’t cut herself again.
The knife broke through the end of the binding and she dropped her shoulders with a sigh.Taking two deep breaths, she tucked the knife into the back of her shorts.Once she got somewhere safe, she’d figure out how to use the tool to get her hands free.
Hooking her toes around the handle, she pushed open the door.Icy wind blew in, sliding over her sweat-dampened skin.
She stumbled out into the snow that reached her calves and, arms still bound behind her back, her shoulders and neck screaming, she broke into a run.
CHAPTER 5
Ghost finished tapinga sheet of plastic to the floor.He grabbed the hose from where it hung on the wall and dropped it to the ground.Thankfully, last year he’d heat-traced and insulated the water lines throughout the property to avoid freezing in the event he didn’t make it back to shut off the water for the season.
He pulled his phone from his pocket.Almost 6:00a.m.He hadn’t slept all goddamn night.More importantly, he’d left the car unattended for fifteen minutes.
Still no message from Rami, which meant he’d probably gone back to bed and left Ghost’s problems to deal with when he woke up.Muttering a curse, he returned his phone to his jeans and stalked across the workshop.
A gust of wind blew in and he bundled his coat beneath his chin.The woman would be freezing.The temperature was well below zero.
He strode through the snow drifts, following his footsteps from earlier.His gaze landed on the open car door and he froze.
“Sonofabitch.”
He broke into a run.How the hell had she gotten free?Fuck!He found her footprints and followed her path as if it were a trail of fucking breadcrumbs, his temper flaring with every step.Rather than escape down the driveway like a normal person, she’d gone for the woods.
Dropping another curse, he turned around and went back to the workshop to get his flashlight.He’d find the bitch.
Then he might just put a bullet in her head.
***
Mila raced downthe slope of the mountain.Her feet kicked up snow as she ran.Her body ached for more oxygen, but the tape kept her lips sealed.
Not that she would’ve screamed.
She had no clue where they were.Because she’d fallen asleep, she couldn’t be sure how long they’d been in the car.
Alexei’s chastising voice entered her mind again.Another mistake, Malyshka.
Pressure crushed her chest.Her lungs screamed.Her anxiety surged.But she didn’t stop running.A steep hill came into view and she moaned.
Something stirred behind her.She froze and slipped behind a large tree trunk, listening.Closing her eyes, she held her breath and sought the rustling sound she felt more than heard.
Whisp,whisp,whisp
The steady, aggressive slapping of pine branches.He’d realized she was missing and was following her tracks.
Just freaking great.
Anchoring her gaze to the top of the hill, she sprinted.The sharp slope would be difficult to ascend without the use of her hands, but she’d climbed worse.
She trudged upward, her feet stinging with every step, feeling long gone from her toes.Her muscles ached and she commanded her body to send that stinging blood flow to her feet.
