Page 90 of Holiday Hostage
“Me too, Dad. Me too.”
“I’m here when you want to talk.” He handed me a glass of water as we began our descent. “About everything. From how you talked with Tucker, I’m in the dark about some things. I’d like to understand what happened.”
How did I even tell him that I’d fallen in love with the three men who’d rescued me?
How would I ever be okay again when I’d loved and lost them within the space of a few weeks?
26
REED
Fucking hell, my body hurt. I tried to move my toes, but the crushing weight across my chest took precedence.
My already injured shoulder throbbed with a bone-deep ache.
I lifted a hand to rub it and scraped my knuckles on something that felt like wood.
Fuck. I curled my hand around the object that pressed into my chest and forced my eyes open.
Darkness. Everywhere.
Blind or something else?
I put both hands on what felt like a thick wall beam and pushed. Soft light infiltrated the space, causing my eyes to water.
How long had I been knocked out?
Where were Mav and Tarron?
I paused my efforts and strained my ears, listening for Jack or any of his men to come running and take me out.
Nothing. Snowflakes drifted into the tiny opening I’d made.
They landed on my cheek, but I didn’t feel them.
“Okay, man. Time to get out. You can’t feel the snow. Might be getting close to frostbite.” I used Tarron’s most doctorly voice to convince myself to suffer through the pain and raise the beam higher.
It weighed a ton, almost more than I had the strength to lift.
I gritted my teeth, arched my back while digging my heels into the ground, and bucked upward with every bit of my strength.
The beam shifted with a loud creak, and a portion of the wall raised off the ground and my lower half.
Wiggling, cursing, and twisting, I pushed myself up and out.
The beam wobbled as my strength wavered.
I had no idea how long I’d been unconscious.
Long enough my skin had adapted to the temperature.
My lips cracked and bled when I bared my teeth and pushed harder against the wall.
With my head free, I took the time to look around, double-checking that Jack and his men had left.
Debris littered the ground all around me.
I’d been in the house when it exploded.
