Page 62 of Love on the Run

“Sharpens my focus,” Ty shrugged, brushing Quinn’s objection aside. “And we don’t have a choice.”

* * * *

Callie couldn’t believe how quickly things had changed. Skinner had dumped her into the trunk of a car with little ceremony, and she endured a jolting, painful ride that might have lasted twenty minutes or two hours. She lost all concept of time, and she had a hunch Skinner was deliberately choosing the curviest, bumpiest roads to get to his destination.

Then the car jerked to a stop. Callie was sweating when the trunk flew open, and the sudden brightness made her squeeze her eyes shut.

“Here we are, Callie,” Skinner said cheerfully. “Get up.”

Callie wanted nothing more than to be out of the trunk, but her muscles, now cramped and aching, wouldn’t cooperate. Skinner reached in and grabbed her arm, yanking her out of the vehicle. “Come on.” Callie stumbled, her legs buckling. In the confusion, a tube of lipgloss fell out of her pocket. Rather than try to pick it up, she stepped on it, hoping neither man noticed what had happened.

“Quit mousing around, Callie. You can’t be that bad off. Now stand up.”

Callie did so, and tried to follow Skinner as quickly as she could. She didn’t want him turning to see what she’d dropped on the ground. A tiny sliver of luck held with her because he kept heading toward the peaked structure several hundred yards ahead.

“What the hell is this?” Callie asked out loud.

“Ski resort. Well, used to be. We ran into the place when we were wandering around this cesspool looking for you, Callie.”

He turned to the other guy, who Callie didn’t recognize. “Move the car next to the others in the garage. I don’t want anybody to see a car and get curious.” The guy nodded in comprehension.

“It’s going to fall apart,” she objected, when it became obvious that Skinner meant them to go inside.

“Nah, it’s not so bad. Anyway, you don’t have much choice, do you?” He shoved her forward, onto the wooden plank flooring of the entrance way. Feeling like a condemned prisoner, Callie continued into the dark room beyond, wondering if she’d ever step outside again.

“Get your hands off me!” she snapped, when Skinner’s grip lingered a little too long.

“Or what, gorgeous?”

She stared at him furiously, suddenly scared of what he might do.

“Oh, don’t worry, Callie. I’m not going to touch you. Malcolm wouldn’t like that, and he’ll be here soon.”

“Malcolm’s coming here?” she asked faintly. She felt all her strength draining out of her body.These clowns she could deal with, she could pretend not to be scared out of her mind.Malcolm—he’d see right through her.She once said to Jake that she acted like Malcolm didn’t scare her, but that was over.Because there was only one reason Malcolm would come out to see her face to face.Because he intended to kill her himself.

After Skinner pushed her inside, he directed her along a circuitous route.The building was in a sorry state. The floor creaked as they walked, and Callie saw the walls were almost dissolving in places, showing the studs underneath.Like bones, thought Callie.Then she told herself to focus.

The building was large and rambling, and Skinner had her make turn after turn, far more than were necessary. They climbed what seemed like endless staircases.At least once, she recognized they were in the same room as they had been a moment ago.She figured Skinner was trying to make her life as difficult as possible, but when she caught a puzzled expression on his face, she burst out, “You’re not lost, are you?” All she knew for sure is they were heading upwards, towards the top floor.

“Of course not!” he said, but his nervous air betrayed him.

Callie snorted, despite the situation.“I can’t believe this.”

“Keep your mouth shut. It’s a little late for you to be smart anyway,”he said.

Soon enough, he found the room he wanted. It must have been one of the guest rooms, but it was now devoid of furniture, and the place was cold, the heat of the outside world unable to warm it. “Go on in.”

Callie walked into the middle of the room, only to hear Skinner shut the door behind her.She rushed back and tried to turn the knob, but the door was locked.From the other side, Skinner spoke.“Sit tight, Calliecat. Malcolm will be here soon enough. Play it right and you’ll be on plane back west tonight.”

Callie looked around helplessly. The room had been stripped of everything that might be useful to her. She hurried to the window, which was not boarded over, and still had glass in the frame. But as she peered out, she saw she was on the upper floor. The resort had been built so it clung to the slope of one side, and the drop from the window to the ground was much too far to attempt. “Damn,” she whispered.

Okay, Callie. Think. She looked around the room again. There must be something here she could use to get her out of this mess. The floor was covered in musty, thin carpeting, and the walls were bare. Callie peeked into the bathroom, and saw everything had been stripped from that room, too. Even the shower rod was gone. She turned back again, scanning the room. She had no idea how long she had until Malcolm showed up, but she knew once he did, she wouldn’t last long. If she was going to get out, she had to do it quickly.

Her eye fell on the window again, not the window itself, but the wooden frame. She went over to it and began to pull at the edge. Cheap wood. She tugged at a fractured bit. It started to come away from the wall. Callie yanked on the molding until it splintered off and she was left holding something resembling a flattened stake, wide enough to hold at one end, but narrowing down into a sharp, jagged point. She smiled. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. She looked out the window again, trying to tell where she was. The view was great, and even in her dire situation, she couldn’t ignore the mountains rising above her. Skinner had said it was an old ski hotel. She wasn’t sure just how far they’d come from Hazelton. Would Jake know about this place? If only she could give some kind of sign she was there, in case he was looking for her!

Callie shoved at the window, which opened sideways, one pane sliding grudgingly in front of the other. It only opened about four inches, probably for safety, since this was the top floor. Callie hissed in frustration. What could she do? Throw a shoe out? That wouldn’t help anyone find her, even if they found it, and she might need to run before long. She wondered if she could wedge something in the window itself, as a marker. Callie glanced down. She wasn’t wearing anything she could take off, not without stripping to her underwear. But her bandage…

Working quickly, Callie unwound the bandage on her leg until she had unwrapped the whole thing, leaving her with a long strip of cotton gauze, spotted red in places. She took it to the window, letting most of it out. Then she slid the window shut again, so the tail of the cloth was pinned in place. She hoped it would be seen by the right people.

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