The Broken Road (The Broken Series) (40 page)

Kadyn
nodded. “Matt, I’d like you to go with Dan and Marcus.”

Matt
stepped forward and shook their hands. “I’m Matt.”

Dan
strode toward a nearby pickup truck. He grinned at Kadyn as he lifted a tarp
and began pulling guns out of the back. “You might recognize some of these.”

Marie’s
eyes grew wide as she joined Kadyn and Dan at the back of the truck. “Nice,” she
murmured appreciatively.

“How
many people are we taking on?” Cenia asked as she eyed the arsenal.

Marcus
joined them at the back of the truck. “One. The guy’s working alone. I was able
to identify two guns in the house. He has a hand gun on the dresser in the
master bedroom, which is located on this side of the house.” Marcus pointed to
the photograph that Matt was holding. “He also has a shotgun, which is propped
against the wall next to the door in the living room. Those were the only two
guns I could see, but it’s possible he has more.”

“Are
you sure this guy doesn’t know you’ve been there?” Mason asked skeptically.

The
Navy SEAL folded his arms across his chest as he turned to face Mason. The
hardening of his eyes was his only response.

“Marcus
is good... one of the best. I’m sure Morris has no idea he’s been there,” Dan
insisted as he tried to break the tension between the two men. “Ron, Larry, and
Marty, why don’t you take the back of the house? Marcus, Matt, and I will take
this side, where the bedrooms are located. Phil, Marie, and Mason can take the
other side of the house, where the living room is located.”

Kadyn
looked at the sheriff and the two deputies who were silently observing the
conversation. “Sheriff?”

The
sheriff gave Kadyn a measured look. “This is our jurisdiction.” He paused as he
studied the group. “But, to be perfectly frank, you have more man power at your
disposal than I do. I’d have to pull in officers from another jurisdiction.”
His eyes settled on Marcus. “And we don’t have anywhere near your expertise in
extracting people.” Finally, his eyes returned to Kadyn’s. “I’ll grant your
request, but I’m only giving you a thirty minute lead. Then, we’re heading up
there.”

Kadyn
nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

“I
didn’t see what
that one
had in the back of his truck.” The sheriff jerked
his head toward Dan. “I don’t want any dead bodies when I get there. There’s
too much paperwork with dead bodies, and there’s nothing I hate more than
paperwork,” the sheriff grumbled.

Kadyn
smiled. “We’ll do our best.”

“One
more thing,” Marcus interjected as everyone walked toward the snowmobiles. “I
gathered some additional Intel on your boy, Morris. He used to serve in the
Army. So he’s not without skills.”

*
* * * * *

My
eyes flew open, then narrowed when I discovered it was dark. I sat up and
looked around. “What happened?” I asked, completely disoriented. Slowly, the
fog lifted. My eyes locked on Justin. “You drugged me.”

Justin
folded his arms across his chest. “You were having a panic attack.”

“I
was
not
having a panic attack. I had a bad dream. Only, it wasn’t a
dream. It was a nightmare. But it’s not just a nightmare. It’s real. It’s real…
you’re real… this whole place is real…” I trailed off, at a loss for anymore
words. Then I gasped. “
You raped me.
”

Justin
rolled his eyes. “I did not rape you. You fell asleep. It’s a bit of a
buzz-kill when the person you’re trying to make love to falls asleep.”

I
ignored the fact that he had blown off drugging and suffocating me and focused
on the more important issue. “You stopped?” While I waited for him to respond,
I mentally inventoried my body. The only parts that really hurt were my face,
my shoulder, and my left side.

He
had the nerve to look insulted. “Of course, I stopped. I’m not going to have
sex with someone who’s passed out. It makes it a little difficult to prove you
would enjoy it, don’t you think?”

I
stared at him incredulously. “You have completely lost your mind.”

He
chose to ignore my comment. He motioned toward a large pine table that was
positioned between the living room and the kitchen. “Come eat.”

I
rose shakily and walked toward the table as I tried to unravel what he was
thinking. Then I stopped abruptly and stared. The table was set with a white
tablecloth, white porcelain plates rimmed in silver, elegant silverware, and
crystal wine glasses. Light danced off the facets in the wine glasses. Five
thick candles were clustered on a silver charger in the center of the table. I
fidgeted in front of the table as I pulled the strap of my sundress back over
my shoulder. “What is this for?”

Justin
returned from the kitchen with a large platter of salmon. “You’re a bright
girl; surely, you can figure it out.” He set the platter on the table.

My
mouth fell open. The salmon was topped with capers and lemon slices and
drizzled with a dill sauce. “You cooked
this
?”

Justin
retrieved a bowl of salad and some bread from the kitchen. He set the food on
the table, then shrugged. “I was hungry.”

“This
is beyond insane,” I muttered as I lowered myself onto one of the chairs.

He
opened a bottle of Pinot Grigio and filled both of our glasses before sitting
in the seat next to me. “Salud,” he said, as he tipped his glass toward mine.

I
chose not to return the salutation. I wasn’t about to touch the food or the
wine. God only knew what Justin would do to me the next time he drugged me… and
there wasn’t going to be a next time, not if I could help it. My head cleared
as I watched him eat.

I
slowly began formulating a plan to escape, but Justin was distracting me with
his incessant small talk. He was acting like the last four days hadn’t even
happened… like he hadn’t kidnapped me, hit me, chained me up, drugged me, or
tried to rape me. In his deranged little world, we were simply two friends enjoying
a nice dinner. The guy was beyond delusional.

I
pretended to take interest in what he was saying as I worked through the
details of my plan, but I was having a difficult time multi-tasking. In the
end, I simply nodded, commented when necessary, and toyed with the food on my
plate.

When
Justin was halfway through his salmon, I briefly excused myself to go to the
bathroom. I glanced at the bed as I walked by my room. Relieved to see that
what I needed was still there, I continued on to the bathroom, then promptly
returned to the table. “Do you have a pair of socks I can wear? My feet are
cold.”

He
glanced down at my feet. He looked surprised by the idea that I might need socks.
“Sure. They're in the master bedroom, second drawer on your left.”

I
turned and walked back down the hallway.

His
chair scraped across the hardwood floor as he rose from the table and followed
me.

I
stopped in front of my bedroom and turned to face him. I took a tentative step toward
him as I brushed my fingers against his hand. “I’m sorry. I’m not very hungry.
I know you worked really hard to make this dinner special for me. I know I
haven’t been fair to you and that all you're asking is for me to give you a
chance.”

He
eyed me suspiciously.

I
looked down at my feet as I waited for his response.

“Will
you?” he whispered softly

Relief
flooded over me. “Will I what?” I asked as I looked up at him.

His
eyes searched mine. “Give me a chance.”

I
laughed nervously. “Well, I have to admit, I don’t think anyone has ever put
this much effort into taking me out to dinner before.”

He
smiled. “You’re not angry with me?”

“A
little,” I admitted honestly, “but I’m also a little flattered… and I can’t
stop thinking about the way you kissed me on the couch.” I looked back down at
the floor, knowing full well that I was playing with fire. I prayed he was
truly as delusional as he seemed.

“So
that’s what you’ve been thinking about,” he murmured thoughtfully.

I
glanced back up at him. “I want you to kiss me again,” I whispered.

His
eyes darkened with desire.

I
fidgeted nervously.

He
pulled me against his chest as he lowered his lips to mine.

My
hands fisted in his shirt. I closed my eyes and prayed I’d be able to convince
him that I genuinely wanted this kiss. I choked back tears as I thought about
Kadyn and our very first kiss.

I
shuddered as Justin’s tongue swept teasingly across my lips. He reached his
hand behind my neck and tangled his fingers in my hair as he angled my head
back. He nudged my mouth open with his tongue.

My
stomach lurched. I steeled myself as I resisted the urge to vomit. I forced
myself to deepen the kiss as I slowly backed into the bedroom.

Justin
broke the kiss just as my legs hit the side of the bed. He looked thoroughly confused
as his gaze shifted between me and the bed.

I
cupped his cheeks with my hands. “Please,” I whispered pleadingly. “I want
you.”

His
face lit with joy. He crushed me against his chest as he pulled me in for a bruising
kiss.

I
pulled back gently and sat on the bed.

“I’ve
wanted this for so long,” he groaned. He boxed me in with his arms as he
lowered his head for another kiss.

I
tangled my left hand in his hair. Then I kissed him with all the passion I
could muster. I slid my right hand toward the handcuff that lie open on the
bed. I continued kissing him as I began to pray. Then I cinched the handcuff
over his left wrist. The other end was already attached to the bed.

Justin
stilled. He looked down at his arm. Then his eyes locked on mine.

I
kicked him in the groin as hard as I could before scrambling across the bed. I
fell off the other side as he lunged over the bed.

He
grabbed me by the hair with his free hand and jerked me to my feet. His face
was livid.

My
arms flailed wildly as I vacillated between hitting him and pulling his hand
from my hair. Tears filled my eyes as he yanked at my hair. I lunged for the
lamp on the night stand and smashed it over his head. His grip loosened, and I
wrenched myself free.

I
bolted from the bedroom and ran straight for the front door. I grabbed Justin’s
coat from the hook and shoved my bare feet in the monstrous hiking boots he had
left sitting by the door.

“I’ll
kill you,” he screamed.

I
stifled a scream when I heard him trying to break the headboard. I pulled the
door open and ran out into the snow. I looked around desperately. My breath
caught when I spotted the Range Rover parked in the darkened driveway. I stumbled
forward, then ran around the vehicle. I tried all of the doors. They were all
locked. I braced my back against the Range Rover as I contemplated how best to
escape.

I
pushed off the vehicle and began searching for the road that Justin had driven
in on. The driveway seemed to disappear through the trees. I stumbled toward
the tree line and discovered tread marks running down a narrow lane of
compacted snow. I glanced back at the house. Then I ran.

*
* * * * *

Kadyn
stood staring in disbelief at the house. The massive windows revealed the entire
living room, which was empty. He spoke quietly into the headset. “The front
door is open.”

Cenia,
who had briefly left Kadyn’s side, whispered over her headset, “There are two
sets of footprints, roughly the same size. One stride appears much longer than
the other.” She joined Kadyn. Then she pointed toward the trees at the end of
the driveway. “They separate there. One set of footprints appears to stay on
the road. The other disappears into the trees.”

Marcus’s
voice came over the head set. “Ron, Larry, Marty, Phil, Marie, and Mason… you
secure the house. Locate the guns and make sure nobody is in there. Dan, Matt,
Cenia, Roger, and I will take to the trees on either side of the road. Kadyn,
go get your girl.”

Kadyn
walked to the end of the driveway. He quietly examined the narrow road. Then he
ran.

*
* * * * *

Shards
of pain ripped through my side as my feet pounded against the snow. I tripped
over the oversized boots, then fell. I cried out as my hands and knees hit the
snow. I had already fallen countless times. I was wet, cold, and completely
exhausted. “I can’t run in these stupid boots,” I cried to no one in
particular. They were completely filled with snow. I kicked them off, thoroughly
disgusted. I turned the boots upside down and emptied them out.

Somewhere
nearby, a twig snapped. I froze, then quickly scrambled to my feet. I looked
around frantically, but I couldn’t make anything out in the dark. The clouds
were covering the moon, and there were far too many trees.

I
looked down at my bare feet. I was surprised that the snow was no longer
bothering me. I slowly edged toward the boots.