by Amy Star
In short, she was screwed, and there was no way for Eli to know she needed help. She had to depend on herself, and it wasn’t just her life at stake. Her hand went to her abdomen and she felt a little flutter beneath her skin. That little sign of life was enough to keep her going, fortifying her for what lay ahead. She had to get away, then, she had to find help. Both tasks were nearly impossible, but failure meant death.
She walked for what seemed like hours, carefully picking her way through the dense undergrowth and between trees so close together that she had to squeeze between them. Then all at once, she walked between two trees, and her next step found her foot in the air and her body falling forward. She grabbed blindly for the tree, catching herself just in time and clinging to the branch. Soft dirt crumbled beneath her feet as she back up, then sat down to keep from falling.
A large creek cut the earth beneath her about four feet down from where she’d nearly tumbled down the sandy banks. On the other side of the water, a small group of cattle stared at her mid drink, then backed away as one, turned tail and ran into the night.
“At least I know I’m going the right way,” she thought, straining her eyes to see any sign of a house in the distance. But there was nothing but open land, and she had no way of knowing whether going forward would take her to a house, a road, or farther into nothing. Not to mention the creek between us, she thought, her hope deflating. Her situation hadn’t changed, she was just going to have to decide between taking her chance with the creek and changing directions. Without knowing where it would take her, neither was a good choice.
She took a moment to catch her breath while she considered her options, scanning what she could see of the creek to look for somewhere to cross. In the darkness and from above, she couldn’t tell how deep the water was, but the sound of it trickling by was barely audible. Still waters run deep, she thought in dismay.
Grabbing a stick nearly as tall as she was, and using it to slide down the short embankment, she leaned over the edge and put it in the water. She was able to touch the bottom close to the shore, but just a few feet out, the stick went all the way down until her arm was in the icy water up to her elbow and still no bottom.
Crossing the creek was out, so she took a moment to reorient herself and decided to go the right. If the creek ran true east to west, then she would be fine. But if it curved back, she would have to find somewhere to cross then, even if it meant throwing her clothes across and swimming in the icy water.
A sound to the west caught her attention, and for a moment, she couldn’t place it. Then her blood ran cold and she took off, dropping the stick in the water and running down along the shore as fast as she could. When the creek was full, it filled the entire channel the Spring flow had created, giving her a good four feet of wall to cover her. So, she ran with her head down, trying not to panic as the lights from the four-wheelers bounced over the rough terrain and illuminated the edge of the little drop off.
She backed into a little crevice, watching the light and holding her breath so she could hear the people on the four-wheelers.
“Do you see her?” a woman she knew was Mia asked, her voice stuffy like she had a cold. That brought a momentary smile to Ava’s face, even though it didn’t last long. If Mia was miserable, maybe she’d give up sooner rather than later.
Or maybe she’ll never give up, Ava lamented.
“I don’t see any sign of her,” Matt responded.
“You wouldn’t know a sign of her if it bit you on the ass,” Mia hissed. “You’re worthless.”
“You’re the one that let her get away,” Matt replied.
Ava jumped when the gun went off, the sound ricocheting off all the little crevices in the landscape, then fading into the open sky without making it very far. Ava’s hands were shaking when Mia finally spoke. “Next time, I won’t miss,” she said, her voice cold and heartless.
“Let’s just find her.”
And then they were off, and Ava was heading east yet again, moving faster than she had before. If Mia was willing to shoot at her own husband and he wasn’t even bothered by it, they were crazier than she realized.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The night was alive with the sounds of wild animals, many of them startled to see Ava by the creek as they appeared from the wooded areas to slake their thirst. A lone bobcat gave Ava pause, but it gave her a wide birth and appeared far more afraid of her than she was of it. She hoped the presence of wild things roaming about so freely meant that Matt and Mia were elsewhere on the property. Maybe Matt took her to the hospital, she thought with a smirk. She knew the possibility was too good to be true, but Mia was going to regret leaving it untreated overnight when she woke up to find that her nose was broken. At least, Ava hoped it was. Ava had a tender spot on her own head, but it was worth it to get away from the crazy couple.
She took a short break, leaning against the embankment wall and stretching her legs one at a time. She winced when her muscles protested, trying to stay positive. She could do this. When she’d caught her breath and stretched what she could, she started walking again, ignoring her body’s protest. Ava’s feet were starting to hurt, her calves burning as she pushed on through the deep sand that lined the shore of the creek. She was exhausted, and she had no idea how long she’d been walking, but she was hoping that she would find somewhere safe to hide until morning. The going was slow, but she was stuck down in the gulch now that the embankment beside her was over five feet high. She couldn’t climb out because the dirt wall was too fragile, and she didn’t want to risk turning back the way she came. As long as she kept moving, she had a chance.
To pass the time, she thought about all the upgrades her home would need to be babyproofed. She’d never considered having kids, and the task of making her bachelorette pad into a family home had once seemed quite daunting. Now that she was in a glorified ditch, fleeing for her life, everything else seemed like a breeze. She couldn’t wait to go through the house and make every corner, every nook and cranny, as perfect as she could for her little one. She would do anything for their child, including making sure that they never knew that she and Eli just hadn’t been able to work it out.
In the gully, tired, cold and hungry, the anger she’d felt had subsided. There were several logical explanations for what she’d found in his wallet that had nothing to do with him having another family. She was starting to regret blowing up and acting rash instead of waiting until he was home from work to ask him about it. If there was a reasonable explanation, then the problem could’ve been solved so easily. Now, Eli thought she’d returned home, and instead of coming home to an empty home and launching an immediate, he was probably on his second bottle of whiskey, drinking her memory away. She went over so many scenarios in her mind where she didn’t run away, and she didn’t freak out about the wallet, but she knew it was pointless. She was living in this reality. And in this reality, Eli had no idea she was still in Texas, and Ava was going to have to save herself from the mess she’d ended up in.
There was a sound ahead of her, snapping her out of her revelry and back into the moment. She froze, darted into a large crevice, then turned to stare into the darkness behind her. She couldn’t see a thing, but she waited, slowly crouching down and feeling around in the dirt. Searching blindly, her hands flailed until they hit something round and hard buried partway in the ground. She dug it up quickly, holding the heavy rock in her hand and trying to maintain her composure. She was exhausted, lost, and had been running on fear for far too long.
It was silent for a long time, and as she strained her ears to hear the slightest noise, she wondered if she’d imagined it. She didn’t have time to be jumping at every sound, running to hide from what very well could be a rabbit. Could being on the run have her nerves so frayed that she was hearing things?
Her question was answered when a twig snapped behind her, and she spun around, ready for a fight. She wasn’t just going to let them catch her. If they wanted Ava Malone, they wer
e going to have a fight on their hands.
Eli and Gideon were nearly twenty minutes away from the farmhouse, traveling as fast as they could down the labyrinth of narrow dirt roads when movement caught Eli’s attention. “What’s going on with the cattle?”
“Looks like they’re moving up to the barn for dinner,” Gideon said.
“No, they’re not moving right.”
“They’re not running.”
“I see that, but something has them on edge. Stop here.”
“The Lamont barn is more than two miles that way,” Gideon said, pointing. “And it looks like it’s entirely wooded between here and there.”
“I know, but I have a feeling, just trust me.”
“You’re the boss,” Gideon said.
Eli looked at him, his expression serious. “Not anymore. As soon as this job is done, I’m out. She wouldn’t be in danger if it wasn’t for me.”
“You were already stepping back.”
“I know, but I mean out, out. I’m not putting my family at risk like this again. Ever.”
Gideon nodded and pulled off the side of the rode, parking near a tree to take advantage of the shadows that helped concealed the dark blue SUV. From farther away than just across the road, it was almost invisible in the darkness.
Eli and Gideon hurried across the road, nearly silent on the gravel, then vaulted over the pasture fence. They stayed as low as they could while they ran. Eli scanned the area around them, but he didn’t see any sign of her. He was starting to think that Gideon was right when he stopped suddenly and held his hand out to keep Gideon from taking another step. He was looking at his phone and the tiny little locket shaped icon that had appeared on the screen. “She’s here, somewhere. Within half a mile of us, if that.”
Gideon looked around. “I don’t see anyone.”
“There are plenty of places to hide, and with the creek running through everything, she could be closer than we think, walking along it in search for civilization.”
“Do you think she swam across the creek?”
“No way. I can’t see a house from here, and if it serves as enough of a barrier that the property owners never put up a fence, then the water must be deep. Otherwise the cattle would cross it.”
“Well, we know she didn’t go toward the road we came in on.”
“Right,” Eli said. He led the way along the while Gideon brought up the rear and watched for Matt and Mia.
They took off along the side of the embankment, running as quickly as their legs could carry them. Eli kept an eye on the embankment, looking for any sign that she’d climbed out of the gulch and gone back to the woods, but the embankment remained undisturbed, and every time he looked over the side, he could still clearly see her footprints in the deep sand.
The creek went mostly straight, but there was a slight curve that ran along the tree line. In the distance, Eli could almost make out a shadow. His heart quickened, and he had to stop himself from running when he saw the shadow turn, an obvious baby bump giving away her identity. He wanted to call out to her, but she was much too far away, and he didn’t want to give away their location.
When she slipped out of view and crouched in the shadows, he knew that they’d been seen. He hurried forward, then slowed when he remembered her attacking him with a rotted-out branch. If he knew anything about her, he knew that she would be better prepared this time, and he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of her attack. She was running for her life, and likely had adrenaline coursing through her veins.
He motioned to Gideon, and they split off. Eli circled around while Gideon stayed in her line of sight. Eli stepped carefully, eyes glued to Ava in the darkness, his supernatural night vision so much better than hers would be. He could see her face clear enough to know that she was terrified, and that she was looking toward Gideon, ready to throw that large rock in her hand at him as soon as he got close enough. Being above her on the embankment, there was no way the rock would seriously injure them. But a crack to the shin would hurt plenty and Eli wasn’t interested in testing out her aim.
Eli was almost on top of her when she felt his presence and turned, rock poised in the air. “Ava!” he shouted in a whisper. “It’s me.”
Ava froze for an instant, then the rock tumbled from her hand and landed with a heavy thud in the sand at her feet. “Eli?” she said, her voice hushed, breaking on the second syllable.
She reached up and tried to grab the edge of the embankment to hoist herself up, but it was too high. Gideon appeared by his side, and they each took one hand and used their free hands to grab her under the arm near the shoulder. They pulled her up easily, and as soon as her feet hit the ground, she flung herself into his arms.
She was still trembling against him when Eli felt a gun muzzle press again his back, followed by the unmistakable sound of a it being cocked. Beside him, Gideon found himself in the same predicament, his eyes locked on Eli’s.
“Well isn’t this a fine little reunion,” Mia said. “And here I thought I was going to have to give you directions to find her body.”
Matt laughed. “Now we can bury all three of them in one grave and let the cows stomp the ground flat. No one will ever know they were here.”
Ava pulled away from Eli enough to look at Matt, rolling her eyes even though Matt couldn’t possibly see her in the dark like Eli and Gideon could. “It’s cattle, you idiot. What are you, five?” She said it with so much disdain that she had Matt standing there with his jaw slack, shocked that she would dare call him stupid when he clearly had the upper hand and he was standing so close to them with a gun on her friend. But in his shock, the gun lowered, and Ava did something that none of them expected. Then all hell broke loose.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Still holding onto Eli’s arms and glaring at the buffoon who had lowered his weapon after she’d insulted him, Ava hauled back her leg and kicked straight up as hard as she could. With extension that would have made any dancer proud, her foot connected with Matt’s jaw and set the man sprawling backwards with a satisfying howl of pain.
Mia turned, shocked and forgetting herself momentarily, which was all the time Eli and Gideon needed. The two men sprang into action. Gideon kicked the gun out of Matt’s reach just as the injured man started picking himself up. Matt was enraged, lunging for Gideon and the gun, but his body was still stunned by the blow, and he was having a hard time keeping his feet beneath himself.
Eli turned, holding Ava safely out of harm’s way with one hand and disarming Mia with the other. She cursed, but instead of running away, Mia charged at Eli. She pulled a large hunting knife out of the sheath on her belt and slashed at Eli. When he sidestepped, she put her sights on Ava, her eyes flat and lifeless. She raced forward, and Ava turned and fled, out of Eli’s grasp and away from the madwoman. She was waiting for the knife to be thrown into her back as she ran, but then she heard the man who’d come with Eli shout, and Ava froze.
“I’ll kill him right here,” he said. “Put the weapon down, Mia.”
Ava held perfectly still, afraid to turn around and face the woman, and too scared to move. When the woman laughed, the sound made Ava’s blood run cold.
“Kill him,” Mia said. “No skin off my back.”
“Mia?” Matt said, his voice thin, the terror real. “Mia, please.”
“And there it is!” Mia said, laughing again. “All that military training, and you’re still such a wuss.” She pitched her voice higher, mocking her husband. “Don’t let them kill me, Mia. I let a woman kick my ass, please save me, Mia.” Ava felt Mia grab her arm, the woman’s grip like steel despite her small stature. “If you can’t save yourself, what good are you to me? I have bigger priorities, and this woman isn’t leaving here alive unless Eli makes a deal with McBride.”
“You would put McBride’s interests over me?” Matt asked, incredulous.
“Why not?” Mia said, smirking. “I’ve put McBride over more things than you could ever imagine.”
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Matt blinked. “You’re sleeping with him?”
Mia laughed again. “You’re so daft. How did you think I was making that much money as a secretary? I mean, come on. You can’t be that stupid. The late nights, the monthly bonuses. You didn’t really think-” she trailed off. “Holy shit, you did.”
“Let her go,” Eli said. “I’ll do whatever you want, just please, let her go.”
Mia bit her lip, a look of faux concern on her face, lip between her bleached white teeth. “Aw. Are you worried about your wifey and your sweet little baby? Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you brought them here. Does she know what you do? How you weasel your way into businesses, promising the latest and fastest software to streamline everything, then steal their data and turn them over to the Feds like some kind of geeked out Robin Hood?”
“You’re cheating the government and your own people. You’re making billions while your workers collect food stamps and work two jobs to get by. You can’t possibly believe that you’re the victim in all this. Every company we target has been turned in by one of their own.”
“The whistleblowers have an ulterior motive,” Mia insisted.
“Being able to put food on the table isn’t an ulterior motive. Every business that I’ve helped take down has been the worst of the worst, costing tax payers millions in missed revenue, and leaving families wondering where their next meal is coming from.”
“And if the employee is making it up?”
“Out of all the jobs I’ve worked, only one-one out of dozens-was not a legit call. We cleared them of any wrongdoing. That’s how it works. If you have nothing to hide, then nothing bad happens.”
She scoffed. “Please. You think that’s how it works?”
“I know it is.”
“And what about you? I looked into your life and your finances. You’re a billionaire. Don’t you think you should be helping people like McBride keep the government from taking what he worked so hard to earn?”
