Chapter 53

Hope struggled to get out of the footwell. She twisted onto her front and dragged her torso back across the gritty mat to rise to a kneeling position. From there she levered herself onto the seat and then repeated the maneuver. A glance at Colin told her he'd been knocked unconscious by the impact.

Was he alive?

She wasn't sure and wasn't about to try to find out.

Her body shook from reaction.

The engine hissed, and she could hear steam pouring out of the radiator.

The landscape around them was pretty. Rolling hills covered in snow and a small black stream running at the bottom of this valley. Smoke came out of the chimney of a nearby home. She backed up to the door and felt for the handle which opened easily. Surprised, she tumbled backwards into the road.

Ouch.

Sore, she lay half in, half out of the vehicle and had to wriggle like a caterpillar onto the rough asphalt.

Colin groaned and began fighting with the airbags.

Shit.

Urgently, she rolled and managed to get her legs beneath her, using the cold metal of the car to push against as she rose unsteadily to her feet.

Did she risk the house?

Colin had a gun, and she had to decide quickly. If she went into the forest, he could simply follow her tracks in the snow and shoot her.

She had to risk the house. She started running down the road praying that someone would drive past. She got to the end of the long driveway and paused, looking desperately around for someone to help.

The sound of the car door slamming had her starting up the drive. As she rounded the corner, she saw a huge rustic home with a large double garage/workshop off to one side.

She scurried along the edge of the lane, treading in the tire tracks, which had compressed the snow, so hopefully she left less evidence of her progress.

She needed some kind of saw to remove the cuffs. Hugging the outbuilding, she ran until she found the door. It was locked.

Dammit.

Her heart started to race as she heard footsteps crunching up the driveway. She looked wildly around and dashed into the woods behind the garage. She stood behind a large pine, held herself as tall and straight as possible while not breathing. Blood rushed through her ears, deafening her when she needed to hear everything.

Please, please, please.

"Nice try, Hope."

Her heart stumbled, and terror froze her spine. Her teeth chattered as she turned around to see Colin standing there with a gun pointed at her. Blood trickled from his nose, and he cradled the wrist she'd taken a chunk out of.

"Ah. Excellent," came a horribly familiar voice from near the garage. "Guests! Welcome. Welcome."

She shivered from loathing as well as cold. Julius Leech stood there, wearing a black cashmere sweater and blue jeans and good hiking boots. Hatred for this man welled up inside her a thousand times more powerful than fear.

He'd dyed his hair dark brown, but his eyes were the same creepy washed-out blue she saw in her nightmares.

"Come inside. I'll have someone deal with the vehicle before some Good Samaritan comes along and has to die for their trouble." His smile was colder than her breath, which frosted in the air. He raised a cell to his ear and walked unconcerned back toward the house.

She thought about running.

"Do it, and I'll kill you, right here, right now," Colin snarled.

"You're going to kill me anyway."

"Not necessarily."

She took a half-step, but he fired off to her left.

"That's your last warning."

She drew in a deep breath to try to settle herself. She wanted to live. Really wanted to live. Without fear or regret. She wanted Aaron for longer than a few stolen nights, but she doubted she'd get the chance to tell him how much he meant to her.

"Now, Hope!"

She reluctantly followed the man who'd killed her family, her mouth getting drier and drier with each step. Walking to her death.

She headed into a mudroom and then stepped into a beautiful, modern kitchen.

Colin grabbed her from behind, using her as a shield. And forced her through into the living room which had a magnificent, vaulted ceiling.

"I want my money, Leech." His voice boomed around the room. "Put it in my account, and you can have Hope to play with however you want."

Hope sneered over her shoulder. "You are such a fraud. I knew it was about the money."

But Leech wasn't there, and she heard a curse from behind her as a gun went off, and she screamed and tumbled forward.