Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
I did exactly what he said, praying to God that it would turn and click and release.
Then, just a few seconds later, the prayer was answered.
“Thank fuck,” he said, his shoulders relaxing as he pulled the shackle open. “Oh, shit,” he said, seeing my ankle.
“It’s okay. I can walk,” I insisted.
“In bare feet?” he asked, moving back from me to stand, shaking his head.
“No… no. I had shoes when he… when I came here,” I said. “I think they’re over in the corner,” I said, pointing toward where he’d come in.
He turned and made his way in that direction, glancing behind a big drum of… who the hell knew what, and coming back with two dusty nude-toned ballet flats.
“Better than nothing,” he said, carefully putting them down in front of me, allowing me to step into them.
“What’s going on?” I asked, looking up at him.
“Nothing good,” he said. “Two of the men inside are injured. One isn’t. The rest will probably be back pretty soon. We have to move and we have to move fast.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding a bit frantically. “I can do that. Believe me,” I added, watching as horrified understanding crossed his face.
“Okay. I am going to go out of that window first, then I will reach up and pull you through. I would push you through first, but I don’t want to risk you falling and snapping something.”
“Okay,” I agreed, knowing he was right, that if I fell in this weakened condition, the risk of something breaking was a lot higher.
With that, I followed him silently to the window, watching as he hauled himself back through it.
There was a panicked second of me thinking he would decide he’d be faster without me before his arms went up into the window, waiting for my hands to grab.
With one deep breath that burned my lungs, I did the only thing I could at this point.
Put my faith to rest in this stranger.
My hands slid into his, and they tightened on my elbows, pulling as my shoulders screamed, the window ledge pressing painfully against my protruding bones as I slid across it until, finally, his hands grabbed me around the sides, and pulled me down to place me carefully on the ground.
“Okay, Vienna,” he said, giving me a long look. “Now we need to run.”
With that, his hand grabbed mine, fingers lacing, and he turned and ran. Leaving me no choice but to follow.
I didn’t dare look back, some superstitious part of me was afraid that if I did, I might provoke the men to come chasing after us.
Instead, I kept my gaze on Riff as we tore into the woods, as our feet crunched on twigs and underbrush, as random branches slapped at our bodies.
Riff didn’t slow, at times all but dragging me with him, wanting to put as much distance between us and the house and the men inside as possible.
My chest was on fire though, my weak legs screaming in pain, wobbling worse with each passing step.
Still, his hand stayed firm in mine, pulling me along.
Toward what fate?
I had no idea.
But I was pretty damn sure nothing could be worse than what he’d just saved me from.
CHAPTER THREE
Riff
I hadn’t believed what I was seeing for a moment.
Because in what world did you happen into a shed during a shootout and find a woman chained to the floor wearing a filthy dress she clearly hadn’t changed since spring or summer? So filthy, skeletal, and pale that there was no way she’d seen the outside of this shed in months?
But there was no denying that was what I saw.
She was a tiny thing.
Short and slight.
That fact was not helped by the fact that she’d clearly been starved, her skin clinging tightly to bones and not much else.
Her hair was tangled and greasy, hanging down to her shoulders in dark copper waves around a face that, even emaciated, was disturbingly beautiful. She was almost otherworldly pretty. Like a siren or a fairy or some shit like that with her delicate features, gray eyes, full, pouty lips, and a constellation of freckles over her pale skin.
I couldn’t imagine how beautiful she must have been before she’d been taken, chained, abused, and starved to near death.
Surviving in the woods for a day or two until it was safe to make it toward the roads again would be bad enough alone. And I was in good physical condition with a reasonably warm outfit on. But doing so with a woman who looked a stone’s throw from death? That was not going to be easy.
It wasn’t like I had a choice in the matter, though. Only a monster would leave her to this fate.
So I pulled her through that window, and we took off.
I couldn’t slow down for her. Not at first. Not even as I heard the gasping way she was trying to catch her breath, could hear her whimpers as her deconditioned body struggled to keep up.