Hot as Sin (Hot Shots: Men of Fire #2)(44)
Author: Bella Andre

A few seconds later, she was free, but when she tried to stand up, her numb legs were useless and she totally blew it, landing on her hands and knees on the floor.

The guy laughed and picked her up, getting in some major squeezing action on her boobs. April could feel the sharp prickling pains moving all through her arms and hands and fingers, toes and feet and calves as her blood started circulating again.

She bit her lip to keep from giving away her discomfort and balled her hands into fists to keep from clawing at the guy’s touch, just clearheaded enough to realize that she should use the bathroom before she tried to escape again.

Looking around as he carried her, she realized they were in a big barn. There were no animals in it, only a smattering of hay on the packed dirt floor. Along one wall, dozens of boxes were stacked, almost up to the roof.

What was this place?

In the far corner, he kicked open a rickety door and plopped her down. Putting her hands on the wall, April’s feet held her upright this time.

She peered into a dark, empty room. “Where’s the bathroom?”

He pointed to a yellow bucket. “Right there.”

Fine, she’d gone in grosser places. “Can I at least have a moment of privacy?”

He crossed his beefy arms across his chest. “No, I wanna watch.”

She shrugged as she undid the top button on her jeans. “Okay, but I might have to do more than pee.”

His face turned green. “Hurry the f**k up,” he said, then kicked the door shut on her.

Squatting over the bucket, April quickly took care of business, then stood up and looked around the room for an escape route. Way up high, there was a small window. The glass was already shattered, which she supposed would help if she tried to break through it.

The question was, how would she get up to it?

Scanning the walls for something she could use as foot- and handholds, she heard a sound that reminded her of a hose turning on. Taking the chance to poke her head out through the door, she saw her overweight guard standing with his back to her, peeing like he’d been holding it as long as she had.

Adrenaline raced through her and she made the quick decision to bolt across the straw and out the main door. Several empty supersized beer cans lay on the ground, which explained why he was still emptying his bladder.

The sun was just starting to rise, and as she sprinted past several beaten-up trailers, it occurred to her that she’d been passed out since the previous afternoon.

Suddenly, she heard a loud roar. Oh shit, her guard must have finally realized she was gone.

Ridiculously thankful that Dianna had forced her to be on the track team in high school, April continued to run until she was surrounded by forest on all sides. She was tempted to follow a narrow deer trail, but she knew that would only make it easier for the guy to find her.

Not having time to second-guess her decision, she skidded down a hill. For the first hundred feet or so she was able to keep her footing, but as the mountain grew steeper, she was no match for the thick tree trunks and large rocks that kept slamming into her knees and legs.

She slowed down to navigate several large boulders, but just as she made it past the last one, her foot caught on a dead branch and she went flying down the steep hill, tumbling head over heels.

Curling up in a ball, she’d barely covered her head with her hands when she crashed into a rock.

A whimper of pain left her throat as she lay there, still in a ball, fighting back a heavy wave of nausea. Blackness threatened to take her and she knew she was just on the edge of passing out.

No! She couldn’t give up now.

Slowly uncurling her limbs, she waited for a bolt of pain to tell her that something was broken. But when she realized she’d gotten lucky and everything was still in working order, she sat up and listened carefully for the sound of footsteps.

All she heard were birds chirping and water rushing.

Standing up, she carefully picked her way down the hill in her tennis shoes, holding on to tree trunks for support. Concentrating on each painful step, she finally got close enough to the river that she could see the water through the trees, clambering down the boulders until she got to the edge of a steep rock face.

After some quick calculations, she realized her only choice was to jump onto the sandy bank.

All the air knocked out of her chest as she landed. Lying there, trying to get her breath back, staring up at the sky, it was so tempting to just close her eyes and sleep.

Damn it. If only she weren’t so tired. Or hungry. Or thirsty.

Scrunching up her eyes, she ground the balls of her hands into the sockets to wake herself up before rolling her stiff muscles into a sitting position. Getting up again, she waded into the water and followed the edge of the river downstream, hoping she’d see someone fishing or boating at some point.

After walking for what felt like hours beneath the bright sun and having no choice but to drink from the lake—giardia be damned—she finally heard the most beautiful sound in the world; little kids splashing and playing in the water while their mother yelled at them to be careful.

Moving closer, she saw the Colorado State Park signs along the river and a new burst of energy ran through her.

She’d actually made it.

She was safe!

Running out of the water, she jogged up an empty beach, then between RVs in their numbered spots, following the signs to the ranger station. Seeing a pay phone at the edge of a parking lot, she stopped and dialed the operator.

“I need to make a collect call,” she said in a breathless voice, giving Dianna’s cell phone number.

“I’m afraid the party you are trying to reach is unavailable.”

Shit, Dianna’s phone had gone to voice mail. Now what?

“Is there another number you would like to try?” the operator asked.

She could call the police, but her kidnapping was all so random that she was afraid they might not believe her. The only people besides Dianna who knew she was missing were her friends on the Farm. Figuring they had to be wondering where she was, she gave the operator the phone number for the Farm. It rang once, twice, three times, and she prayed that someone would pick up.

“Hello.”

April was already talking when she realized Peter couldn’t hear her because the operator was saying, “I have a collect call for you from—”

“April Kelley.”

“Will you take it?” the operator asked.

Peter said he would and then April heard him say to someone, “Go get Dianna. Her sister’s on the phone.”

“My sister’s there?” April asked, amazed that Dianna had not only found the commune, but had managed to get up there in one piece. Then again, why was she surprised? Dianna always succeeded, even when she attempted the impossible.