Chapter Ten
Janet
When Thor headed over to church, I figured this was my chance to call Maxwell, the senator’s son that my parents wanted to marry me off to.
For my own peace of mind, I needed to hear from him directly that he wasn’t behind these attacks in some twisted way.
I knew he was gay and had been in a committed, although secret, relationship with his driver for the past few years.
Surely he didn’t want to marry me. The fact that I was the one refusing the match was convenient from his point of view, and even explained his lack of interest in dating.
Having me dating someone else would only reinforce his position as the patient suitor waiting for me to come to my senses.
I sauntered up to the gun range as if I planned to stay there, keeping tabs on Thor out of the corner of my eye.
I had no doubt that if he saw me veer off, he’d be right there to see why.
I reached Sophia just as Thor disappeared inside the little cabin they used for church, and the doors closed.
Two of the prospects were standing outside guarding the doors.
The twins were busy taking shots at a target attached to a stack of hay bales. Jasmine turned to wave at me before turning back to take another shot at the outline of a man holding a chicken by its neck. I’d have to ask her what the heck that was supposed to mean after I dealt with Maxwell.
“What’s going on?” Sophia stepped up to greet me with a quick hug. “Deuce just said things with Thor were getting serious and Ace called church.”
I nodded. “There was a sniper set up on a roof overlooking the flower shop. He took a few shots at Thor, but he missed.” I glanced over at the twins to make sure they were out of hearing range.
Both of them had on those big headsets to muffle the noise of the guns.
“I need to call Maxwell to make sure he isn’t behind this.
Can you cover for me for a few minutes?”
She frowned. “I thought you said Maxwell was gay.”
“He is. But maybe he thinks me hanging with Thor will make people think he should move on. It’s better for him if it looks like there’s a chance I’ll change my mind and agree to marry him.”
She just looked confused, and I sighed. “I just want to make sure this whole mess isn’t because of me. Montgomery said it wasn’t my parents, so that leaves Maxwell.”
Sophia pursed her lips. “I can just stand here while you call him, if that’s okay. From a distance it’s going to look like we’re catching up. Unless you don’t want me to hear what you say?”
“Good idea, and it’s not private so you’re fine.
” I pulled out my phone and dialed up Maxwell’s number.
He answered on the second ring, and I motioned Sophia to be quiet.
I might be okay with her hearing the conversation, but Maxwell would freak out at the idea of anyone else finding out he wasn’t straight.
It didn’t take long for Maxwell to confirm he had nothing to do with the attacks on Thor.
He seemed genuinely happy to hear I’d found someone and confided that he was almost ready to come out and consequences be damned.
He and his partner were tired of pretending they didn’t care about each other.
I congratulated him and wished him well before I disconnected the call.
That lifted a weight off my shoulders, although I still needed to talk to Thor about my family.
Given the current crisis though, it seemed like a good idea to wait until things calmed down.
“You want to watch the twins?” Sophia pivoted and headed toward the twins.
“Sure.” I didn’t have anything better to do while Thor was at church. “Just give me a minute to go use the washroom.”
“You want me to come with you?” Sophia looked back at me over her shoulder.
I shook my head. “No, it’s not like I’m leaving the compound. I’ll be right back.” I headed back toward the clubhouse.
I was partway there when I saw a flash of brown off to my right.
I stopped and stared at the spot where it had been and heard a muffled whine from the bushes.
Had Willow gotten herself tangled up in something?
She had a habit of chasing rabbits and rodents.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the silly thing had gotten herself stuck in a thicket.
I glanced back at Sophia, but she was already back at the range, talking to the twins.
“What have you got yourself into, you furry little menace?” I stepped toward the bushes, looking for the little mutt.
A man jumped from behind a tree and grabbed me around the waist. I opened my mouth to scream, and he slapped a moist cloth over it.
I started to struggle as the world faded to black.
* * *
My mouth felt like it was full of cotton as I slowly became aware of my surroundings. I was lying on the floor in a small room. I could hear the muffled sound of conversation from beyond the door in front of me but couldn’t make out what was being said.
Realization hit me. I’d been kidnapped. Again.
Unlike the first time, I didn’t panic. The brothers at Riptide had made a point of teaching the old ladies and any other female interested in learning what to do if they found themselves in a situation like this.
Beast had been particularly diligent in making sure we understood our options.
He had two daughters, and he wanted to make sure they were able to defend themselves.
Besides the usual self-defense moves, in which he stressed that playing fair was not a consideration, he went over escape protocols.
The first was to see if you still had your phone and activate the find-me function.
I pushed myself upright, shaking my head to clear the last wisps of whatever they’d used to knock me out before I reached in my pocket for my phone.
Damn. It wasn’t there. Either I’d dropped it at some point, or the kidnappers had taken it and trashed it.
Either way, I couldn’t call for help or activate the find-me function.
I wasn’t sure how much time I had before the thugs who’d grabbed me would come to see if I was conscious.
The fact that they’d left me untied seemed to indicate they didn’t expect me to regain consciousness for quite some time.
Or else they thought I was dumb enough to just lay here and wait for whatever they planned to do to me.
Not a hope in hell of that happening.
I looked around the room they’d left me in.
There was a door on one side, and I could hear my captors beyond it, and one window on the wall opposite the door.
It looked big enough for me to squeeze out of.
I stood and walked over to it, being careful to keep quiet.
The latch gave way easily enough, but when I tried to open it, it wouldn’t budge.
It looked like someone had painted the damn thing shut.
It was glass though, and glass could break.
I stepped over to the corner by the door where a bunch of cleaning supplies were piled.
Despite the condition of the room, it looked like whoever owned this place was big on cleaning supplies.
There were five different mops, each with a sturdy handle.
I picked one with a thick wooden shaft and hefted it in my hand.
A wave of dizziness swept over me, and I reached out to steady myself against the wall. Whatever they’d used to knock me out wasn’t completely out of my system.
I could hear the conversation in the other room clearer from this position. It sounded like there were two men, and they were gloating over how easy it had been to get to me. One of the prospects had been bribed to look the other way while they snuck into the compound.
Sketch .
I needed to remember that name. When Thor came to get me, and I was positive he would, he needed to know who’d betrayed the club.
The dizzy spell passed, and I twisted the mop head off, leaving me with a nice solid stick. I was no longer weaponless. I could hear Beast’s voice in my head, explaining all the ways to take down someone bigger than you if you were lucky enough to have a long stick or branch.
There were at least two men in the other room, possibly more. I had to assume they weren’t above hurting a woman and were likely armed with more than a stick. I didn’t like those odds.
I grabbed some rags, trying not to wonder what they’d been used for. They definitely weren’t clean. I wasn’t going to be the helpless victim waiting to be rescued. Not this time.
I crossed to the window and tried to open it again. Nope. Not happening. I examined it closer. It was single paned, and probably older than my grandfather.
Did glass get brittle with age?
Did it make a lot of noise when it broke?
I was about to find out, but first I needed to know what was outside the window.
No point in breaking it only to find a couple of vicious dogs waiting to have me for lunch.
I used one of the rags to wipe the grime off the window.
The only thing visible was trees. Lots of trees, with ribbons of moss trailing off them.
It wouldn’t take long to sprint across the open ground and gain the cover of the woods.
I took another look around the room on the insane hope there was something else I could use to free myself, like maybe a loaded gun someone forgot to take with them.
A rickety old chair in the far corner of the room caught my eye and I remembered Beast talking about not only defending yourself and escaping but slowing down pursuit any way possible.
It took a bit of fumbling to wedge the chair under the doorknob but hopefully it would be enough to slow the kidnappers down if they tried to enter.
It might just give me enough time to get out of the area.
Time to escape .
I took a deep breath and glanced upward, praying to a deity I wasn’t sure I believed in that I could get out of here and find a hiding spot before the kidnappers realized I’d escaped.