Chapter Nine – Mallory #2
“I mean, it would be hard to cover a body like that, but…” His words faded and he quickly looked at me.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make a comment about your body.
I mean, you have an amazing body. No, wait—I’m just saying that…
Oh, hell. I don’t know what I’m saying. I hope you didn’t think I was a creeper when I found you and changed your clothes.
I swear, I was only concerned with getting you warm and making you comfortable. ”
“It’s okay, Liam. I know what you meant. You have no idea how grateful I am that you found me and brought me to your house. I’m not sure how much longer I would have been able to keep running. And what if someone else had found me and…”
Closing my eyes, memories of my escape through the forest overwhelmed me, and a small sob slipped free.
Then I was gently drawn into Liam’s embrace.
I instantly melted against his body. His strong arms came around me, and I buried my face into his chest. He smelled like the woods and something else I couldn’t put my finger on.
He made me feel safe, and while I didn’t like feeling the underlying notes of weakness, I also knew I needed to give myself some grace.
It had only been…five days since I had escaped that hellhole. Five. Days.
I drew away and looked up into his sky-blue eyes, and instantly felt at peace.
“How is it that you make me feel so much calmer?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m just glad I don’t make you nervous.”
Smiling, I broke our stare and focused on his chest. “I want to be strong, but at the same time…I’m so scared he’s going to find me again, Liam.”
He placed his finger on my chin and lifted until our eyes met once more. “I promise you, Mallory, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
Drawing in a breath, I slowly exhaled. “I believe you.”
He leaned in and gently kissed my forehead. The air between us instantly changed. My eyes landed on his mouth, and for a moment I desperately wanted to kiss him, or have him kiss me.
We both jumped apart when the doorbell rang. Liam looked toward the front door, drew in a deep breath and released it as he looked back at me. “That should be Randy. Are you okay?”
I nodded and cleared my throat as I looked around the kitchen.
“Wait here.”
“I will,” I said softly, as I watched Piper jumping up at the door. She stopped once Liam gave her a command, and she patiently sat.
After checking who was at the door, Liam opened it.
“Randy,” he said as he motioned for him to enter. “Thank you for coming over tonight.”
The other man was slightly taller than Liam, but not by much. He had brown hair and a similar build. He wasn’t dressed in a police officer uniform, but wore a dark suit instead. The tie was undone and hanging around his neck.
“You’ve got me curious after that cryptic phone call.” When he turned and saw me, he paused. With a slight frown, he looked back at Liam.
“She’s the reason why I asked you to come over.”
Randy focused back on me and made his way into the kitchen. As he got closer, I could see he didn’t have the same blue eyes as Liam…instead, his were hazel. He was handsome. Not as handsome as Liam, but still very good-looking.
“Hi,” he said as he approached. “Randy Sanders. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I took his offered hand and shook it. “Hi. Mallory.”
He smiled and looked between me and Liam, then laughed. “I didn’t realize you were dating anyone.”
Liam coughed. “No, we’re not dating.”
The timer on the stove went off and Liam made his way over to it. Grabbing an oven mitt, he took the lasagna out and set it on the stove.
“I’ll get the salad and everything out and put it on the table,” I quickly said, making my way to the refrigerator and taking out the bowl and dressing.
I walked them over to the table and placed both in the middle.
I took the moment alone to draw in a deep breath and slowly let it out.
The dining room was the only space that wasn’t part of the open floorplan, which I currently appreciated.
The double French doors were open, so I could hear the men talking.
“Is that your mom’s recipe?” Randy asked.
“Sure is,” Liam replied, reaching into the other oven and taking out the garlic rolls. “Why don’t you go sit down at the table.”
With a curious expression on his face, Randy did, but not before he reached down and gave Piper some love. He washed his hands and made his way into the dining room. I chewed nervously on my lower lip and tried not to stare as I passed him on my way back to the kitchen.
“What else can I do?”
Liam handed me a basket with the rolls and a butter dish, and he gestured toward the dining room.
He was right behind me with the lasagna.
I placed the rolls off to the side, and Liam set the hot dish on a pad in the middle of the table.
He’d already cut a few slices and there was a spatula pushed into the lasagna.
“Smells delicious,” Randy said as he inhaled deeply and rubbed his hands together.
Liam pulled out my seat for me.
“Thank you,” I said, as I looked everywhere but at Randy.
“Mallory made the salad and the dressing,” Liam stated as he sat down and handed Randy the salad bowl.
“It all looks amazing. I’ve had a long day and no lunch, so don’t mind me if I dig in.”
Liam chuckled. “Please, dig away.”
Randy filled up his bowl with salad, then took a piece of the pasta. I handed him the basket of garlic rolls, and he grabbed two.
“Thank you,” he said with a smile as he placed them onto his plate.
After I made myself a bowl of salad, I handed it to Liam. My mouth was watering at the sight of the lasagna, and I couldn’t wait to taste it. It was obvious that if I’d been a vegetarian, I couldn’t have cared less at this point.
“It smells so good, Liam,” I said, as I placed a piece on my plate. “So good!”
He smiled at me when I glanced up at him. “Taste it and tell me what you think.”
I did as he asked and moaned in delight. “Heavenly.”
Randy laughed, and I looked at him. I was instantly relieved that the sound wasn’t familiar. I stole a look at Liam and smiled.
When we finished our meal—the men had filled the time with small talk about the ranch—Randy tossed his napkin on the table. “So, are you finally going to tell me why you asked me over? I already know it wasn’t just because of my riveting personality.”
Liam wiped the corner of his mouth and set his napkin back in his lap. “I don’t really know where to start.”
Randy looked at him and raised a brow. “At the beginning is usually the best place.”
“A few nights back, during a storm, I was riding back from Billy’s place, and I saw something in the pasture. At first I thought it was a calf, but the closer I got…I realized it was a person lying on the ground.”
Sitting up straighter, Randy focused all his attention on Liam.
“When I realized it was a woman, I quickly jumped off of Moonshine and rolled her over.”
Randy tore his eyes from Liam to me then back to Liam.
“It was Mallory that I found.”
Now Randy’s gaze was focused back on me, and I squirmed slightly in my seat.
“Wait, I’m confused. What were you doing in the field? During a storm?”
I swallowed and was about to speak when Liam went on.
“She was barely conscious, cold, and soaking wet from the storm. At the time, I hadn’t even realized she wasn’t wearing shoes.
I got her up on Moonshine and brought her home.
She was barely able to answer me when I asked what her name was.
She slept for two days straight. When she finally woke up this morning, she had no idea where she was… or who she was.”
Randy looked at me. “Is that still the case?”
“Yes. I don’t have any memories before waking up in—” My voice cracked, and I looked down at my hands, now twisting the napkin in my lap.
“Randy, Mallory was being held by someone in a basement. He had her locked up for a couple days and was toying with her, telling her what he was going to do to her. Bad things. The walls were brick, and she said she worked for hours to loosen one. She hid the brick, and when the guy came back in, she hit him over the head and ran.”
I watched as Randy’s eyes grew wider and wider as Liam spoke.
He turned to me and blinked a few times. “Are you saying you were kidnapped and held against your will?”
Nodding, I said, “Yes. I was kept in a basement-type place below a barn. When I hit him, I ran as fast as I could, and I didn’t stop.
It was two full days of running. I climbed over fences, under them, through a storm, crossed a few creeks, and I stopped only when I could literally no longer run.
The second night, there was another storm, and I climbed yet another fence.
I could tell it was a huge pasture of some kind, and I didn’t like being so exposed.
I just ran until I basically collapsed. I couldn’t run anymore.
When I felt Liam picking me up, I remember praying it wasn’t the bad man who’d found me. ”
Randy glanced at Liam, and I could see the anger on his face. Suddenly he stood and yelled, “Why in the hell haven’t you called the police, Liam?”