Chapter 40
CHAPTER FORTY
Hannah stumbled as Andrew yanked her in front of him, snarling with rage. Hands bound, she was completely at his mercy. As soon as they’d arrived at the old bridge, she knew what was coming.
She shouldn’t have tried to run—it was the thrill of the chase that excited him.
As soon he’d stopped the car, she’d made a break for it, dashing toward the woods on the other side.
She’d desperately hoped she could get lost within the foliage and escape, but Andrew was faster than he looked.
Her hands and knees still ached from scraping the rocky terrain after he’d tackled her, and the abrasion on her cheek stung where he’d smashed her face into the cold, hard ground.
Helplessly, she’d watched as he’d secured the end of her restraints around the arch of the bridge, then his own. “Don’t worry, darling,” he’d told her. “I promise it will be quick.”
Now he planned to take her with him in an apparent murder-suicide, and the rope around her neck tightened as he switched positions, shifting her closer.
“Come on, Andrew. You don’t want to hurt her, I know you don’t.”
She could barely hear Luke’s words over the pounding rain, and she met his eyes for the briefest of moments. His gaze begged her to trust him and she swallowed her fear.
The muzzle of the gun dug into her temple and Andrew’s fingers tunneled into her hair, digging into her scalp as he angled himself behind her. She clenched her eyes against the intense pain.
“She’s always been mine. Mine!”
“You’ve been a good friend to her, Andrew,” Knox spoke up. “You don’t want it to end like this. Just let her go.”
She felt Andrew shake his head, his chin brushing the shell of her ear. “It’s not that simple. I need this. I need her.”
“Put the gun down, Chandler.” The plea in Luke’s voice was unmistakable. “You love her. Don’t do this.”
“I do love her.” Pain rippled across her scalp as Andrew clamped down tighter, his grip increasing with each word. Tears clouded her vision, mingling with the raindrops as they dripped down her face.
“And you took her away from me!”
“I would never do that.” Luke held up his hands placatingly. “She’s your friend, Andrew. She needs you, just like you need her.”
The grip on her hair eased just a fraction and she released a sigh of relief.
“She was never yours, Stone, and never will be. She was mine first and I’ll take her with me before I let you have her.”
Andrew took another step backward, and she felt the coarse rope slide against her neck. She met Luke’s eyes again, pouring all the love she felt for him into her gaze.
The rope tugged again and she sucked in a breath as she felt the ground disappear beneath her feet.