Page 93 of Rescued Dreams

“We both angered him.” Amelia didn’t want to say it, but she had to. “This is about revenge.”

“It’s aboutyou. Everything is always about you.”

Amelia bit her lip.

“It’s why I’m here, isn’t it? Because of you. Now I’m going to die, and that will be because of you too.” The words echoed in the huge room.

All the way to Amelia’s heart.

“I’m sorry,” she told Cherry. “I’m sorry you’re in harm’s way because of me.”

“You should be sorry.”

“Can you tell me if he’s said anything to you?” The need to know was a desperate thing that swelled in her like a wave.

Cherry looked away, leaning against the far corner of her cage. Dejected. Out of hope or the strength to talk to Amelia.

“What is going to happen to us, Cherry?”

“He’ll kill us.” Cherry shifted a little. “Isn’t that obvious?”

Amelia closed her eyes for a second, the pain in her head almost overwhelming. She pursed her lips and blew out a long breath. An image of Ridge crossed her mind.

The twins.

Maria and Kane.

Meg, her best friend and the closest thing to a sister Amelia would ever have.

Her coworkers, who were like family to her even though they had families of their own. Were they dead? Was Ridge gone? Amelia felt the burn of tears behind her eyelids. The twins would lose their anchor.

They would be devastated.

She sniffed.Don’t do that to them.

She didn’t know how this thing worked, but right now, it seemed so natural to talk to someone who could help. Maybe the only person—Being—who could.

I know You’re listening.

Okay, so that sounded like a threat. But if her friends were right and there was a God, then He knew who He was dealing with.

Are they all correct? Because I’m kind of out of options here, and I could use some help. Cherry and her baby need You to…swoop down and save them. However You’d like to do that.

Yeah, she was terrible at this. But it wasn’t like she’d ever prayed before.

In fact, had she ever done the right thing? Or had she simply spent years doing whatever was best forher, with no regard for any kind of higher power or where she fit in some grand plan.

This wasn’t really the time to have existential thoughts. She needed to figure out a way to rescue herself and Cherry.

She shifted over to the door, pushing on the wire. A padlock on the latch kept it secured, but if she could bend it far enough, she might be able to climb free. Maybe not, but she couldn’t lose hope. That would only lead to giving up, and then she’d never get out of here.

If she wanted to get back to her life, such as it was, she had to get free.

Amelia kept pushing on the bottom edge of the door, even though she’d never fit. Between the padlock and the hinge on the other side, she wouldn’t be able to create a gap big enough to wiggle through.

She sighed aloud and quit pushing.

Amelia backed up again, her movements awkward in the cramped space. She checked her pockets and everywhere she could think but had nothing on her except jeans, a T-shirt and thin sweater, and her socks and flat canvas shoes.