Page 35 of Unexpected Danger (Mountain Justice #2)
“Dustin told me that if I do as I’m told and hold you here until he returns, we’ll set the date for our wedding.
I’ve always thought a winter wedding would be fabulous.
” Renee’s expression took on a dreamy state.
A thought came to Londyn then. “Perhaps you and I could go wedding dress shopping. I heard that boutique downtown carries a wide selection of formal wear.”
Renee slipped out of her fanciful world, her eyes enlarging and her mouth forming an “o”. She blinked rapidly before answering. “Yes, that would be an awesome idea.”
Londyn resisted the urge to allow a breath of relief to escape her lips. “I think so too. Maybe we could find a pearl necklace to match the beading on the flowers as well.”
Renee’s attention swiveled between the picture and the magazine and Londyn before a dark shadow fell across her face. “Are you kidding me?”
Londyn jolted at Renee’s harsh words. The woman stood. “I think you’re trying to trick me into letting you go, but that will never happen. I promised Dustin, the love of my life, that I would hold you here until he returned. Your trickery will not change that.”
Renee propped up the dartboard with a man’s photo on it and retrieved two darts from the top of the desk beneath a pile of papers. She threw a dart at the dartboard. “Take that,” she said as the dart hit the photograph’s outer edge.
“Who is that?” Londyn asked.
“Not that it’s your business, but it’s the man who decided it was a good idea to break my heart. We met online and were supposed to get married.” She seethed the words.
“Aren’t you and Dustin getting married?”
Renee whipped around and faced Londyn. Her chest rose and fell, and she tapped her foot. “Yes. Now I am.” She calmed, and her pinched expression eased. “Dustin came into my life at just the right time. I realize now what true love is. That’s why I would do anything for him.”
The door creaked open, and Dustin entered.
Renee looped her arms around his neck. “I've missed you so much,” she said, planting a kiss on his lips.
Dustin kissed her back, but at the same time, he focused his attention on Londyn and rolled his eyes.
While Londyn couldn't see the front of Renee's face since it was Dustin who faced her, from the way the woman's head was tilted back, Londyn imagined her to be lovingly smiling at Dustin.
“Why don't you go make us some lunch?” he suggested.
Without hesitation, Renee zipped from the room.
Dustin kneeled beside Londyn and wrinkled his nose.
“Man, this place is awful.” He brushed a thumb against her cheek.
“Don't worry, my love, I will get you out of here.” Had he already forgotten he was part of the reason she was here?
He stood just as Renee entered the room.
“I have some eggs I could make us omelets,” she suggested. Londyn stared at the egg carton in Renee’s hands and noted an expiration date of three months ago. She cringed. Was it because Renee had recycled the cardboard carton, or was it because the eggs were truly that old?
“Ah, that sounds perfect.” Dustin stood up and put his arm around Renee. “You've always been a good cook.” Renee blushed. How long had Dustin and Renee known each other?
When Renee again left the room, Dustin focused his attention on Londyn.
“I want you to know that I don't really care about her the way that I care about you.” Londyn’s gag reflex kicked in, and nausea churned in her belly.
“Now don't go anywhere,” he chortled, giving her the once-over.
“I'll be back in a few. Oh, and you might need this.” He withdrew a filthy handkerchief from the desk drawer, twisted it, then shoved it into her mouth and tied it behind her head. “I know you, Londyn. You tend to make a commotion when things don’t go your way.”
Now she’d have no way of yelling or even speaking.
Not that anyone but Dustin, Renee, and the animals could hear her anyway.
The handkerchief tasted of a blend of cooked cabbage, moldy cheese, and liver.
She gagged, the contents of food eaten that morning attempting to re-emerge.
A wave of heat rippled through her, and she prayed she wouldn’t hyperventilate.
Dustin left the room and closed the door behind him. The sound of crunching gravel outside drew Londyn's attention to the window. She wiggled her way toward it and attempted to prop herself up. She caught a glimpse of Brodie's service vehicle pulling into the driveway.
Londyn lost her momentum and fell back onto the floor into a pile of who knew what.
She heard a vehicle door shut, and she figured he was exiting his truck.
Would Dustin try something? Londyn had to get Brodie’s attention and warn him.
Brodie was a sitting duck walking along without any clue that someone bent on harming him was just on the other side of the door.
Londyn attempted to lift her elbow and tap on the window, but it only produced a lackluster sound she doubted Brodie could hear.
On the other side of the bedroom door, she heard Dustin tell Renee, “Just be quiet.
Don't answer the door, don't say anything.”
“But I don't want to get in trouble for stealing that horse,” whispered Renee in a panicked voice.
“Like I said, just be quiet and act like no one is home.”
“Okay.”
Londyn again propped herself up and watched as Brodie briefly inspected the sedan parked in front of Renee's house.
She clasped a chewed-up tennis ball between her bound hands and pounded on the window again as best as she could and bemoaned the fact that she had a gag in her mouth.
Brodie then turned and walked to the front door out of her sight.
The doorbell must have failed because instead of hearing the classic “ding dong”, there was a loud knock at the door. A brief pause, then more pounding.
Brodie stepped back from the front door and again into her view.
He examined the front of the house, including the window where she stood.
Brodie! But it came out as a muffled grunt.
He looked in her direction—or at least she thought it was in her direction, and she hammered on the glass. She held her breath. Would he see her?
She released another strangled cry and thumped on the window again. Look this way, Brodie! But instead, he pivoted in the direction of the truck.
She had to try again. Had to get Brodie’s attention. Struggling to her feet for a third time, she called to him. Instead of seeing her, Brodie climbed into his service truck and closed the door.
Londyn slid down in dejection, her back against the wall.
Tears stung her eyes, and she hung her head.
Rescue had been within her reach, and yet now?
Lord, please rescue me. I know that You never leave us.
That nothing happens without Your knowledge.
Give me the strength to survive this, the wisdom to figure a way out of this, and the ability to escape.
Had God heard her? Would He help her?
So, so many times in her life she’d felt alone.
Mom had better things to do than tend to her kids.
A memory of her and Logan left in the car for hours while Mom visited the local bar flitted through her mind.
It had been cold that day, and they’d huddled in the back pretending they lived in an igloo in the Arctic.
Mom emerged from the bar, a man on her arm. A man who became their first stepdad, the rebound from their father’s unfaithfulness.
Jesus had been with Londyn even then. Even when she’d not known Him.
He’d been with her through the other heartaches in her life.
The first time Dad promised to show up for her school recital and was nowhere to be found.
His deserting his family altogether. Mom’s neglect that had continued far into her teen years.
The hateful words of some of the girls in junior high P.E.
class about her mom’s morals. The situation with Lance.
Logan’s estrangement after he and Londyn had been through so much together.
The fearful times with Dustin in Rowland.
The car accident, near strangulation, the episode in the clinic parking lot, and his visits to Aileen’s and Roarke and Mila’s house.
The Lord had never left her side. He never would. She was His ever since that day in youth group when she’d put her faith and trust in her Savior. Ever since she’d decided to live for Him.
Even when Londyn doubted. Even when her life was rife with trouble, even when things changed daily, Jesus remained steadfast. She couldn’t lose hope.
A mangy black and white cat climbed onto her lap, flicked its tail in her face, and Londyn sneezed, the handkerchief impeding her, as she attempted to brush the cat aside. It hopped off and toddled through a pile of garbage.
Londyn was about to struggle to her feet when she heard the doorknob turn.
Dustin entered, and Londyn scanned the crowded, junk-filled room. An idea formed in her mind. She spied an old bird cage on the desk and the pile of remaining darts for the dartboard beneath the stack of papers.
Lord, please let this work.
“The sheriff’s gone, at least,” said Dustin. “I abhor it when people try to interfere with my plans.”
Londyn’s heart sank. She’d been so close to being rescued. Would she still have a chance to escape?
No, she refused to allow this to deter her. She could still flee. She just needed to think this out. Lord, please guide me.