Page 46 of Unexpected Danger (Mountain Justice #2)
What was Dustin thinking of doing? Drowning her? Her mind went a million places. Londyn thought she heard Brodie stir again, but resisted the urge to turn her head. Dustin’s volatile temperament wouldn’t mesh well with his trigger finger.
They stopped at the lake’s edge, and he removed his hand from her neck.
He reached inside his pocket and extricated a clump of keys Londyn recognized as Brodie’s and tossed them into the lake, dashing her hopes again.
Brodie needed medical help, and driving was the only way to transport him to town.
With slashed tires and no keys, his chances of survival if his wounds were life-threatening now became slimmer.
Did Brodie still have his gun?
Dustin whipped Londyn around and thrust her forward once again, this time toward the canoe.
“You know, I never realized how easy it was to incapacitate someone.” A faraway stare shadowed his face.
“All those times in school when I had to deal with all the jocks thinking they were better than me. Well, I just took out someone larger and more athletic with a whack of a gun.” He chortled, his sardonic laugh echoing through the trees.
“I’ve never really been a gun guy, so I had a choice to make when I snatched his gun from his holster.
His, or the one I’d borrowed from an unlocked vehicle? ”
Dustin angled his head close to hers. He was so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. “Guess which gun I chose?”
When she said nothing, he raised his voice and yelled, the veins in his neck protruding as his face reddened. “Guess. Which. Gun. I. Chose?” he repeated, punctuating every word, his tone nearly deafening her.
“I’m not sure,” she stuttered.
“I chose the one I stole. No one knows I took it. But they sure can’t accuse me of stealing Brenneman’s and using it. And no one will ever be able to find it since it’s now at the bottom of the lake along with his keys.”
Londyn’s lungs constricted.
Please, Lord, give me wisdom and strength to circumvent this situation. She cast a glance at the bright blue sky. She knew God heard every single prayer she’d ever uttered. He would hear her. He would help her. Her throat tightened as the tears threatened.
“Get in the canoe,” Dustin growled.
“Can I put on the life jacket first?”
Dustin regarded her for a brief moment, shooting daggers at her before he pasted on his venomous smile.
“To show you that I’m a nice guy, go ahead and put on your life jacket.
Although it won’t do you much good for where we’re going.
And don’t even think of trying anything.
If you do, your sheriff won’t make it to see tomorrow.
” He pointed at the boat. “Go ahead and grab your life jacket.”
Dizziness caused the area around her to swirl, and she unsteadily bent over and fished her life jacket from the canoe, careful not to allow the pressing of the gun in her belly band to become more prominent through her shirt.
Lord, could this maybe be a way out?
She couldn’t extract her pistol without Dustin noticing, but she could use other methods at her disposal. She remained stooped over the canoe for a few seconds, attempting to catch her breath, pray, and methodically plan.
“Hurry up. I don’t have all day.” He focused on a sluggish older-model motorhome struggling up an incline on the highway above the lake.
She threaded one arm, then the other, through the life jacket and snapped it in front.
Then, in a move that would make Mr. Brenneman proud, she kicked Dustin hard in the shin before kneeing him in the groin.
The next plan of attack was to go for his eyes, but when she did, he backhanded her, his hand connecting hard with her face.
She reeled, seeing stars in her vision as she teetered. She fell backward on the hard earth below. Dustin raised his right hand and aimed the gun at Brodie.
“No!” she screamed, staggering to her feet and tackling Dustin as the bullet rang through the air.
She dared to look to see if it hit Dustin’s intended mark.
Dustin seized her by the hair and held the gun near her cheek. “I told you if you tried anything, I would finish off your sheriff. What about that did you not understand?”
She held her breath, afraid to breathe, and without moving her head, scanned in Brodie’s direction. There was no blood or any other sign that the bullet had hit him, but there was a skiff in the dirt where the bullet landed.
“Get into the canoe.”
It would be game over if he removed her from the area, but she couldn’t risk Dustin shooting Brodie. She fiddled with the clasps on the front of the lifejacket.
Dustin urged her forward, stopping her in front of the boat. He collected a roll of string sitting on a horizontal log. “Put your hands behind your back,” he demanded.
He was going to tie her up?
“I promise you, Londyn Siegler, if you give me any trouble—even the slightest bit—I will shoot the sheriff, and this time I won’t miss.” A spark of wrath ignited in his eyes, and his poison-tipped gaze seared right through her.
If she could get away, then she could use her own gun. An idea percolated through her mind.
“Put your arms behind you.”
Londyn reluctantly did as she was told, and Dustin moved behind her and pulled the rope tightly around her wrists. She lifted her right leg and kicked him hard, donkey-kick style, in the shin.
Dustin groaned and released a stream of oaths, his words singeing her ears. He rammed her from behind, shoving her to the ground. She hit hard with no way to catch her fall.
Londyn’s eyes smarted.
“Was that worth it?” he jeered.
There was still hope.
There was always hope.
She squirmed, attempting to break free. Dustin put a knee on her shoulder blade and pressed hard into her skin, hard enough to feel it even through the lifejacket. He bound her ankles.
“Now, my love, if you will behave yourself, this will all go well. We’re meant to be together. Quit fighting it. Quit fighting me. ” Dark frost lit his eyes, and she bemoaned the fact that she hadn’t realized what kind of person he was before. He hurled her into the canoe. “Sit down.”
She did so and attempted to wiggle her ankles, but the binding was too tight.
She could already see where the rope was digging into her tender flesh.
“I know you wouldn’t want me to be uncomfortable,” she said in a tone she wished sounded more confident.
“Can you please loosen the rope a little bit?
Indecision captured his gaze. He grabbed the paddle and started rowing. When they were in the middle of the lake, he stopped the canoe, put the paddle in the notches, and marginally loosened the binding on her ankles.
“And my hands, too?
“Nope. You’ve already given me too much trouble. I’m not going to have you get any ideas about escaping.”
She scanned the area and saw no one else in the vicinity. A verse from Psalm 50:15 reminded her that the Lord was never far away. Lord, I call upon you in the day of trouble, and you will rescue me.
He would rescue her, wouldn’t He?
The jackhammering sound of a semi’s Jake break on the highway broke the silence, but Londyn doubted the driver could see her from the road, and even if he could, he would have no idea she was in danger.
Dustin paddled further from the shore. Further from Brodie. Tears strained at her eyes. Brodie remained in a heap near the pines, and there was nothing she could do.
Nothing she could do to help him.
That was the worst part of it all. He may lose his life because of her. Because of her foolish decision to leave Pronghorn Falls and seek employment at a place where a man named Dustin Haack had first befriended her, then showed his true colors.
It was a peculiar thing knowing the man whose heart she had broken might not survive. That she might not truly have another chance with him, not because he didn’t want to give her that second chance, but because his life had been stripped from him by a ruthless lunatic. A man Londyn once trusted.
She started shaking, fear rooted deep within her. The pastor last week had spoken about fear. Of how it wasn’t of the Lord. Of how God gave us peace amid troubling times.
Lord, please. Let someone find Brodie. Don’t let it be too late. Help me escape from Dustin.
Her leg muscles cramped, and her arms fell asleep. Dustin whistled as if it were just another day at the lake. Would screaming do any good? There was no one to hear her.
“Why are you doing this?” Her words wavered, and she regretted that she didn’t sound strong and capable.
“Why am I doing this? You had a chance, Londyn.”
“What do you mean?” She needed to keep him talking.
A sneer crossed his face. “What do I mean? It was always supposed to be you and me. I gave you every chance to realize we were meant for each other.”
How should she play this? Pretend to agree with him that she had made a mistake in not accepting his overtures? Tell him she’d never like someone like him? Offer a fake apology? It was obvious Dustin was mentally unstable. His nostrils flared, and his gaze contained even more animosity than before.
“I gave you every chance to realize I’m the only one who will ever love you.”
“Why did you send me texts, call me, and break into my apartment?