Don’t turn on the lights. Go back upstairs.
Too late. She blinked, adjusting to the brightness of the room when she saw the gun pointed at her and the figure holding it.
“Ow….you’re not Owen.” She gasped. “What do you want?” she asked the stranger, clutching at her robe. Her pulse thumped in her throat.
The stranger held the gun steady, but his gaze darted around the room.
Clamping down on her fear, she tried to figure out how to get a hold of Owen.
Grandma, can you help me with this one?
Rules, dear. And you have the power. Connect. Connect.
Screw your rules. Find Owen, and get him back here.
Stall. Just stall.
Okay.
“Don’t try anything funny or I’ll shoot.” He waved the gun at her grandmother’s old, wooden rocker. “Sit down.”
“Take whatever you want and just leave. I won’t try to stop you.” She wanted to roll her eyes at her own stupidity. Of course she wasn’t going to stop him, the man held her at gunpoint.
“Just do as you’re told.” He took two steps forward, pushing the gun in her face.
She swallowed her pounding heart. “Okay. Okay.” She tightened the belt around her waist, painfully aware she was completely naked beneath the robe.
Where was her cell phone? She could have left it in the car, or maybe in her purse in the kitchen.
She scurried across the room, plopping herself down on the wooden chair. “What do you want?”
“Right now for you to shut the fuck up.” The intruder moved to the front of the house and looked out the window, all the while keeping his gun pointed at her.
Thankfully, his movement gave her a chance to scan the room. There had to be something she could use to defend herself. Not to mention she knew the house phone was here, somewhere. Although, it probably would be dead since she never charged the damn thing.
“Get up,” he shouted.
Courtney stood on shaky legs.
The intruder shoved the cold metal weapon into her shoulder blades.
“I’ll give you whatever you want.” Her voice trembled.
Owen, where are you?
Save me, Owen.
A light flickered in the woods behind her house. Could someone be out there? She blinked, trying to focus, but all she could see was a faint glow through the trees.
“Lady, you’re my ticket out of here.”
“How so?” She tried to calm her heart rate and her breathing. Somehow, she had to get the attention of whoever lurked in the shadows in her backyard.
“You’re going to put on some clothes and drive me to the bus station. Buy a couple of tickets and make sure I get out of this town.” He jerked her body.
“How am I going to do that?” She studied him, getting every detail in case she had to give a description.
God, she hoped she’d live to do that.
In her mind, she made a checklist of his defining features.
Blue eyes.
High cheekbones.
Stubble. Maybe two days’ worth.
Square chin with a dimple.
Long, blond hair pulled into a ponytail.
Reach out to Owen. Can you feel him?
She closed her eyes and concentrated. A warm sensation, like being in a bath, rolled across her skin. She opened her eyes. He’s close.
Your connection is strong.
“Come on. We’ve only got a few minutes.” He shoved Courtney back into the family room and up the stairs.
She swallowed the bile smacking the back of her throat. My jeans! That’s where she’d left her cell phone. “I need to use the bathroom.”
“Like hell.”
“There’s no window, so it’s not like I’m going to jump.”
He pushed the gun harder against her back.
Sarcasm might be the death of her.
“Where is it?”
“In my bedroom.” She led the way, trying to pick up the pace so she didn’t have to feel the metal barrel against her back. But the asshole seemed to shove it deeper in her skin.
He grabbed her arm and held on tight. So tight she knew it would bruise.
“You have exactly three minutes.”
She nodded.
“And keep the door open.”
“Absolutely not.”
He raised and swung.
Smack!
The back of his hand slammed down across her cheek. She fell to the floor, cupping her face.
“Lady, you ain’t got nothing I haven’t seen before. Now get your clothes, get dressed, do your business. You have two minutes.” He yanked her to her feet and shoved her into the sink.
Her hip crashed into the corner.
She blinked a few times, trying to gather her thoughts as she slipped on her jeans.
Something must have caught his attention because he stood by the door with his back to her. Quickly, she yanked out her cell phone. Making sure it was on silent mode, she hit Owen’s number and then shoved it in her pocket. She pulled an old sweatshirt over her head.
“Let’s go,” the intruder said, waving his weapon.
“Why don’t you just take my car and my money and leave me here,” she pleaded, hoping Owen had answered the call.
He shook his head. “Not going to happen.” No move.
She scurried down the stairs and through to the back of the house. Her hands trembled when she reached for her keys on the table by the door.
Owen.
He was here.
She could feel him
“I had him red-handed with my laptop in his hands.”
Owen nodded. “You did the right thing by letting him walk when he pointed a gun at you. No use in getting killed over a few items that can be replaced.”
Owen, where are you?
Great. Now he’s got Courtney in his head.
He ignored the voice. Courtney was safe and sound where he’d left her. Hopefully with her light on. He stood at the edge of the driveway to the Gilmore residence and reached for his cell phone and hit Becky’s number.
“Nothing yet, Chief,” Becky said. “We’ve pretty much combed the area. He must have slipped through somehow.”
“He’s on foot, he couldn’t have gone far.” The hair on the back of his neck prickled.
Owen? Help me. Courtney’s voice bounced between his ears.
You did hear that, right?
Loud and clear, Lilly. He pulled out his cell
