Her heart leapt. Success. She’d broken through the wrist restraints. It took a few moments of shaking her hands to regain the blood flow. Once done, she went to task on the ankle restraints. That process went faster as she had the strength of both hands in the sawing motion.
While the feeling returned to her feet, she laced her shoe, then checked her watch. With a rapidly beating pulse, she nodded. “A midnight escape then.” As she stood, that second of bravado left. Fear clawed at her with adrenaline rushing through her veins. She needed a way out. She’d heard a deadbolt on the front door being locked, but she frantically checked it anyway.
Her luck didn’t hold out. It needed a key. She pushed on the door anyway, just in case, but was disappointed.
Not dwelling on that setback, she went to the first window she could find and unlocked it. It didn’t budge. She tried the other three and had no luck. Not to be deterred, she frantically looked around the cabin for something to break one of these blasted windows. Her only option was furniture. The chair it was.
She hefted the kitchen table chair she’d been sitting on and brought it to the window. It was awkward, and she had to set it down and resettle her grip to get the chair leg up high enough. Once there, she hit the window hard. To her utter dismay, it only cracked. So, she hit it again and again until, on the third try, it broke, and large pieces of glass slipped down the wall, shattering as they hit the floor.
It took more work and the muscles in her arms were burning, but she had to get all of the glass out of the window. She didn’t relish a cut deep enough for stitches, and she couldn’t get to a hospital before she bled to death.
Her adrenaline screamed, but she knew her time was limited, so she decided she’d made it safe enough. She took off her sandal and used it to wipe the glass from the frame to spare her hands from being shredded.
The window wasn’t large, so she either had to go head or leg first. Not far from the ground, she went leg first. Not that she would have chosen headfirst if it had been higher off the ground. Legs first was the smart choice.
Then she halted and her heart throbbed in her chest. This was too easy. Maybe he wanted her to escape just to catch her again and pay her back by torturing her in some way. She had to mentally flip a coin—heads, it was safe and tails, danger awaited. She almost laughed. Danger awaited either way because, at some point, Quinn would be coming. With that thought, she decided to screw the coin and take a chance.
So, out the window she went, and she fell back on her rear when she landed. She didn’t have time to soothe her wounded pride at such an ungraceful landing. She had to get moving.
Panic hit her once she realized she had no idea where she was or how to find help. It made sense to follow the road at the end of the driveway. Glancing back and forth, she had no idea which way to use as her escape.
Moira could end up going in the wrong direction. One way remained open field while the other started with open field that turned to woods. The perfect place for her to hide if someone like Quinn drove that way. She wished Danny was here.
She legged it across the open field, dreading going into the woods, even though she knew it was a smart idea. Almost to the cover, the beam of a car’s headlights broke through the darkness. Her heart leapt in fright. Quinn. Who else would be coming to this place at midnight? She picked up the speed to a run over the uneven field. She stumbled but caught herself and kept going.
The car came into view as she slipped into cover. Frantic to escape, she plunged in the near darkness, forgetting the need to continue following the road. It briefly occurred to her she could get lost, but needing to get away overrode common sense.
Bushes scratched her legs where her capris didn’t cover them as she moved through the woods. When she heard her name yelled, she stopped for a moment, fear freezing her limbs. She couldn’t see behind her, but she’d bet Quinn was there. Every now and then, Quinn yelled her name, and she could swear it was closer.
Now she rushed, unseen limbs swatting her in the head. She tripped over a bush and fell, her hands catching her before she smacked her face on the ground. When she stood, she moved forward again, and ran into something solid.
She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand covered it, and she was spun around and pulled up against a body. Her mind screamed, He was waiting.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Danny had purposefully put himself in Moira’s path. He hadn’t accounted for her not being able to see him. Since he doubted she’d been released, it appeared she’d freed herself. He had no idea how, but pride for her swam through his system. Traveling here, his fear of being too late had reached a level he almost thought unmanageable. Now, he held her safe in his arms. His heart swelled with love. In an effort to remove her panic, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I’m here. Don’t cry out.”
Her body relaxed against him, and he took that to mean she trusted him. Well, rescued more than she’d already accomplished. He and the agents had