Page 76 of Finding Forever
A buzzing noise came from my phone. I glanced at the kitchen table, where my phone sat, too far to reach easily.
“That’ll be Eric. I’ll ask him how long he’ll be.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
The sinister tone in the agent’s voice sent goosebumps along my skin. I had to leave the cottage. “Eric might have some questions for you.” I edged closer to the back door.
“I’m sure he will when he realizes you’re missing.”
I lunged for the door.
The man threw back his chair and slammed me against the wooden door.
Pain exploded in my head and shoulders.
“You thought you’d get away that easily?” he ground out between his teeth.
I tried to twist out of his hold, but he shoved his body against mine, pinning me to the door. “You won’t get away with this.”
The man laughed against the side of my face. “Is that so? My stepbrother didn’t have the guts to follow through on the plans we made. I don’t have the same problem.”
Fear and desperation made my heart pound. I couldn’t die—wouldn’t die like this.
Remember what Eric taught you.
Keep talking. Buy yourself some time. Think.
“Leith Chapman is your brother?”
With a grip that almost broke my wrists, the man yanked my hands behind my back. “Stepbrother. At least my mother had the sense to leave his no-good father. Stop fighting. This will be a lot easier if you do what I say.”
Taking a deep breath, I relaxed my shoulders, readying myself for what came next. “Just like the people you murdered?”
“They were cowards, trolls who should have known better. No one bad-mouths my family and gets away with it.”
I wasn’t waiting to be his next victim. I twisted sideways, threw my heel backward, and connected with the side of the man’s knee.
His howl of pain raged through the cottage.
The grip on my wrists loosened. I grabbed the knife, ramming it into the man’s thigh. I ignored his scream, the feel of the blade plunging into his flesh.
Run.
I flew out of the cottage and sprinted toward the dirt trail at the back of the house.
My neighbors wouldn’t be home. Eric wouldn’t be here for at least fifteen minutes.
Run.
Pine needles dug into my bare feet, leaves slapped against my face. I ran faster, dodging fallen trees and branches hanging in midair.
Run.
There was nowhere to go, nothing to keep me safe. Gulping back air, I tried to think, tried to plan what to do next. But nothing made sense—until I saw a log of wood shaped like a bird.
Veering left, I followed the trees around the edge of the lake, found the trail I discovered a few weeks ago.
Lowering my head, I kept moving, kept plowing through the undergrowth.