.

quite sure. On and on they rode. Branches rubbed against the van so he knew they were in a remote area. That wasn’t good. Too much could happen away from civilization. They came to a sudden stop and the double doors opened. “Get out,” Rudy shouted.

      Ethan scooted to the door and stood. He turned to help the woman but she was right behind him. After the semidarkness of the van, the sun was blinding. He blinked several times to adjust his eyes. The woman stumbled but maintained her balance.

      A run-down shack was in front of him. Dried dead weeds surrounded it. No one had been here in a long time. Rudy shoved them toward a broken step. The door was half open, the lock rusted shut. Floorboards creaked as they went inside. A rat the size of a raccoon ran across the floor.

      “Oh.” The woman stepped back, but didn’t scream or fall apart. He admired that. The rat was a little too big for his comfort zone, too.

      “Sit down,” Rudy ordered.

      The dirty floor was uncomfortable, but they were out of the hot van and able to breathe. Ethan took in the tiny room at a glance. Part of the roof had caved in over the sink. The refrigerator looked rusted shut, too. Two steel bunk beds with rotted mattresses stood in a corner. Junk littered the wobbly plank floor, and the glass in the two windows was broken out. An abandoned deer-hunter’s cabin, was his thought. How were the two hoods connected to it?

      “Don’t even think about moving,” Rudy warned and walked out the door.

      Ethan eased to his feet to listen and maybe get a glimpse of their faces. The masks had to be hot. He heard their voices.

      “I’m sweating bullets in this mask.” That was the driver.

      “Take it off. We don’t need them anymore,” Rudy told him.

      “What are we gonna do?”

      “This sounded good last night when I was high.” Rudy removed his mask. “Man, the boss is gonna be pissed.”

      “Who cares? We’ve got the money and we’ll head to Houston and get lost.”

      “I’m taking the woman with me.” Rudy made that clear.

      “You’re stupid, man. I didn’t agree on no kidnapping. She’ll get us caught.”

      “Shut up.”

      Ethan took a quick peep. They stood by the van. Rudy was white, the other guy black, but he already knew that from their hands. He had to get the woman out of here and fast. Rudy was determined to have her.

      He stepped over beer cans to the window and saw nothing but thick woods. This was their way out and they had to take it quickly.

      “What are you doing?” the woman whispered.

      “We’re crawling out this window,” he whispered back.

      “Our hands are tied.”

      “A minor problem,” he replied. “C’mon. We have to go before they come back.”

      After a bit of a struggle, she got to her feet and walked to him.

      “Balance with your hands and swing your legs over the sill. I’ll help.”

      “I can do it,” she snapped.

      “Lady, I’m the only friend you got so don’t be short with me.”

      “Sorry. I’m just on edge.”

      “We don’t have time for this. Go! Once outside, run into the woods, and don’t look back, even if they capture me, even if they shoot at you. Keep running. Hide. Anything to save yourself because, lady, you don’t want to experience what these guys have in mind for you.”

      She visibly paled.

      “Go!”

      She slid one long leg over the dust-covered ledge, balanced with her clasped hands and slid out kind of sideways, but she’d done it. Thank God she wore flats. High heels would have made running away impossible.

      He followed and had to bend low to get his body through the hole. Then he was off running behind her. Shots rang out, disturbing the stillness of the trees. Disturbing his equilibrium. He caught up with her.

      “I can’t breathe,” she gasped.

      He had that problem, too. The heat was suffocating, and he knew they had to stop or collapse from it. They came to a gully and slid down it. He took her clasped hands and pulled her up the other side. They gulped in hot air.

      Voices echoed through the trees.

      “We have to go. Walk on the leaves. Try not to disturb them.” She followed orders easily and he liked that. The woods grew thicker and difficult to get through. “We have to find a hiding place.”

      “Where?” She looked at the dense woods all around them.

      He pushed through thick yaupons and saw a felled oak tree with more yaupons growing around it. “C’mon.” The tree was big and had been dead for some time. “We’ll hide behind this.” He pulled back some branches and they crawled in. “Lie lengthways against the trunk, your taped hands out in front, and don’t make a sound.” She stretched out against the trunk and he joined her—their hands inches apart.

      Voices rumbled through the dense woods.

      “Have you found them?” Rudy shouted.

      “No, man. Let’s get the hell out of here. This ain’t part of our plan.”

      “Screw the plan.” Rudy’s voice rose. “Shoot the guy. The woman is mine.”

      CHAPTER TWO

      ABBY HUGGED THE rotted tree trunk with her body. Dust clogged her nose, and dirt coated her skin and clothes. Vivid terror held her captive like a ball and chain clamped to her. It beat a rapid warning in her chest.

      She inched her fingers along the ground, through the leaves to touch the man’s hands. He clutched hers. He was there...with her. The thought gave her courage, which she feared she would need in the next few minutes.

      “They have to be here somewhere,” Rudy said. “Help me look.”

      “I’m done, man. I’m taking the money and leaving.”

      “You better not.”

      “The woman’s only trouble. She’ll get us caught, Rudy, and I’m not going back to prison.”

      “You sorry bastard.”

      “So long, sucker.”

      “Devon!”

      A gunshot rang out followed by a curse. Then a barrage of bullets slammed into the woods. A couple of shots hit the tree and the dried wood splintered over them. Neither moved or made a sound, but she gripped the man’s fingers tighter.

      “You sorry sons of bitches, I hope you die out here,” Rudy screamed, and then the pounding of footfalls receded into the distance. Still neither one of them moved.

      Neither wanted to die.

      Silence was crucial.

      Creep-crawly bugs swarmed out of the tree, covering their arms. Were they termites? Did they bite? The feel of them on her skin made her want to scream, but she knew her very life depended on her not responding.

      The silence stretched. A soft rustling was the only sound. Sweat ran from her hair onto her neck and the heat was stifling. Breathing was difficult. She had to get out of here. Away from the bugs. The heat. Panic rose in her chest, but reality kept her grounded.

      She lifted her head from her arm. “Are they gone?” came out barely audible.

      “I’ll check.” He looked over the trunk and surveyed the scene. Then they both heard the sound—the revving of a motor. “They’re leaving.”

      “Both of them?”