Wild Fire (The Fairy Tale Match Series) (37 page)

“What took you so long to answer?”
Dan finally cried out. “We have an emergency here! Victoria has taken off with
Laura and we’re trapped in the old storage shed. You have to come and let us
out.”

He paused as she answered. “Fine,
just get here now!”

Dan turned to Jake. “Kerry is on her
way with the sheriff. He’s sent his deputy to lock up Walter. Kerry has told
him what’s happened and he’s putting out a call to the surrounding police
departments to be on the lookout for Victoria. They should be here soon and we
can join the search.”

Jake stood looking at the door in
frustration. “I don’t know that we can afford to wait,” he said despairingly.
“She left us our phones. She must be planning on…….” He broke off, unable to
say it. “We don’t have time to wait. I just know it. Please, help me with this
door. I have to find Laura.”

Dan looked at Jake’s tortured face
and nodded. They took off their shirts and wrapped the material round their
hands to try and protect them from the splinters of wood. Gripping underneath
the door again, they both pulled, working hard to rip chunks of the decaying
wood away. It was hard work, but thankfully the wood was fairly rotten and
before long, they’d cleared the doorway.

Jake peered at the big metal wall
facing him and felt his heart sink. The dumpster covered most of the opening.
He looked at the ground, but there was not much space underneath. A fully grown
man would get stuck. He couldn’t even reach the breaks to release them.
Shouting in frustration, Jake pounded his fists on the metal wall blocking his
way. Dan grabbed him from behind, tackling him to the floor.

“That’s not going to help,” he
shouted. “You’ll only injure yourself and then what good will you do Laura?”

Jake held his head in despair. “What
if I lose her Dan? What if I can’t find her in time?”

“You can’t afford to think like that.
We have to stay positive and focused. We can’t get out of here yet, but you can
think about where Victoria might be taking Laura. We both thought we heard a
car start up. Where would she take Laura to hurt you the most?” Dan broke off.
He didn’t want to say that Victoria wanted to kill Laura somewhere it would
cause Jake the most pain. He couldn’t say the words any more than Jake.

Jake sat thinking hard. Dan was
right, he had to consider where Victoria was going. That way, he could try and
save precious time. The worst place was his home, but there was no way Victoria
would go there, considering there were always far too many people hanging
around. He scrapped that idea. His mind kept drawing blanks, he couldn’t seem
to think past his fear. Breathing deeply, he tried to still his thumping heart,
but it was hard to calm down when he knew the woman he loved was in terrible
danger.

Suddenly they heard Kerry shouting to
them from outside. “Hold on guys, we’ll get you out.” There was the sound of
the breaks being released and the dumpster was pushed out of the way. Stepping
out onto the dimly lit street, Jake saw Kerry and the sheriff roll the dumpster
to its original position and set the breaks.

“Any word?” he asked the sheriff.

“Sorry son,” he shook his head
regretfully. “You really should have waited for me and my men. This might have
been avoided.”

“I can’t see how,” Jake snapped. “She
had Laura tied up with a noose around her neck and a knife at her throat. How
would you have fared any better than us?”

Kerry stepped between the men,
holding up her hands before the sheriff could retaliate. “That hardly matters
now. We have to find Laura. Where would Victoria go?”

A thought came into Jakes head, like
a gentle breeze, as if someone whispered into his ear. He shivered at the
feeling, then froze. “I know where she’s gone!” he cried, taking off towards
his truck. Dan followed hot on his heels, with the sheriff yelling behind them
and taking up the rear.

Jake called himself every name he
could think of. How could he have not thought of his and Kerry’s favourite
place? The one he always went to when he needed solace. It contained such
special memories for him. If Victoria wanted to hurt him that was the place she
would choose.

*****

Laura tried to shift her position in
the trunk of the car but it was impossible to move in such a cramped space. She
wanted the journey to end so she could stretch out the pains in her body, but
then she wanted it to go on until she was found. Laura couldn’t bear to think
of what lay at the end of this journey. She had no idea where they were
heading, but she hadn’t heard much traffic of the road. Every time she did hear
a car go by, she wished there was some way she could communicate with the
driver, so they would know something was wrong. It was the worst feeling to
hear someone so close that could help her, but they had no idea she was even
there.

Tears slipped down her cheeks,
despite her best efforts to stop them. She hated to think what a mess she must
look right now, but then did it really matter. Breathing had become hard with
the pain in both her throat and her ribs. She wondered if Victoria had broken
anything when she’d kicked her earlier.

Laura wished she’d been able to talk
to Jake before she’d been forced to leave him. She’d wanted to be able to tell
him that no matter what happened it wasn’t his fault. She didn’t want him to
fall apart, especially as that was what Victoria wanted. She needed Jake to be strong
and to live his life to its fullest. She wanted him to always be happy.

She sniffed, wondering if she would
ever have the chance for the future she’d been dreaming of with Jake. She
shifted as much as she could, trying to touch the ring he’d bought her. More
than anything, she’d wanted to marry him. She closed her eyes and dreamed,
thinking of the dress she would wear. They would get married on the ranch, she
decided. She wanted the horses to be present in the pasture, especially
Charger. She could see the beautiful marquee they would have and hear the music
they’d play for their first dance. And she could feel their first kiss as
husband and wife.

She was jolted out of her fantasy as
the car came to an abrupt stop. Fear rose up in her, almost choking her. They’d
arrived!

She could hear Victoria getting out
of the driver’s side and her heart beat began to race. Would she even have a
chance to defend herself? She had to find a way to slow things down, so that
maybe someone could find her. Was Jake even free from the shed he’d been
imprisoned in? She hoped and prayed that somehow he was coming for her.

The trunk of the car opened and
Victoria’s evil face peered in. “We’re here,” she announced cheerfully, as if
she’d taken Laura to some wonderful place for a picnic. She grabbed the rope of
the noose and gripped Laura under her arm, pulling her up. Laura cried out in
pain, her arms feeling as if they were being stuck with knives. She collapsed
onto the ground the minute her feet touched the grass. Her legs had no feeling
left in them from the cramped position they’d been forced into for so long.

“Get up!” Victoria snarled. “I won’t
be delayed. On your feet!” She yanked on the rope. Laura gasped, stumbling to
her feet as fast as she could. She tried not to fall again, as her numb legs
began to tingle with the blood filling them back up again. Painful needles
pricked all over her limbs as she tried to keep up with Victoria.

She looked around her, recognition
flowing through her. Jake had brought her here the time he’d wanted to make up
with her after their row about Dan. It seemed like another lifetime now.
Shadows covered the path they were walking down. She could hear the faint sound
of the small waterfall as they approached.

Victoria tugged her along, setting a
rapid pace through the trees. Laura wondered if she would ever see another day.
She tried not to let defeat overcome her, but she could see no way that she
would be able to defend herself. They came out into the clearing she and Jake
had sat in together, the serene beauty of the place now seeming isolated. Where
it had filled her with such soothing calm before, now it seemed to enclose her
like a tomb. Nobody was within hearing distance. It made no difference if she
screamed. No one could come.

Victoria led her to the very tree
that she and Jake had sat beneath, pushing her down onto her knees in the soft
grass and tied the rope end to a low handing branch. Laura closed her eyes
wondering how long she had left. “Please,” she begged. “Don’t do this, I beg of
you. You know that you’ll be caught don’t you? You won’t get away with this.
It’s murder!”

“A life for a life!” Victoria yelled,
her voice echoing across the rocky glade and bouncing back at them. “My life
was ruined, now it’s his turn. You have to die. I don’t care what happens after
that. Knowing he’s broken beyond repair will make it all worth it.”

“What about Walter?” Laura tried
again. “You both still have each other right now. If you do this, you probably
won’t see him again.”

Victoria turned her back to Laura,
gazing out at the water fall. “I’m not stupid. He’ll go to jail if they have
caught him. I won’t see him anyway.” She fell silent, as if lost in her own
little world.

Suddenly, to Laura’s amazement, the
rope around her hands started to slip away. She felt it slither to the ground
in a pool across her legs. Her heart missed several beats, as she pulled her
arms forward, biting back the groan of pain the movement caused her. Trying to
quickly but quietly rub the feeling back into her arms, Laura kept a close eye
on Victoria, in case she began to turn back around. How the ropes had come
undone, she had no idea and was too grateful right now at her good fortune to
really care. Finally she had a shot at saving herself.

She began to work at the noose around
her neck with stiff fingers. Surprisingly, the knot worked free quite easily.
She tossed the rope from around her neck, contemplating what she should do. Run
at Victoria or away from her?

Before she could decide what the
better course of action was, Victoria turned around. Catching sight of Laura
free from her bonds, she screamed in fury, whipping her knife out from her
boot. Laura wasted no time in running for cover, her heart slamming in terror
in her chest. She crashed through the trees, but in her panic she realised
she’d headed in the wrong direction. Instead of making her way to the parking
area and the road, she was heading further into the forest.

She could hear Victoria pounding
behind her. Fear gave her feet wings as she darted in and out of the trees,
trying to find an escape route. The darkness surrounding her made it hard to
see where she was going. Her ribs began to burn from her injuries and breathing
became hard. She had to find somewhere she could hide. She ran along the solid
rock wall, looking around wildly for salvation. She suddenly spotted a small
opening in the rock face ahead of her. She’d nearly missed it entirely, but
something had glinted, catching her eye.

Quickly and as quietly as she could,
Laura made for the opening, squeezing herself inside. She found herself in a
small cave with a low ceiling. Crouching down, she tried to catch her breath,
her ribs beginning to really hurt. She put her hand to her side, hoping that
she’d shaken Victoria off for good and rescue would be there soon. Her head
spun and for a moment she was afraid she was going to faint.

“I will find you little wren,” she
heard Victoria shout from outside. Her voice was so close, Laura’s heart
tripled its beat. She clamped a hand over her mouth, trying to quiet the sound
of her breathing. She was being irrational, she knew. But somehow she couldn’t
shake the terror of Victoria hearing her and finding her hiding place.

The sound of twigs snapping outside
made her jump. Her body shook so badly, she had to tighten the hand at her
mouth to stop her teeth from chattering. Petrified sobs threatened to work
their way out of her throat. She swallowed hard, tears spilling down her
cheeks. A soft sound brought Laura’s head snapping up.

“Peek-a-boo,” Victoria laughed with
bone chilling coldness from the cave entrance. Laura screamed, lunging to the
side and narrowly missing the knife that plunged down at her. “Did you really
think you could hide away in here? I already knew about this place. It’s not
that much of a secret around here.”

Laura backed up, but there was really
no place to run in the tiny space. Victoria made sure she stayed between Laura
and the exit. Her heart pounding in her chest, Laura kicked out as Victoria
lunged for her again. She managed to clip Victoria’s wrist but didn’t manage to
loosen her grip on the knife. The blade slid along Laura’s leg, leaving a thin
trail of blood in its wake. Victoria crowed in delight, spurred on by the sight
of Laura’s injury. She renewed her attack, raising both hands straight down at
Laura’s chest, the knife clasped tightly in her grip.

Laura grabbed hold, trying
desperately to stop the downward movement that would end her life. Victoria’s
strength was terrifying. Laura had no idea how long she could hold the woman,
her arms already shaking with the effort. Trying to calm her panic and think,
she remembered a move she’d once seen on a movie several years back.

Stepping to one side, she used her
hip to knock Victoria off centre, twisting their hands down to bring the knife
out of harm’s way. Breaking her hold on Victoria’s wrists, Laura kicked her
forcefully in her butt. Screaming with rage, Victoria spun around, lost her
footing and fell to the cave floor. There was a sickening sound as she landed,
as if she were gargling liquid before silence fell.