Needing to catch her breath, she leaned against a tree. She was tempted to cry but refused to do so. She had to keep running. She turned and saw that, because of the angle of the moon, light shone on the tree she’d rested against. Was she imagining things or did this tree have markings on the side? Markings of K & B that seemed to glow in the dark?

It was her and Kaegan’s tree. A semblance of hope filled her and had her glancing around. She was on Eagle Bend Inlet. Bryce wanted to jump for joy.

Suddenly, she heard a noise and quickly looked over her shoulder and could see a light moving back and forth. Jeremy! Fear raced through her again and she quickly moved, headed toward the right. She stopped quickly and deliberately moved to the left. If Jeremy was using the flashlight to check her footprints, then she needed to confuse him. The last thing she wanted was to lead him straight to the bunker. After making sure he would assume she’d gone in another direction, she backtracked to her right and found the tall trees that were covered in grassy moss and thick vines.

Walking behind the trees, she managed to push back a lot of the mossy vines with her tied hands and find what she was looking for. The door opened and she quickly slid inside. The sound of footsteps crunching on the grass meant Jeremy was not far away. When the door closed shut behind her, she let out a relieved breath and prayed he would not figure out where she’d gone.

When her feet touched the stairs, security lights came on. Moving quickly, she went down the stairs and headed straight for the kitchen. The first thing she needed to do was find something to cut the ropes from her hands. She managed to maneuver the bottle opener in a way that after so many tries, the rope began shredding apart. When her hands were free, she rubbed them together, seeing the marks the tightened rope had left behind. But she didn’t care. She was safe. She raced up the stairs and locked the door from the inside in case Jeremy figured out where she was and how to get in. She needed time for Kaegan to get here and she had to believe he would come. She had to believe that.

Satisfied that she was safe at the moment, she walked back down the stairs and moved over to the love seat, and she sat and waited. Kaegan was coming. She had to believe in her heart that he would be coming for her.

* * *

“REMEMBER, YOU’RE NOT a police officer, Kaegan,” Sawyer said once they reached the inlet. “Don’t let me regret allowing you to come with us. Let my men do their job. Understood?”

Yes, he understood, although he didn’t like it. He would have loved to beat the crap out of Jeremy Skinner. He just hoped Bryce was safe. It was pitch-dark. What if she hadn’t managed to get away from Skinner? What if she got away from him, but hadn’t managed to find the bunker in the dark? He had to believe Bryce was safe. He had to believe that.