Nicole jerked away, swinging at Eric’s head with her free fist. He caught her arm roughly and dragged her to her feet, causing Travis’s head to fall heavily on the floor. He spun her around. “My father taught me to treat women and old folks with respect,” he said, “but after tonight, my manners are wearing a bit thin.”

Nicole tried to yank free, kicking at him, but with ridiculous ease, his arm circled her throat. He jammed the muzzle of the stun gun in the small of her back. “You listen,” he hissed in her ear, “and you listen good. You’re coming with me. And it doesn’t much matter whether you come under your own power or over my shoulder like a sack of dried beans. Now, which will it be?”

Nicole made a croaking sound, as if she were choking. Surprised, Eric loosened his grip slightly, and she dropped through his arm like a block of granite. She hit the floor, rolled once, leaped over the coffee table, and darted into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. But before she could move, the bedroom door exploded inward, blasted off its hinges, and crashed to the floor.

“Now,” Eric said, standing in the shattered frame, “I’ll ask you once more. Vertically or horizontally? It’s your choice.”

Her shoulders sagged, and suddenly the fight was gone. “All right.”

“Okay. Get some warm clothes—a jacket of some kind, some warm pants, warm socks. It’ll be chilly.” He gave her light summer clothing a quick glance. “There isn’t time to change now, just get whatever you need. Toilet articles. Whatever. Do you have hiking shoes?”

“No.”

“Tennis shoes, sneakers? Anything you can walk in?”

“Yes, I’ve got tennis shoes.”

“All right, get them. You’ve got exactly one minute.”

As they came back out into the living room, she glanced at the still figure on the floor. “What about Travis? You can’t just leave him. What if he’s badly hurt?”

He took her elbow and pushed her toward the telephone on the desk. “Since he strayed into this, we may as well make him useful.” He held up the stun gun so she could see the power dial on the side, then twisted the pointer into the red zone. “They tell me the red zone signifies a lethal stunning force. Never having used it, I’ll have to take their word for it.”

She stared at the dial, her heart dropping like a stone.

“Now, I’m only going to say this once, okay? No commentary.”

Her tongue darted out quickly as she wet her lips.