The Groom's Stand-In

A strand of Chloe’s hair tickled his cheek. Without thinking, he reached up with his right hand to brush it away, nearly conking her with the swinging handcuff bracelet. He caught it just in time, then spent several minutes berating himself for almost causing her more pain.

He’d tried to tell her he was no bodyguard. Not anymore, anyway.

He’d say their present circumstances provided ample proof of that.

It was still dark when Donovan roused Chloe. “We should probably move on,” he said.

“How long have we been resting here?” she asked groggily, lifting her head from his shoulder.

“I’m guessing about an hour. I haven’t heard any sounds of pursuit, but I know they’re looking for us somewhere. We can’t just sit here and wait for them to find us.”

She drew a deep breath and pushed herself upright. The very thought of standing made her want to groan, but she clenched her teeth and accepted Donovan’s hand when he rose and extended it to her. The groan almost escaped when her battered feet immediately protested her weight, but she bit it back and took a few halting practice steps. The pain was intense, but she could handle it because she had no other choice. “Which direction?” she asked.

Donovan ran a hand lightly over her tumbled hair in what seemed like a gesture of approval. “Do you want to hold my arm for support?”

“I’ll probably have to do that later,” she admitted. “But I’ll try to make it on my own for a while.”

His nod was just visible in the gloom. “Then let’s go.”

Maybe she took some small comfort in noticing that Donovan was limping, too. While it was reassuring to believe that Donovan was totally in control of this situation, it was also a little nice to know he wasn’t completely immune to the mortal weaknesses that were affecting her.

She forged on, following him deeper into the forest, trusting him to make decisions on her behalf. For now.

She started counting her steps. One, two, three, four…the silent cadence was the only thing that kept her moving forward. She told herself that if she could just take ten more steps…and then ten more…she would survive.

They made it over the rocks and fallen limbs that blocked their way, through the heavy brush that appeared in clusters to tangle their feet, along the edge of the many bluffs that filled the mountainous region. “Do you know where we are?” she asked Donovan at one point. “Do you know how to get to a road or a phone?”

“No,” he answered simply. “At this point, I couldn’t even say what state we’re in, though I assume it’s either Missouri or Arkansas.”

So they were lost. But at least they weren’t handcuffed to an iron bed frame at the mercy of three kidnappers. Ten more steps, she told herself, pressing forward. Ten more steps…and then ten more…

Again, it was Donovan who brought them to a halt beside a small, running stream they could easily step over. He knelt beside it and scooped a handful of water into his mouth.

“It isn’t safe to drink water from a stream like that,” Chloe pointed out automatically.

“I don’t happen to have any purification tablets on me. Do you?”

Because she knew the question was rhetorical, she didn’t answer.

“Have a drink,” he urged. “Just a small amount. You don’t want to dehydrate.”

Images of microbes and pollution flitted through her mind, but she was thirsty. Just the sound of the trickling water made her mouth feel dry. She knelt beside him.

The water shimmered black in the moonlight. It felt cold when she dipped her hands into it. The night air was cool against her overheated face. She might have felt cold had they not been exerting themselves so much.

The water tasted just a little metallic, but it felt good as it slid down her throat. An owl hooted above her as she swallowed another handful. She had been only marginally aware of the nightlife that shared the forest with them. The occasional rustling in the leaves, or flutter of wings, or distant cry—she’d heard them all, but hadn’t paid much attention. Nor had she worried about any wild animals they might encounter.

The predators that frightened her most tonight walked on two legs, not four.

Donovan helped her back to her feet. “You need to rest again,” he said, his hands on her shoulders.

“Is it safe?”

“I think so. We’ve put a lot of distance behind us, and I’ve been changing direction frequently. It won’t be easy for them to track us.”

She hadn’t even noticed that he’d changed directions. “Can we hide somewhere to rest?”

She didn’t like the thought of dozing out in the open again where anyone could stumble onto them.