The Ruckus

I didn’t want to slow down, but I wasn’t sure how much more my body could handle. My feet suffered, and I hadn’t been able to catch my breath for what felt like forever. And the rumbling in my head that probably meant I was on the verge of passing out.

Except... it got louder and seemed to shake the ground.

That rumbling wasn’t in my head. I staggered forward a few more yards as the sound became louder and louder. And I recognized it.

An engine. A truck engine. And something else. Higher pitched but just as loud.

I panicked.

Of course, I hadn’t been able to hear Randy behind me anymore. He might have been crazy, but he’d been smart enough to go back to his truck, so I’d have no chance of outrunning him. He would take me back to that cabin and do God-only knew what.

I couldn’t give up. I couldn’t let him take me back there and eventually kill me. But my legs wouldn’t work. The panic and adrenaline weren’t enough to carry me forward anymore.

My legs gave out, and I slumped against a tree. Hiding was probably my best option. So that was what I did, pulling leaves and foliage and dirt around me to give me some camouflage as the sound of the engine came closer.

I squeezed my eyes shut and forced back the exhausted tears that welled up. I wasn’t going to cry. I wouldn’t give up. I’d fight.

I tried to make myself as small as possible behind the tree, and then somehow mustered the courage to open my eyes again and peek out as a pickup and an ATV came crashing through the brush up ahead of me.

Wait, what?

Two vehicles.

Did he have someone else in on this?

Had Randy gone somewhere to find help? But that didn’t make sense. He hadn’t been gone that long, and I knew for sure that we’d been alone back at the cabin.

It took a few more seconds until the truck and the ATV were so close that I clearly saw the people driving. None of the guys were Randy.

They were my guys.

“Micah!” I jumped out from behind the tree, waving my arms like a madwoman and nearly losing my sheet in the process. “Micah! Axel! Over here!”

Axel was out of the truck before it had even come to a stop, and seconds later, Micah followed right behind him.

“Jesus, Jasmine.” Axel’s deep voice was the best sound to reach my ears all morning as he pulled me into his arms and held me tightly. Micah was next, hugging both of us and burying his face in my tangled, dirty hair.

He didn’t seem to care, though, and I was way too relieved to worry about how I looked.

Another voice startled me from the group hug, and my stomach clenched as I remembered there had been a third person with them.

My uncle Jeff swung his leg over the ATV and stepped closer to us. “What did that son of a bitch do? Did he hurt you?” His teeth were clenched as he scanned the line of trees behind me. “Where is he?”

“I’m not sure,” I answered, following his gaze. “He was right behind me for a long time, and then I think I lost him, thank God.”

“Probably too scared to come out of his hiding spot,” Micah called out loudly. “Not so brave when he can’t sneak up on us while we’re sleeping.”

I held my breath, half-expecting Randy to come crashing out of the woods with that cold, scary look in his eyes. But the only sounds were the birds chirping and my own heart beating like crazy.

“Which direction did you come from?” Uncle Jeff asked.

I pointed back toward the trees. “Through there. I’m not sure how far it is to the cabin or how long I’ve been running. It felt like forever, but... I just don’t know.”

“It’s okay,” Axel said quietly. “We’ve got you now. If he shows his face again—”

“He won’t show his face again if he knows what’s good for him,” my uncle interrupted, reaching for the shotgun that he’d slung across his back. “But that’s okay. I don’t mind a good chase.” He walked back to the ATV and gave my guys a quick nod. “Y’all need to get back to the house. Jasmine’s mama will have some clothes and food. She’ll get y’all cleaned up.”

“You aren’t coming back with us?” I asked, despite already knowing the answer.

All he said was, “I have some hunting to do.”

Under any other circumstances, I probably would have felt sorry for the person on the receiving end of my uncle’s anger. I knew from experience how mean he could be—and I was family. But for Randy?

Nope.

I didn’t even have a little sympathy. Still, I didn’t want my uncle to get into any trouble with the police on my behalf, and Randy’s family held a lot of sway in town.