Hidden Fates (Hidden Heroes #4)

Chapter 9

Reese couldn’t take another step. Every ounce of her strength was completely depleted. Her feet were killing her, and her legs were so tired that the muscles in her thighs were shaking with exhaustion. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a drop to drink, which explained her mouth feeling like she’d been chewing on a ball of cotton. And her head was throbbing even worse than before. She had no choice but to stop. But that meant, whoever was looking for her would find her that much faster.

She needed a plan. Another way to buy more time until Garrett could find her. It was nearly pitch black as she stumbled upon a small break in the treetops where the light from the moon hit just right to where she could see the ground and surrounding area. Looking up to the sky for a brief moment, her gaze landed on the crescent moon, making her wish she was back on Garrett’s dock. And she would be soon. She had to believe that. But first, she needed to find something -

A thick, leafy branch jutting out from one of the trees was hidden in the shadow. It was too high to reach, but looked like it might be able to hold her weight, at least for a short while. And being in the shadow, it would provide some cover. She might not have been able to outsmart Russell or Vivian, but whoever this clown was, she was going to beat him at his own game. She just had to find a way to get up to that branch. There was a stump about two large steps away from where it would’ve been most helpful, so she’d have to make do without it. Her hands were already all scraped up and crusted over in dry blood - what was a bit more damage?

She hadn’t climbed a tree since she was eight or nine years old, but she remembered the basics. Wrapping her arms around the large trunk, she started making her way up. It was a slow and painful process as the bark scraped the already torn flesh on her hands and legs, but she kept going until she reached the branch. Carefully, she made her way onto it, slithering along on her belly to distribute her weight more evenly. Falling from this height wouldn’t kill her, but it sure would hurt.

Once she was in position, she used her left foot to carefully loosen the shoe on her right foot and then let her right shoe drop to the ground below her. Now, all she could do was wait and hope the jerk wasn’t too far behind.

Almost as if in answer, a twig snapped somewhere in the dark, and Reese squeezed her eyes shut. This was it. She was only going to get one shot at this. If she messed it up, there was a good chance he’d either kill her or take her back to Russell - and she honestly wasn’t sure which option was worse.

Footsteps grew closer, making her stomach tighten with fear and dread. How was she going to do this? She’d seen it done on plenty of self-defense videos, but never in this position, and not in the dark. What if she missed? What if he hit her too hard and she accidentally loosened her grip? No. She had to stay strong. She had to stay the course.

The sound of someone clearing their throat nearby had her moving into position. She swung one leg over to meet the other and carefully lowered herself on the branch until she was hanging by her arms. She didn’t trust her fingers to hold her, but her arms were protected by two layers of sleeves. Her denim jacket she’d been wearing when she was taken and the leather one she’d found in the van. She’d need to hold on for dear life, quite literally, so this was her best chance.

She kept her legs bent at the knees and pressed up against her chest for now. Her arms were already getting tired and the sharp ends of the bark were digging into her skin despite the added protection of two jackets, but she ignored all that. She still had a good grip on the branch, which thankfully hadn’t made a peep or given her the slightest inclination that it was about to give way. She just needed it to hold a little bit longer. Just a little bit - she dared to look down and spotted a shadow moving closer. This was it. Oh no… Keep breathing . Or maybe it was better if she held her breath.

The figure paused and shuffled his feet. He’d obviously seen her shoe. There was no turning back now. No time to change her mind. Either she took him down or he took her - and she wasn’t about to let that happen.

Garrett was looking for her. He was coming. She knew that like she knew her own name. She just had to hold on and do what needed to be done. Garrett was a Texas Ranger. He fought guys like this every day. She smiled to herself, hoping he'd be proud of her when she told him about this. How she’d escaped and managed to stay alive.

The shadow was now past the tree. Whoever this guy was, he was standing right under her. The idiot was looking down at her shoe. She almost laughed, but instead, she dropped her legs, and locked them around his neck. Tight. She squeezed with all the strength she had left in her. The guy was holding something, but she couldn’t make out what it was, and he dropped it instantly.

His hands flew to his neck, pushing, pulling, pinching, grabbing at her legs to get them off, but she held tight, squeezing with all her might, ignoring the tremble and burn in her thigh muscles.

Even in the dark, she saw his face starting to swell and turn a bright red. His eyes were bulging in panic. He was hitting her legs harder now. He even reached higher and got a few strikes into her hips and lower abdomen. It hurt, but not as much as giving into him would, so she absorbed the hits, grunted through the pain, and kept squeezing his throat with her legs until his arms dropped and he sagged, his body becoming a dead weight she couldn’t hold up.

She released her legs and he sank to the ground in a heap, falling face first into the uneven dirt. Not waiting even a second, she quickly released the branch and followed him down. Her only chance of staying alive was to make sure he remained unconscious. When she hit the ground, her legs weren’t strong enough to hold her, and she fell back on her ass, but the sight of a rope lying next to him nearly made her forget the pain.

So that’s what he was holding! He must’ve thought he’d tie her up with it, but this actually worked out perfectly. When he didn’t move or make any noise, she hesitantly pressed her finger to the side of his neck. He was still alive. Good. She made quick work of the rope, securing his hands to his feet behind his back, and tying it into a slew of knots he’d need to be cut out of.

Then she slipped her shoe back on and took a step back to admire her work. She’d done good, and she knew it. But she was beyond exhausted now, and the pain of everything her body had endured was finally catching up to her. Garrett couldn’t come soon enough.

***

Garrett stared at yet another smudge of bright red blood illuminated by his flashlight. At least they seemed to be on the right path. But if Reese was leaving such an easy trail to follow, her pursuers were likely right behind her.

“Come on,” Luke said.

“She’s still alive,” Tanner added. “That’s not a lot of blood and it could belong to anyone, or even an animal. Don’t let yourself imagine the worst.”

Garrett nodded and put one foot in front of the other. He wasn’t going to stop until they found her, but his thoughts had already gone to the worst place imaginable. She was likely hurt and possibly even dead. He hated even considering it, but this wasn’t his first missing person search and rescue operation.

“More blood,” Tanner pointed out. “This could actually be a good thing. It’s giving us a direct path to wherever she is.”

“Or wherever she was dragged and killed.” Garrett wasn’t usually a pessimist, but they’d found no less than a dozen smudges of fresh blood and there was still no sign of the woman who’d confided in him and trusted him to keep her safe.

“Remember what you told me when Orly was missing?” Luke asked.

Garrett didn’t, but he just nodded, not wanting to think about another woman at the mercy of a kidnapper.

“Listen,” Tanner said, coming to an abrupt stop. All three men froze, but all Garrett heard was the distant sounds of a woodpecker. “I could swear I heard…” Tanner’s voice faded as Luke put out his hand and took a step forward.

“It sounds like grunting,” Luke said.

Well, that had Garrett’s attention. He started moving, his weapon at the ready, his friends flanking him on either side with their weapons out as well. “Don’t shoot,” he whispered. “Whoever it is could have Reese. This could be a trap.”

They walked down a makeshift path riddled with branches and roots sticking up from the ground at odd angles. If Reese came this way, he had no idea how she would’ve made it through without any light and not fallen and broken her neck.

“Kill the lights,” Luke said. Garrett and Tanner flicked off the flashlights.

“What do you have?” Tanner asked.

Luke pulled back a bushy branch and pointed into the darkness. There was a small clearing lit up by a sliver of moonlight peeking in through the canopy of trees. At the base of the largest tree trunk was - “Reese,” Garrett breathed.

Her head jerked up, but not even the smudges of dirt and dried blood could take away from the beautiful sight of her smile when she saw him. “I knew you’d find me,” she said, coming to her feet and running toward him. He caught her with an oomph, wrapping his arms around her as she held on to him tighter than he’d ever been held before. “I knew you’d come.”

Garrett sucked in a breath as something inside him cracked at her words. A sense of never wanting to let her go washed over him, but now wasn’t the time to think about that. He needed to assess her injuries and get her out of these woods to some place safe. “I was never going to stop looking for you,” he admitted.

Reese pulled back and raised her head to meet his gaze. Even in the shitty situation they’d found themselves in, Garrett couldn’t deny the chemistry between them. It was taking all his self-control not to close the two inches between them and kiss this woman senseless until they both forgot where they were. But he wouldn’t do that. She was hurt and needed his protection, not -

She pressed her lips to his, soft and supple, like a tenuous gift that she wasn’t sure he’d accept. Well fuck that, every nerve ending in his body lit up like a damn firework, igniting needs and desires he hadn’t felt in - ever. He let her take the lead, not wanting to take more than she was willing to give, but the longer he let their mouths move together in this sensual, slow dance, the more everything inside him screamed to take over and show her just how much he really wanted her.

When he couldn’t hold back any longer, he gave in. Cupping the back of her neck, he angled her head to deepen the kiss and she let out a soft moan that had his dick coming to life. Shit, this was the worst timing ever, but she felt so good. Too good. He pulled back, carefully caressing the nape of her neck.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “I probably shouldn’t have done that -”

“Don’t.” He pressed a finger to her mouth. He didn’t want to hear her regrets or that she’d only done it out of some sense of gratitude or overwhelming relief. He’d never make her do anything she didn’t want to do, but that was the best damn kiss of his life. “I need to get you out of here,” he said more gruffly than he’d meant to. He was definitely not in control of his voice right now. “It only took me this long to get here because I didn’t have a cell signal where I was.”

The guys had obviously seen everything, but he could hear them busying themselves with whoever Reese had tied up so thoroughly.

“I didn’t know if the gadget thing actually worked, but I’m glad it did. I think I kind of tested its limits tonight what with being in the water and then falling out of the van and then running -”

He placed a soft hand on her shoulder. She was talking fast, trying to get everything out all at once, but at his touch, she winced and he immediately removed it. “You’re hurt.”

Reese sighed. “I’m okay, Garrett. Really. No hospital needed.”

He hadn’t forgotten her aversion to hospitals. “We’ll see.” He shrugged the first aid bag from his shoulder, and turned on his flashlight, careful to aim it away from her eyes, and his. He carefully illuminated every exposed inch of her body, the leather jacket that looked like it had been put through a cheese grater, the torn flesh on her hands and legs, the scratch across her cheek. The soaking wet clothes that were plastered to her. Seeing the evidence of everything she’d gone tonight, only made her words echo in his mind even louder.

Being in the water. Falling out of the van. Running.

Someone was going to pay for what they’d put her through. “Any chance of broken bones?” He asked, trying to hide the horror in his voice at the sight of all her injuries.

Reese shook her head. “No.”

He let out what felt like a breath that wasn’t his. “Any sprains?”

“No. I think the worst of it will be on my legs. They got pretty scraped up when he yanked me off the dock and then again on the road when…oh and my hands.”

He shone his flashlight on her hands again and swallowed hard taking in the sight of dried blood and tortured flesh. “I’ll be okay,” she said.

“Shouldn’t I be the one reassuring you?” He asked in total awe of the woman standing before him.

“Just you being here is reassuring enough,” Reese smiled. “I knew you’d come. I just had to keep going until you got here.”

“You did amazing, and I want to hear all about it as soon as we get out of here. I have antibiotic ointment at home. I don’t think any of these cuts are deep enough for stitches.”

“They’re not,” she said quickly, then gestured over his shoulder. “Is he going to be okay?”

Garrett glanced at the guy on the ground. Luke and Tanner had been working to loosen the ropes around his feet. “He’s alive and he’s under arrest. That’s about as good as it’s going to get for him. How did you overpower him?” The guy was at least a hundred pounds heavier and nearly a foot taller than her.

Reese gestured at a large branch overhead. “I waited for him up there, then I used my legs to choke him until he passed out. He didn’t see me until it was too late. I dropped my shoe to draw him in.”

“Damn,” Luke said, not bothering to hide how impressed he was.

“Good thinking,” Tanner added.

“Those are my friends, Luke and Tanner,” Garrett said.

“Hi,” Reese said to them over Garrett’s shoulder. “Thank you for coming to find me.”

“Our pleasure,” the one with blonde hair said.

“Do you think you can walk or are you in too much pain?” Garrett asked. His thoughts were still swirling with memories of their kiss, but he forced himself to focus on the matter at hand. Carrying her would be the best kind of torture, but the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel helpless after the awful night she’d had.

“I’ll be fine. I managed to get this far on my own, I can definitely manage to walk back without someone chasing after me.”

Garrett smirked. “Strong bad ass,” he mumbled, and didn’t miss the smile he got in return.

Yeah, he was a goner.