To make matters worse, she needed to pee. Bad enough that her bladder was going to burst if she didn't get to a bathroom soon. Her head was throbbing and she felt dizzy, too. Definitely not the best day she'd ever had.
Hoping someone was close enough to hear, she grunted loudly.
After what seemed like an eternity, a fat guy with beady little eyes opened the door. "Shut up or I'll make you shut up."
His sour-milk breath made her recoil in disgust and she wondered where the guy who'd kidnapped her had gone. Still desperately needing a bathroom, she continued grunting and pleading with her eyes until he opened the door wider and ripped the duct tape from her mouth.
Tears sprang to her eyes. She couldn't believe how much that hurt!
"What the fuck is your problem?"
"I have to pee," she ground out in a hoarse voice. "And I'm dying of thirst. You don't want me to die of dehydration, do you?"
"Jesus, I'll get you some water and let you pee. Just shut up."
He pulled out a sharp pocket knife. "But no funny business or I'll have to use my knife to cut more than just the tape."
"I swear, I won't try anything."
And she wouldn't. Not yet, anyway, even though she definitely felt like her chances of escaping this guy were better than with her original captor.
A few seconds later, she was free, but when she tried to stand up, her numb legs were useless and she totally blew it, landing on her hands and knees on the floor.
The guy laughed and picked her up, getting in some major squeezing action on her boobs. April could feel the sharp prickling pains moving all through her arms and hands and fingers, toes and feet and calves as her blood started circulating again.
She bit her lip to keep from giving away her discomfort and balled her hands into fists to keep from clawing at the guy's touch, just clearheaded enough to realize that she should use the bathroom before she tried to escape again.
Looking around as he carried her, she realized they were in a big barn. There were no animals in it, only a smattering of hay on the packed dirt floor. Along one wall, dozens of boxes were stacked, almost up to the roof.
What was this place?
In the far corner, he kicked open a rickety door and plopped her down. Putting her hands on the wall, April's feet held her upright this time.
She peered into a dark, empty room. "Where's the bathroom?"
He pointed to a yellow bucket. "Right there."
Fine, she'd gone in grosser places. "Can I at least have a moment of privacy?"
He crossed his beefy arms across his chest. "No, I wanna watch."
She shrugged as she undid the top button on her jeans. "Okay, but I might have to do more than pee."
His face turned green. "Hurry the fuck up," he said, then kicked the door shut on her.
Squatting over the bucket, April quickly took care of business, then stood up and looked around the room for an escape route. Way up high, there was a small window. The glass was already shattered, which she supposed would help if she tried to break through it.
The question was, how would she get up to it?
Scanning the walls for something she could use as foot-and handholds, she heard a sound that reminded her of a hose turning on. Taking the chance to poke her head out through the door, she saw her overweight guard standing with his back to her, peeing like he'd been holding it as long as she had.
Adrenaline raced through her and she made the quick decision to bolt across the straw and out the main door. Several empty supersized beer cans lay on the ground, which explained why he was still emptying his bladder.
The sun was just starting to rise, and as she sprinted past several beaten-up trailers, it occurred to her that she'd been passed out since the previous afternoon.
Suddenly, she heard a loud roar. Oh shit, her guard must have finally realized she was gone.
Ridiculously thankful that Dianna had forced her to be on the track team in high school, April continued to run until she was surrounded by forest on all sides. She was tempted to follow a narrow deer trail, but she knew that would only make it easier for the guy to find her.
Not having time to second-guess her decision, she skidded down a hill. For the first hundred feet or so she was able to keep her footing, but as the mountain grew steeper, she was no match for the thick tree trunks and large rocks that kept slamming into her knees and legs.
She slowed down to navigate several large boulders, but just as she made it past the last one, her foot caught on a dead branch and she went flying down the steep hill, tumbling head over heels.
Curling up in a ball, she'd barely covered her head with her hands when she crashed into a rock.
A whimper of pain left her throat as she lay there, still in a ball, fighting back a heavy wave of nausea. Blackness threatened to take her and she knew she was just on the edge of passing out.
No! She couldn't give up now.
Slowly uncurling her limbs, she waited for a bolt of pain to tell her that something was broken. But when she realized she'd gotten lucky and everything was still in working order, she sat up and listened carefully for the sound of footsteps.
All she heard were birds chirping and water rushing.
Standing up, she carefully picked her way down the hill in her tennis shoes, holding on to tree trunks for support. Concentrating on each painful step, she finally got close enough to the river that she could see the water through the trees, clambering down the boulders until she got to the edge of a steep rock face.
After some quick calculations, she realized her only choice was to jump onto the sandy bank.
All the air knocked out of her chest as she landed. Lying there, trying to get her breath back, staring up at the sky, it was so tempting to just close her eyes and sleep.
Damn it. If only she weren't so tired. Or hungry. Or thirsty.
Scrunching up her eyes, she ground the balls of her hands into the sockets to wake herself up before rolling her stiff muscles into a sitting position. Getting up again, she waded into the water and followed the edge of the river downstream, hoping she'd see someone fishing or boating at some point.
After walking for what felt like hours beneath the bright sun and having no choice but to drink from the lake--giardia be damned--she finally heard the most beautiful sound in the world; little kids splashing and playing in the water while their mother yelled at them to be careful.
Moving closer, she saw the Colorado State Park signs along the river and a new burst of energy ran through her.
She'd actually made it.
She was safe!
Running out of the water, she jogged up an empty beach, then between RVs in their numbered spots, following the signs to the ranger station. Seeing a pay phone at the edge of a parking lot, she stopped and dialed the operator.
"I need to make a collect call," she said in a breathless voice, giving Dianna's cell phone number.
"I'm afraid the party you are trying to reach is unavailable."
Shit, Dianna's phone had gone to voice mail. Now what?
"Is there another number you would like to try?" the operator asked.
She could call the police, but her kidnapping was all so random that she was afraid they might not believe her. The only people besides Dianna who knew she was missing were her friends on the Farm. Figuring they had to be wondering where she was, she gave the operator the phone number for the Farm. It rang once, twice, three times, and she prayed that someone would pick up.
"Hello."
April was already talking when she realized Peter couldn't hear her because the operator was saying, "I have a collect call for you from--"
"April Kelley."
"Will you take it?" the operator asked.
Peter said he would and then April heard him say to someone, "Go get Dianna. Her sister's on the phone."
"My sister's there?" April asked, amazed that Dianna had not only found the commune, but had managed to get up there in one piece. Then again,
why was she surprised? Dianna always succeeded, even when she attempted the impossible.
"She came looking for you last night," he replied, and then she heard him tell someone, "Yes, I'm talking with her right now."
"Oh my God, April," Dianna said, coming on the line. "Are you okay?"
Dianna's concern brought tears to her eyes. She felt like a little kid all over again, desperate for her big sister to come find her and take her away from her horrible life.
"I think so. I was abducted by some guy in the hospital parking lot and I managed to escape to a state park. The signs say Tigiwon on them." Sniffling, she admitted, "I was so scared. But I knew you'd try to find me."
"Thank God you're okay. I'm coming to get you."
Dianna sounded incredibly shaken up and April could hardly believe this was her ever-poised sister on the other end of the line.
"Go to the ranger station and wait for me. And April?"
April wiped away her own tears and cleared her throat. "Yes?"
"I love you."
Her tears started anew. "I love you, too."
She hung up the phone and was heading back out into the parking lot when she was struck with the bad feeling of being watched. But when she stopped and looked all around her, she didn't see or hear anything more suspicious than a group of children riding their bikes while their parents lounged on folding chairs and drank beer.
It looked like nothing more than a perfect summer afternoon, but as she quickly followed the arrow to the ranger's office, the hair on the back of her neck wouldn't stop standing straight up.
Stop freaking out, she told herself. You did it. You escaped. You're safe.
Dianna was coming, and this time, April was perfectly happy to let her sister take care of everything. At fourteen, she'd fought her sister with all her might, partly, she now realized, because fighting was all she knew. But right this second, she longed for comfort. For safety. For a warm bed and a glass of warm milk.
For so long, she'd raged against Dianna for treating her like a baby. Funny how a little coddling no longer seemed like such a bad thing.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"SHE'S SAFE," Dianna told Sam and Peter as she hung up the phone.
She couldn't remember ever feeling happier as Sam pulled her into his arms. It felt so good to hug him. Not in a state of fear, but, finally, with joy.
"I'm so glad she's okay," he said softly in her ear before releasing her.
She slid one hand down to lace her fingers through his, suddenly feeling like new beginnings might be possible for everyone.
"How far is the campground?"
Peter pulled a map out of a nearby bookshelf, opened it up. "It's somewhat complicated by the downed trees all over the area."
Dianna felt her chest tighten at the thought of not being able to get to April right away.
Sam leaned over the map. "I'm sure we'll have no problem following your directions." He didn't look at her, but she knew he was saying the calming words for her benefit.
Peter highlighted the various trails with a pen. "As the crow flies, it's approximately ten miles. The first chunk of miles will be the hardest." And then he smiled. "I do have some good news for you, though. I keep a dirt bike stashed on the last few miles of trail. After you hike to it, the bike should cut hours off your time."
She couldn't stop herself from throwing her arms around Peter this time, and even though he was stiff and uncomfortable, she didn't care. She was so happy that April was okay she saw no reason to contain her joy. Yes, she knew they'd still need to have April sit down with the police and describe the creep who'd grabbed her, but right now that felt like a small detail.
Hiking quickly across the Farm to their tent and gear, after Sam filled his pack with water, food, and first-aid supplies, they set off toward the campgrounds. Although April sounded fine on the phone, Dianna knew it was best to be prepared for the worst. Still, just thinking of having to use the first-aid kit really freaked her out.
"I would have packed the first-aid kit anyway," Sam told her, reading her mind like he had so many times before.
"I know," she said. "This situation with April could have been so much worse."
Sam reached for her hand and squeezed it. "Just like you've said, she's a tough kid. I'm not surprised she got herself to safety." He raised an eyebrow. "I'll bet you would have done the same thing in her situation. You two actually do sound quite a bit alike."
She bit her lip. Was he right? Were she and April really that similar? Dianna would have never used the word "tough" to describe herself, but maybe that was because she'd spent so long making sure everything looked perfect on the outside and rarely let anyone look at what she was hiding on the inside.
Sam's hand was warm and dry in hers and it felt strangely right to walk through the Farm and onto the trail beside him. Almost as if they were a couple.
"So--"
He paused and she wondered what he was having such a hard time saying.
"What's your schedule like? Do you get much time off?"
She hid her grin. It was so cute, watching him fish around for information without trying to look like he was fishing.
Trying to act like his question was no big deal--when the truth was that it was a huge deal that he clearly wanted to spend more time with her outside of their quest for April--she shrugged. "Working on TV is pretty similar to working fires. We're really, really busy for a few months, and then we get nice long breaks." She couldn't resist adding, "Plus, if there's a town I want to spend some time in, I can usually convince my producer to set a week's worth of shows there."
She left her obvious follow-up intent of, "Like, say, Lake Tahoe,"unspoken.
"Good to know," he said, before surprising her with, "By the way, your river rafting and hiking skills have far exceeded my expectations."
Dianna had to laugh at herself. She was glowing all over, unable to stop smiling at his praise. One would have thought she'd never heard a compliment before.
"Thank you, Sam, that means a lot to me. Although I suppose it helps that your expectations were pretty darn low to start with."
Instead of laughing with her, Sam shot her a very serious, almost chastened, glance. "Back in the hospital, in the motel room, I behaved like an ass. I made a lot of assumptions about you, your job, what you were capable of. I was wrong."
She shook her head. "No, you've been incredible, helping me like this. Especially after everything that went wrong before."
She was searching for the right words to try to solidify some future plans for the two of them when Sam suddenly let go of her hand and ducked into a small crevasse in the rocks.
"Good news, the dirt bike is right where Peter said it would be."
The hike over tree trunks and wide boulders had gone much more quickly than she expected. Entirely because of the company.
Sam pulled one of the helmets out of his pack, but instead of handing it to her, he plopped it on her head.
"Cute. Very cute."
She hadn't given much thought to her appearance since April's call, but now that everything was almost normal, it was nice to know she wasn't going to scare little children. And that Sam still seemed to think she looked okay.
"Climb on behind me," he said as he wheeled the miniature motorcycle out from its hiding place. Through the shield on the helmet she could see he was smiling as he said, "And hold on tight."
Oh yes, it would be her pleasure to wrap her arms around his waist and chest and tuck her hips against his muscular butt.
Sam revved the engine and then they were flying down the dirt trail. Her long hair was whipping out of the bottom of her helmet, dust from the trail soon covering her legs and boots.
She'd never felt so wonderfully alive!
Between the speed and Sam's closeness, she found herself laughing out loud. And best of all, she was getting to share this moment with Sam.
The beauty of the trees and mountains and blue sky above were so colorful, so l
ovely. She hadn't been able to appreciate any of it until now, and she prayed that once she and April were back in San Francisco, she'd get to share another incredible moment like this with Sam.
Being with him had always been her biggest thrill. A total rush.
It still was.
Sam heard her laugh and smiled. He never considered that he might find himself on a dirt bike with Dianna, speeding down a narrow trail in the Rockies. And yet, these had been the most exhilarating couple of days in recent memory. No wildfire could compare to Dianna. Not even the heat.
Seeing her look so happy this morning after April's call, it was impossible not to want to see her look that way again. The night before, he'd grappled with the question of giving things another shot. This morning, he couldn't remember his reasons why not.
She was beautiful. Smart. Loyal. And, despite everything he'd tried to convince himself she'd done during the past decade, incredibly loving.
He'd be a fool to let her slip out of his life again.
The bike was fast, and because Dianna didn't seem to mind the speed, he kicked it up another notch. Within the next quarter hour they were pulling into the campground's front gates. Heading for the ranger's headquarters, he put the brakes on and Dianna was off the bike and running up the stairs before he turned the engine off.
Seconds later, she came back down, her face pinched and tight. "She's not there."
Oh shit. April'd had plenty of time to get to the ranger's station. She should have been there.
And then, he heard Dianna gasp, her hand going over her mouth as all the color left her face, her finger pointing toward the sky.
A quarter mile to the left, in the direction of the river, a plume of fresh, black smoke was rising into the blue sky.
A building must have just been set on fire.
"Get on," he yelled, and once her arms were back around him, he sped down the paved one-way road that wound through the campsites, wanting to get as close as he could to the fire as quickly as possible before he went in on foot. A group of vacationing families stood huddled together in the parking lot watching the flames.
Again, Dianna jumped off and raced toward the cabin before the bike's tires had completely stopped spinning.