SAMPLE CHAPTER

    Gunnar grabbed me around the waist and hoisted me up over his shoulder. My hands trapped under my body. I kicked at Gunnar, but he had my legs snugged against his body. He carried me out through the living room, I looked around frantically but I didn’t see anything that could help me. Gunnar’s gun was sitting on the coffee table in front of the fireplace. Great. I was hoping it had disappeared. But no, now I had to face the possibility of being shot.

    I had a last look at the bronze moose and we were outside. He carted me over to his car; I heard a lock click and the next thing I knew I was in the trunk of his Lexus.

    “Hey,” I said. “You didn’t have to dump me in here. That hurt.”

    He slammed the lid on me and I was in the dark. A couple of minutes later I heard footsteps, then the trunk opened.

    “Where is she?”

    “What are you talking about?”

    “That woman who was with you. Where is she hiding?”

    “I don’t know.” I was hoping that by now Meg had found the other door out of the wood box. The one we loaded the wood into. If she was fast she could be halfway to the next cottage.

    I saw a movement behind Gunnar then Meg was on his back, her arm around his neck trying to choke him. In one fluid motion he flipped her off his back. She landed on top of me in the trunk. The air was pushed out of my lungs, and everything went black again as the lid slammed. I heard Gunnar walking away as we scooted around until we were side-by-side, spooning like lovers. It was better than having Meg on top of me.

    “You should have run for help.” I felt like howling.

    “I couldn’t leave you with that maniac. What if something happened?”

    “Well now we’ll find out.” I shifted my legs, trying to un-cramp them.

    “Well, how do you like this Lexus now?” I asked. “Comfy?”

    “Oh stop grousing, I don’t want the last words I hear to be grumbling. Any way for us to get out of this?”

     “It depends on if he remembers to bring his gun.”

    The car door slammed and a moment later we were bumping down the road.

    “If he didn’t have the gun, we could overpower him when he opens the trunk,” I said. “But I don’t think we can count on that.”

    “Oh my God!” Meg said. “What if he never opens the trunk? What if he leaves us in here to starve? Or what if he drives us over a cliff or something?”

    “He won’t do that.” I hoped. “Because this is his car and he won’t want anyone to associate us with it. Don’t cars like this have latches on the inside of the trunk? Maybe we could pop the trunk while he’s driving and jump out when he stops.”

    “What’s this?” I could hear her fumbling around. The latch clicked and the trunk flew open. “I did it!”

    “I wished you’d warned me first. I’m not ready.”

    Gunnar slammed on the brakes and I slid deeper into the trunk. Meg was up on her knees, struggling to get a leg over the edge of the trunk. She got one leg out and fell out onto the road. I heard her hit and some muffled curses.

    “Run!” I yelled. “Get up and run!”

    She was on her feet looking a little dazed in the evening sunlight. “Run!” I struggled to scoot to the edge of the trunk and rose to my knees. There was a shot from behind me. Meg! I screamed in my head but, my throat was so constricted no sound would come out. I looked down the road to where Meg was running for all she was worth. Another shot rang out.

    “Stop or I’ll shoot your friend,” Gunnar’s voice came from beside the car.

    Meg stopped running. She put her hands in the air and turned around. She walked slowly back to the car. I prayed for someone to drive by. The problem with living in the boonies is that when you need someone around there isn’t anybody.

    “Back in.” Gunnar lifted Meg and dropped her back in the trunk. At least this time I had the sense to move back so she didn’t land on me.

     “See this?” Gunnar held up his gun. “You try a stunt like that again and I’ll shoot you both. Understand?”

    We nodded and Meg lay back down. Gunnar reached in and found the latch to the trunk. He snapped the handle off, slammed the trunk shut and we were on our way again.

    We rode in silence for a while. I kept spinning scenarios through my head but none of them were more than fantasy. We had nothing on a man with a gun. I thought about my dogs and tears swam in my eyes. You took care of that, Bree, I told myself. They’ll be okay. But I wanted nothing more than a big old sloppy dog kiss. Now you’re just feeling sorry for yourself. Hold it together.

    “Bree? What are we going to do?”

    “I don’t know. We’ll just have to keep our eyes open and look for a chance to run. I want you to promise you’ll try and get away. Even if Gunnar threatens to shoot me. Even if he does shoot me. Okay?”

    “Bree.” Meg was crying. “I can’t. How could I leave you?” “If I get shot my only chance of surviving is if you can get me help. So I need you to leave me and run. And I’ll do the same if I have the chance.” But I didn’t know if I’d really be able to leave Meg if she was shot. How could I take the chance that she would die alone? What if she died because I wasn’t there to stop the bleeding? Being accused of murder seemed like such a small deal now.

    When the car finally stopped and the trunk opened again it was dark outside. Gunnar lifted first Meg and then me out of the trunk. I had trouble standing for a moment. My legs were cramped and didn’t want to hold me up. I leaned against the car and looked around. We were in Quechee. More specifically we were in the visitor parking of Quechee Gorge, below the Quechee dam. The gorge is like a mini grand canyon, a ravine cut deep into the earth by the river.

    A bridge crosses the river at Highway 4. It was a summer tourist attraction, but this time of year few people felt like braving the weather to stand over the bridge and gaze down into the gulch. The leaves had fallen off the trees. The landscape was barren and the water a cold grey.

     “What are we doing here?” I asked.

    “This is where you will have an unfortunate accident,” said Gunnar. “You will fall into the gorge, and your friend will die trying to save you. Tragic really.”