More Than Rum (The Maple Leaf Series Book 3) (14 page)

Daniel had kept Hope waiting on
the ratty couch while he apparently freshened up. She heard water running in
the bathroom and concentrated on that sound. If she didn’t concentrate on
something, she was going to puke from the smell of dead mouse drenching every molecule
of everything around her. She would burn her clothes if she got out of this
alive.

When
. When she got out
of this alive.

She’d already tried the front
door, but Daniel had an extra lock on it. The key dangled on a ring clipped to
his belt loop. She fought against her restraints again, but only succeeded in
making her wrists hurt more than they already did. They felt a little wet too,
and she wondered if she were bleeding. Standing, she looked at the back cushion
of the couch, and sure enough, a red stain showed on the dingy fabric.

“Think, Stannard. Think.” She
scanned the living room then made her way into the kitchen, which smelled worse
if that were possible.

Backing up toward a set of
drawers, she opened several, but they were all empty. Not even a damn butter
knife in sight. If she could get the restraints off, she could stop the pain
and get the cell phone in her pocket. Maybe she could break the lock on the
door. She could run, get Olive, then call Kevin or Diana.

She could get back to Adam.
Tell him exactly how she felt about him. No more waiting around. No more giving
him time. She’d put it all out there and hope he decided he wanted what she was
willing to offer.

Everything.
She was
willing to offer him everything she had. Maybe he could do the same.

Have to get back to him
first.

She continued her search for
something sharp until the water shut off in the bathroom. She scooted around
the kitchen island and vaulted over a broken coffee table to land back on the
couch where Daniel had left her.

He came out, his hair wet and
his face clean-shaven. He almost didn’t look like the same guy, which was
probably his intent.

“There. That’s better, isn’t
it?” He held his arms out to his sides as if asking her to inspect him. “I’d
let you freshen up too, but there isn’t time.”

“There isn’t?” She wasn’t aware
they were on a schedule.

Daniel shook his head. “We’ll
be leaving soon. Not sticking around here.”

“Where are you taking me?” She
wasn’t certain where they were now, but she was pretty sure they were still in
Vermont.

“I’m taking you away from the
musclehead. I saw how protective he was of you in the tavern parking lot
tonight.”

He’d seen them? He’d been
watching? No wonder she hadn’t been able to get out of her Jeep. It wasn’t just
remembering when Daniel had attacked her the first time. It was that unshakable
feeling that it was going to happen again.

“What do you want with me? I’m
nobody.”

“Self-esteem problems,” Daniel
said. “Interesting. I would think a woman who looks like you do would have all
the confidence in the world. You are aware that you’re breathtaking, aren’t
you?” He sat on the coffee table in front of her, making it creak under his
weight. It had a huge split down the middle of it and a wobbly leg. Sitting on
it was asking for trouble, but that appeared to be this dude’s way of life.

He reached out a hand, and Hope
instantly jerked back on the couch. Daniel closed his eyes. When he opened them
again, he drew in a breath and launched himself on top of her.

She let out a scream and tried
to buck him off, but he’d straddled her, his knees squeezing her hips like a
giant pincer. He grabbed her face, his thumb and forefinger digging into her
cheeks.

“Don’t jerk away from me.” Spit
flew from his mouth. “I’ll touch you. I’ll make you pay for getting me locked
up.”

You got yourself locked up.
But she wouldn’t say that aloud. Not when his grip was a painful reminder she
wasn’t dealing with a sane person.

“Dicky will get you to pay too.
When I’m done with you, I’ll give you to him. He likes blondes.” He released
her and smoothed her hair with his hand. His movements were so gentle now, as
if he were petting a delicate creature.

She wasn’t sure which to be
more afraid of. She was sure she wanted to get the hell out of that cabin.
Between the smell and Daniel’s wide spectrum of behaviors, this was fast
becoming the last place she wanted to spend any amount of time.

“I’m hungry,” she said, even
though she was still full from Jake’s take-out.

“Me too. So hungry.” Daniel
moved to sit beside her, his hand snaking to her thigh.

“I meant for food. Do you have
something to eat? I feel lightheaded.” She squinted at him, hoping she looked
famished and weak.

“You didn’t eat with the
musclehead?”

“I’m always hungry.” She
shrugged one shoulder then winced at the pain that caused her bound wrists.

Daniel stood and marched into
the kitchen. He clanged around in there then reappeared with a can of chicken
soup. “This will have to do.”

She nodded, and he went to work
heating the soup in a pan on the stove. Hope wondered exactly how many mice had
scurried over that can of soup, the pan, and the stovetop, but at least Daniel
was occupied with a task for a few moments. A few moments where she could
think.

Think. Think. Think.

Those few moments didn’t help
any. Her mother should have named her Hope
less
. She hated feeling this
way. Overpowered. Out of control.

Afraid.

Angry.

Daniel balanced the bowl of hot
soup in his hands as he sat in front of her again. “Here we go. Good and hot.”

As she maneuvered to the edge
of the couch, Hope watched steam waft up from the bowl.

“I’ll feed you.” Daniel stirred
the soup with a spoon.

While he was focused on the
contents of the bowl, Hope brought up her right foot and kicked the bowl out of
his hands. Hot soup splattered all over his face, and he screeched as he
sprawled back. The coffee table beneath him split in two and sent him to the
floor with a huge crash.

Hope took that chance to run
past him. He shot his hand out and grabbed her by the ankle, sending her to the
floor beside him. Without the use of her hands to break her fall, she landed
hard on her left shoulder. Kicking out her feet, she sent her boots into
Daniel’s face. She lost track of the number of times she pounded him, but she
gave it all she had.

Eventually, Daniel lost
consciousness, his face a bloodied mess, his breath wheezy and labored. Hope
hadn’t thought she had that sort of violence in her, but once the survival
instinct engaged, there was no shutting it off.

She struggled to a sitting
position on the floor, and with some serious contorting, she managed to get her
bound hands in front of her. Sure enough, her wrists were bleeding. Between the
sight of her own blood and what she’d done to Daniel’s face, she nearly passed
out.

Run.

Her brain reminded her that
getting out was her prime objective. She scooted closer to Daniel’s immobile
form and unclipped the key ring on his belt loop. She jogged to the door and
unlocked it. Bursting out of the house, she instantly heard Olive barking like crazy
inside the Jeep. Looking at the key ring in her bound hands, she sent a big
thank you to whoever was watching over her. Her car keys were on the ring. 

She made a move to go down the
three steps at the front door, but she was grabbed from behind and yanked back.
Fighting like a feral cat, she brought her elbows back into Daniel’s gut. When
he doubled over, she clasped her hands together and knocked him so hard on the
back of the head, he crashed down onto his knees. His body landed in a heap,
half inside the cabin and half outside.

Hope didn’t waste any time
checking out her damage. She bolted for the Jeep where Olive was howling like a
much larger dog. She fumbled with her keys, dropping them twice, her fingers
numb. When she finally got the door unlocked and scrambled into the driver’s
seat, Olive bounded into her lap and licked her all over.

“I know, baby. I know. Let’s
get the fuck out of here.”

She jammed the key into the
ignition and started the Jeep as Daniel got to all fours in the threshold.
Throwing the Jeep into reverse and steering proved to be difficult with bound
hands, but she did it. She gunned it, snow spraying up from under the tires.
The vehicle slid a few feet before the wheels got some traction, and she
shifted into drive, her foot pressing the accelerator all the way to the floor.

Olive yelped in the passenger
seat as she tried to stay upright.

“Sorry, baby, but we’ve got to
screw out of here.” Wherever
here
was. Hope just knew she wanted to be
away. Far, far away. She’d figure out the route home once she’d put enough
distance between her and Daniel.

Steering was a challenge, but
when she got to the end of the driveway, she managed to take a left and
eventually got out to a main street. She found a gas station and pulled in,
immediately fishing out her cell phone. Turning on her GPS gave her a
location—Carrington. She’d driven through the small town on several occasions
and was relieved to know home was close by.

Still, she couldn’t wait to
hear a familiar voice. And there really was only one voice she wanted to hear.
With each ring, her breathing slowed, her mind quieted.

You did it.
You got
away.

“Hope?” Adam’s voice exploded
in her ear through the phone. “Are you okay? Where are you?”

Something in her chest warmed
at his frantic concern. “I’m okay. I’m on my way home.”

“You are? How? What happened?”

“Maybe I’m not as nice as
everyone thinks.” That made her smile despite her bloodied wrists and the
bruises she knew were about to bloom on her body. She’d defended herself.

She’d been a badass.

****

Adam paced in his driveway
while Orion, Rick, Sage, Lily, Wendie, and Joy waited with him for Hope’s
return. He’d wanted to drive to her location, but she insisted she was fine, and
it’d be quicker for her to come to him.

Come to him. That was all he
wanted. For Hope Stannard to come to him and never leave, never be taken away.

“If there is even a single mark
on Hope,” Rick started, “heads are going to roll.”

“I’ll second that,” Joy said as
she wrung her hands. “That monster has no right to touch my baby girl.”

Sage slid her arm around Joy’s
shoulders. “Sounds as if your baby girl showed that dick who’s boss.”

Adam smiled at that. He loved
knowing Hope hadn’t taken that lowlife’s shit. She’d gotten free. She’d saved
herself.

Shit, that’s sexy.

Still he wanted to gather her
close and protect her and make sure no one ever hurt her. He hadn’t thought he
deserved her. He hadn’t thought he was good enough for her. He finally
understood that Hope was powerful. She could make her own decisions. If she
really wanted him, well, fuck it. He wasn’t going to stand in her way.

Or in his way.

Wendie came up behind him and
touched his arm. “Are you okay?”

He hugged his sister,
surprising her. “I will be.”

She squeezed him back then
released him when a pair of headlights approached.

It took all of his energy not
to run toward Hope’s Jeep. He had to remind himself that her family was here.
Her mother. Her sister. Her cousin. They had the right to go to her. To make
sure she was all right. To hold her.

He could wait. Barely.

The Jeep stopped behind Rick’s
truck. The driver side door opened and a black and white ball of fur burst out,
yapping all the way to Joy. Olive leaped into Joy’s waiting arms, and the woman
hugged the dog to her chest.

“Did you bring your mommy home
to me, Olive? Did you?” Joy positioned the Dalmatian under her left arm and
jogged to the Jeep. “Hope? Oh, sugar, tell me you’re all right.”

And then Hope was standing in
the driveway.

Adam took a step closer,
wanting to touch her more than he’d ever wanted to do anything in his life.

Joy passed Olive to Orion and
threw her arms around Hope. “You’re not hurt? Tell me you’re not hurt.”

Hope backed up and when she
lifted her hands to brush her hair out of the way, Adam saw her wrists were
bound. And bloody.

That set him into motion, but
Rick was already digging out a pocket knife and slicing through the restraints.
Hope’s face twisted in pain, and just when Adam didn’t think he could take
another moment of not being in her space, she stepped around her family and
walked right up to him.

“Hey.” Her cheek looked
bruised.

“Hey.” He ran a finger along
her jaw, wishing everyone else in his front yard would disappear.

“Next time,
you
take
Olive out when she has to go.” She offered him a lopsided smile, but her eyes
looked moist.

That was it. He could wait no
longer. Opening his arms to her, he said, “Deal. I’m not letting you out of my
sight, lady.”

“Okay.” She melted against him
and he wrapped his arms around her, wanting to make her a part of him. Intending
to.

“I think Hope’s in good hands
here,” Sage said.

“The best.” Wendie rubbed Adam’s
arm. “Glad you’re safe, sweetie,” she said to Hope. She dropped a kiss on
Hope’s cheek and started toward her house.

The rest of the Stannard clan
took turns hugging and kissing Hope before leaving. Joy was the last. She had
Olive again and passed the puppy to Hope.

“You better train this one to
be a guard dog,” she said. “That psycho is still out there.” Joy’s eyes were
full of anxiety.

“Don’t worry,” Adam said. “I’ll
be playing the role of guard dog now.”

Joy nodded once, seemingly
satisfied that Hope would be secure. She joined Rick and Lily and soon it was
just Adam, Hope, and Olive in the driveway.