Amber barely recovered her balance when she spotted Jason. She didn’t hesitate, she ran to him before Harris could stop her.
“Jason!” she cried. “Thank God!” Her eyes filled as she hugged him. She managed to run her hands over his arms and legs. “You’re okay, aren’t you?”
“Yeah...” His dark brown eyes reflected the relief he was feeling, while his bound hands and feet prevented him from reaching out to her.
“Not so fast!” Harris grabbed her, pulling her off the bed, and pushed her away from the boy.
“No! I just want to make sure he isn’t hurt.”
“Shut up! ” Harris said, breathing heavily from the effort to contain her. He raised his hand as if to strike her. Jason yelled no, begging him not to hurt her. “You shut up too, kid!”
“Shush, Jason. I’m fine, really I am,” she said quickly. Harris was not only unpredictable but dangerous. She certainly didn’t want to antagonize him. Amber sat absolutely still while he bound her hands and feet to a straight-backed chair.
Jason quieted, but his eyes never left the man.
“I don’t want to hear any racket out of either one of you. If I do, I’ll be forced to do something about it. Understand?”
Both nodded wordlessly, never taking their eyes from him until he walked out of the room.
“Oh, Jason, I’m so glad to see you. Did he hurt you?” Amber said in an urgent whisper, her anxious gaze meeting his.
“It’s good to see you, too. Are you, okay?”
“Yes, but what about you?” She repeated the earlier question.
“How did you find me? Did you come alone?”
“After I placed the money by the tree, I hid. Then I followed him back here. He caught me when I peeked into the window, looking to see if you were inside.”
“You came alone?”
Amber nodded wearily. “Jason, is there a telephone in the cottage?”
“Yes, it’s a cellular phone. He used it last night to call you. Are the police looking for us?”
“For you, yes. No one knows that I’ve come looking for you except your mom. I told her to tell them everything if I’m not back by nightfall. The trouble is, I couldn’t tell her exactly where I was going.”
“I guess my folks are really worried, huh?”
“Yes, we all were. Jason, please tell me the truth. Has he tried to hurt you?”
Jason didn’t seem to have any trouble understanding what she meant. His answer came readily. “He hit me a few times because I wouldn’t do what he asked. But he has been so drunk that last night like the one before that he passed out in the chair. I’ve tried and tried to free myself. Nothing worked.”
“I’m sorry, but I had to ask. I was so scared he’d hurt you.”
“Miss Spencer, I know what you’re talking about. My brothers told me about guys like him and what to watch out for.” Suddenly tears filled his dark eyes and rolled down his brown cheeks. He turned his face away, flushed with embarrassment that he’d broken down in front of Amber.
Amber was so relieved she nearly cried herself. This was like some horrible, horrible nightmare. “We’ve got to find a way to get out of here and away from him.”
She didn’t say before Harris seriously hurt one or both of them, but that was what she was thinking. How much time did they have before he came back? How could she protect Jason like this? They both were helpless as pawns on a chessboard.
“I want to go home, Miss Spencer.”
“I know, honey. I know. But for now we both have to be strong for each other. We can’t give up hope that they’ll find us soon.”
Time dragged at a snail’s pace as the afternoon disappeared into the evening. Amber and Jason whispered together in a valiant attempt to keep their spirits up. Harris untied each one of them in turn, only long enough to use the bathroom. It was quite late when he brought them dinner, if one could call a sandwich and a cup of water a meal.
Amber was a nervous wreck the short time while Jason was out of the room and alone with Harris. She was terrified that he would hurt him. She had never felt more powerless in her entire life. If only there was some way she could prevent him from harming the boy. After they’d eaten, Harris tied her to the opposite end of the double bed so that she could sleep.
As the room darkened, her fears intensified accordingly. She forced herself to stay awake so that if he came back she would be prepared. She had no choice but to try to outwit him. She had no weapon to use against him. If she could keep him talking... keep him away from Jason... The rough rope bit into her soft skin as she tried time and time again to pull free. He didn’t return, and she eventually slept.
The next day moved along the same lines as the one before—the highlight of which was when Harris paced from the small bedroom to the front window and back again, talking and swearing to himself. By late afternoon he was drinking again, listening to a small portable radio.
The evening shadows spilled across the floor when Jason whispered, “If only he would leave behind that knife, so that when he passes out we could get loose.”
“Too convenient.” She had barely finished speaking when Harris came crashing through the door.
“We’ve got to get out of here! Got to leave now!” He weaved his way across the room.
Amber and Jason exchanged a look before hastily looking away. Now was their chance. Whichever one of them he untied first would make a run for it while he was busy untying the other. Surely he couldn’t watch them both at the same time. The one who was free would keep going until they reached Amber’s car and the cellular phone.
“What are you talking about?” Amber challenged.
“We can’t stay here. We’ve got to leave here... tonight. They are looking for you. Should have left, yesterday!” Harris glared at her, obviously in a rage. When he went to lift his hand as if to strike her, Jason yelled, “We’d better hurry.”
Amber let out a breath, shaken by his mood swings. He was clearly out of control.
Harris sliced through the rope at Jason’s ankles. She and Jason watched as he untied one of his hands only to tie them together in front of him. When Jason tried to move away, he grabbed him. “Be still.” He threatened by pressing the knife against his throat.
Jason swung frustrated eyes to Amber, causing her heart to wrench.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, when he made no effort to release her.
“What does it look like? I’m taking the kid and the money and leaving you here. Where did you leave your car?”
“How can you drive and watch Jason at the same time?” Amber asked. “What if you’re stopped? How are you going to explain what you’re doing with a black kid? It would be best if you took us both. That way no one would question an interracial couple and their child traveling together. I’ll drive so you can keep an eye out for trouble.” Amber was talking so fast she stumbled over words in her haste to persuade him.
“Where’s that car? I’ve wasted enough time.”
“I’ll show you, if you promise to take me along.”
Harris sneered. “Make one wrong move, and I promise I will kill you. Understand?”
Amber nodded. He reached behind him and pulled out the revolver. With the gun trained on Jason, he quickly knelt behind Amber and sliced through the rope. His knife narrowly missed her soft skin.
“Undo your feet,” he ordered, careful to keep Jason in front of him. “Hurry up! We haven’t got all night. I want to be on the road by the first cover of darkness.”
The knots were stubborn, and it took her trembling fingers several seconds to loosen the rope. He motioned with the gun for them to precede him down the hall, the gun trained on their backs.
It was hard to see, without so much as a porch light to guide them. In a couple of weeks the summer cottages would be filled to capacity as their seasonal residents returned. For now the choice lakefront properties were isolated and deserted. A sharp wind ripped at their clothes.
Jason stumbled over an exposed root Amber raced to him. Harris was a step behind them, a loaded gun in one hand, the canvas bag of money in the other.
“Get up!”
Jason sobbed in frustration as his soft-soled sneakers slipped from under him on the rain-slick grass. He stopped himself from going facedown in the mud with his bound wrist.
“Let me help you,” Amber whispered, using her slender frame to shield the boy. “Don’t!” she screamed when Harris took a menacing stop toward Jason. “Can’t you see, he’s trying to get up!” She was close to hysteria herself.
“Shut up!” He swung his arm, hitting her across the face, splitting her lip.
“Leave her alone!” Jason cried, intent on rushing him.
Amber caught the furious child just in time. “No! I’m fine,” she insisted, trying her best not to cry.
“I’ve had about all I can take from you. If I didn’t need that car and money, I’d have killed you on the spot. You’re the reason we have to leave. Jason and I were doing fine until you stuck your nose in our business.” He waved the gun in her direction.
“No!” Jason cried, “Don’t hurt her!” He used his small body to block hers as best he could.
Harris swore, out of patience with both of them. “Just get moving. Both of you.”
There was no reasoning with him. They listened to his continued grumbling as they moved through the thick foliage.
“Where is the damn car?!”
“A little farther,” Amber mumbled, trying to ignore the sting of her badly swollen mouth. It was all such a mess. She kept hoping that the FBI would have found the car by now. If she could just keep him talking, keep him calm, maybe they would be safe. “What do you hope to gain by this? If you only want money, you can take it and leave Jason and me out of this.”
“Shut up!”
“It’s kidnapping, you know? You could go to jail for this!”
“I said shut up.”
Although Amber was scared, she knew she had to do whatever she could to discourage Harris from taking them. “You’re angry with me, and I can understand that. What did Jason do? He hasn’t done anything to you. Let him go.”
Harris pressed the gun into the small of her back. “One more word and it will be your last.”
“Amber, stop... Jason sobbed. “Do what he says.”
Amber’s shoulders drooped, suddenly too tired and too afraid to continue trying to reason with the man. She concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other and not getting lost.
“It will be all right,” Jason whispered beside her, his young voice weary, but his small chin lifted determinedly.
Amber’s heart swelled with pride. “Thanks, I forgot for a minute there. You’ve been very brave. Your parents have every reason to be proud of you.”
“Will you two shut up!”
They were numb from the cold by the time they approached the car on the deserted back road. Harris pushed Jason into the backseat. With his hands bound in front of him and his seatbelt on, he was effectively locked in place. He motioned for Amber to drive.
She could have screamed in frustration. There were no police, no FBI, nothing but a long, dark road ahead.
They took the back roads until they reached the interstate, leaving the small college town behind.