Bonnie

Bonnie couldn’t sit still. She jumped at every sound. She saw shadows around every corner, and she heard every squeak, step, and breath of every person walking down the hall.

She was a mess.

Four days. Four days since they’d left New Orleans. She’d been jumping and living on little to no sleep for four days. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the man with the scar on his cheek. He would grin and then lunge for her.

She’d wake up screaming and afraid to go back to sleep. Not even Dylan could get her to relax.

She’d called Detective Patton, but he said there was nothing he could do. They didn’t have any reports coming into the station about the Trio. It was still business as usual. As far as the police knew, the Trio was still looking for her and didn’t know where she was.

So, today, she sat outside watching the horses and trying to stay calm. She felt better by the horses. Anytime anyone approached, they would lift their heads to see who it was. They were better at spotting people than she was.

So far, they’d seen two kids, Laura, and a security guard. Nothing too dangerous there.

She sighed and put her head against the fence post. She was so tired. This was going to drive her insane. The waiting was the worst part. She knew the Trio saw her. She knew it was only a matter of time before they found her.

She considered running again, but she couldn’t bring herself to even think of it. She didn’t want to leave Dylan. She was going to ask him if they could take a trip though. Maybe he could show her the farm he grew up on. She’d love to meet his mom and sister. Plus, his farm was in the middle of nowhere, Kansas. She’d probably be safe there.

“Bonnie?”

Someone touched her shoulder, and she spun, defensively putting up her hands. She was ready to fight whoever just snuck up on her. She’d only had her eyes closed for a second, but somehow someone had snuck up on her.

“Bonnie? Are you okay?” Tyson asked, taking a step back. His big brown eyes had a little fear in them, and she immediately felt guilty. She glared at the horses. They were supposed to warn her about people coming up. The nearest one just flicked its ears and walked away.

“I’m so sorry, Tyson,” she said, dropping low to be at his level. “You just startled me.”

“I’m sorry, Bonnie.” Tyson got smaller before her eyes.

“It’s not your fault, Tyson,” she told him. “I’m just feeling anxious today.”

“Oh. Sometimes I get anxious about things, too,” Tyson said, a smile brightening his face. He gave her a big hug. “Hugs help.”

Her heart melted into a puddle on the ground. This five-year-old was wise and kind. She hugged him hard back. “What were you coming to see me about?”

“I just wanted to see if we were going to have a swim lesson today. It’s almost time.”

“I would love to have the swim lesson,” she told him. “I just lost track of time. How about we both go change and I’ll meet you at the pool?”

She smiled and hoped he’d take her up on it. A swim lesson would help distract her.

Tyson nodded. “Okay.”

“Come on,” she said, rising up and putting a hand on his shoulder. “We can walk back together.”

Tyson reached for her hand and held it tightly as they walked. She liked having the physical connection. He could always make her feel better. She sighed and looked around. The camp was quiet.

You’re safe here, she reminded herself. She gave Tyson’s hand a gentle squeeze, and he smiled up at her.

She didn’t want to run, but she just wished she felt safe again.

* * *

Two more days passed. Bonnie sat on the back porch of the kitchen trying to eat her sandwich for lunch. It was almost a week since New Orleans, and still, there was nothing. She was starting to think that maybe she’d been seeing things. Maybe it wasn’t the same man from the fire. Maybe it was just a man with a similar scar who she thought was him.

Detective Patton checked in with her daily, but he always said the same thing- no new leads. No new chatter.

The sandwich was one of Chef’s best, but she couldn’t find the desire to eat. She just kept picking off pieces of bread and chucking them off the deck. At least the squirrels and birds would get a good meal out of it.

Two security guards walked past, their uniforms dark in the afternoon sun. They both nodded politely in her direction, but they were all business. Since New Orleans, Dylan had the security teams doubled. No one was getting onto the ranch without them knowing.

She let her gaze wander to the garage. Dylan was under the hood of her car again. She sincerely suspected that he was replacing her entire engine. She shook her head. It was probably cheaper to just buy a new car, but he was having fun replacing and fixing up the junker. It tickled her that a billionaire was fixing up her car when he could buy her a new one six times over without even blinking.

Plus, he looked good with a little grease on him. He looked even better when he let her help shower it off.

“Hey, Bonnie?” Laura called, coming up to the porch. “Do you have a minute?”

“Sure. What do you need?” Bonnie set her sandwich off to the side.

“Can you help me with the kids?” Laura asked. “We’ve got extra kids coming in for the day, and I’m short staffed.”

“I’d love to help,” Bonnie told her. “Let me just put this in the kitchen.”

“Oh, thank you! Just come to the barn. You’re a lifesaver!” Laura called, already walking toward the barn.

Bonnie headed into the kitchen, disposed of the sandwich, and put her plate in the dishwasher. She liked having something to do, so she was happy to help Laura. Besides, she also liked working with the horses.

She jogged over to the barn where Laura had a line of kids finishing a horseback ride and a line of new kids getting ready to go. Laura pointed to the kids and mimed taking off her helmet, so that’s what Bonnie did. She helped the kids take off their riding gear and then had them line up along the barn wall.

“Thank you so much,” Laura told her, as she grabbed a riding helmet from Bonnie. “There’s more kids than we expected today. A bunch of foster parents just brought all of their kids, so this really helps. Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” Bonnie assured her.

“If you can make sure all these kids get up to the cafeteria, Elena will make sure they get fed,” Laura said. “I’m going to get this next group up and riding.”

“Sounds good,” she told Laura. She turned to the kids. “Okay, time for lunch!”

She wrangled the line of kids up the hill to the cafeteria where Elena had plates and food ready to go.

“I think I’ve got lunch handled,” Elena told her. “Laura may need some more help, though.”

“Sure, I’ll head back to the barn,” Bonnie replied with a smile. She felt better now that she was moving and doing something. She was sure Laura could use a hand with the kids, and then she could even help groom the horses. It was certainly something to do, and it felt better than being by herself.

She walked along the side of the barn. The sun was warm on her cheek, and she was glad she’d put sunscreen on that morning. She’d learned the hard way just how easy it was to burn up in the mountain altitude.

A noise made her pause. It sounded like a little kid scuffing his feet against the barn doors. She shook her head. The camp kids had a bad habit of messing with the barn doors when they were bored. She was going to have to go put an end to that.

She turned the corner of the barn, fully prepared to yell at one of the kids to stop scuffing the paint, but there was no kid.

Instead, she suddenly had a bag over her head. The world faded away as she felt an arm wrap around her neck, choking the life out of her. The arm loosened a little, but she still felt herself losing consciousness. The world went dark as they took her.