Second Nature

Chapter 50

50 

"You go on to the car, Haven, I'll be right back," Lana said. "I forgot the cell phone." 

Lana dashed back into the inn and hurried into the kitchen to retrieve the phone from the kitchen counter. She checked the wall clock. Yikes. The last ferry to the mainland was leaving the dock in twenty minutes. They would barely make it. 

When she came out again a huge man was walking toward the car. Her senses slammed into full alert. She'd seen the man before, riding in Weston Fairchild's Maserati. 

Weston's bodyguard. Lord have mercy, this can't be happening. The man was here to hurt them. She had to get him away from Haven. 

"We're closed for the month of July," she called out, trying to control the quaver in her voice. He spun and stared at her. She climbed down the porch steps slowly, clutching the railing, faking the awkward gait of artificial legs. "May I help you?" 

"Pardon me, ma'am, I've got a little emergency. May I please use your telephone?" 

Her mind sped through the possibilities, trying to devise an escape, a way to protect herself and Haven. She had to get to the car. Then they could make it to the ferry, where there'd be witnesses and the man would be unable to attack them unobserved. But he walked toward her now, a mountain of flesh, blocking her path the Land Rover.  

She forced a friendly smile and exaggerated her lurching, off-balance steps. She hunched her shoulders and drooped her head a bit, trying to look weak, when all her life people had admired her for being so strong. Her only weapons were her muscular legs hiding beneath loose-fitting slacks, and the element of surprise. Everything depended on his lack of guard, and a ferocious burst of power from her. Adrenaline shot through her veins, her heart drubbed like an industrial pump. 

As soon as he got close, he made a quick move to grab her, but she was ready for it. She dodged left, and in a blur of speed, cocked her right knee high and snap-kicked, nailing the heel of her foot into his groin. She felt and heard his pubic bone crunch. He folded inward and went down in a heavy heap, bellowing like a castrated bull. 

Lana sprinted to the Land Rover, her heart in her mouth.  

Haven was not inside the car. 

She spun in a circle, eyes darting, searching everywhere. Her mind screamed for help. For Cade. For Jimi. For a way out of this nightmare.