Pulled In

CHAPTER ONE –––––––– A DOOR SLAMMED HARD in the distance, and Darcy practically jumped out of her skin. She halted her furious pacing and sharpened her ears, listening intently. Emmett Driscoll was in one of his moods. He barked orders left and right, but so fast that Darcy didn’t understand what he was saying. The woman tiptoed to the door and listened intently. Quick steps sounded on the wooden floors toward the front exit of the mansion. Darcy sighed with relief, leaned her shoulders on the door, and crossed her arms over her chest. Emmett didn’t want to come to her that evening. He probably went out into town, either for a deal or to find some relief for his tension. Darcy didn’t care a fig about his intentions. She only needed him to leave. The woman went back to the window and looked out. Her eyes swept the border of the forest again. Darcy had already decided to escape, but she had been waiting for the right moment to run away and slip from under Driscoll’s thumb. Initially, Darcy had come as a guest in Emmett Driscoll’s house. However, the woman had been held a prisoner in that bedroom since yesterday. She had come back from her shopping trip earlier than everyone expected her and unwillingly witnessed something she shouldn’t have. Now the expensively furnished room felt like a cage. The walls suffocated Darcy, and the golden decorations danced before her eyes. The woman rubbed her red-rimmed eyes with the back of her fingers and winced. Her eyes stung, and a pang of pain shot through her puffy eyelids. Tears had dulled the cobalt of her irises, but the dark blue still set off the paleness of her skin. “Jim, Gabe, and Jon, you and your teams will come with me. Frank and Matthew will hold the fort with their men,” Emmett Driscoll’s voice shouted distinctly from the front of the house. Darcy’s heart beat faster in anticipation. If Emmett Driscoll’s left, she could fly the coop right then. The sun was already setting in the west, and Darcy didn’t know the mountain. However, she knew that the night would conceal her movements. “What about the woman, boss?” a grave tone of voice asked. Darcy held her breath. She feared Emmett’s answer. ‘What if he puts a guard under the balcony and one before the bedroom door?’ she wondered frantically. “She won’t pose a problem, Gabe. I took care of that,” Emmett Driscoll replied to his employee. Sarcasm filled the man’s voice, and Darcy fairly growled with impotent rage. Her belly revolted with repulsion. Darcy remembered how Emmett had taken care of her with his fists. He had also kicked her a few times for good measure. Worse, the man had laid his hands on her body. In spite of her constant refusals and begging, Driscoll had r***d her a couple of times. Remembering everything, Darcy felt like throwing up again. But then, her stomach was empty. She didn’t swallow any food since the beginning of the previous evening. Darcy would only gulp some water now and then when her lips got dry, and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. The mere sight of food made her sick. Darcy shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. She had more urgent things to do and couldn’t wallow in self-pity. The sound of wheels running over the pebbles in the yard reached her ears. Darcy rubbed her arms with anxiety. Her eyes searched the patch of woods visible through the balcony doors again. The woman felt her heart in her boots, but she knew what she had to do. Darcy wiped off her forehead with the back of her hand. The air inside the bedroom was moist and hot, although the ceiling fan was busy. The blades continuously stirred the air coming through the French doors, thrown wide open toward the garden and the forest. The hypnotic movement of the pallets compelled Darcy’s eyelids to drop. Yet, she couldn’t fall asleep. She needed to leave right then. Darcy had made the math. Her only way to freedom was to cross the forest and climb up the mountain slope. She had caught a glimpse of the ridge while driving up toward Emmett’s ranch. The sight had intimidated her then. Now she just pushed that thought aside. Darcy had noticed that Emmett left only a few guards behind when he left the house. About fourteen people milled around, and most of them kept their eyes on the stables. Emmett feared that someone would snatch his award-winning horses. He didn’t believe that someone would dare to breach into his house. So Darcy planned to sneak out the opposite way. Absently, Darcy wiped her clammy palms off the towel discarded on the back of the chair set before the vanity table. She had taken quite a few showers within the last twenty-four hours to get rid of Emmett’s smell. It still clung to her skin and invaded her nostrils, although Emmett hadn’t come to her room since the day before. When she replaced the towel, Darcy avoided looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was ashen, and lines had found their way on her forehead. Bruises marred her once beautiful face and smooth arms – a constant reminder of her credulity. Darcy strode quickly to the bed where she had prepared a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt earlier. She pulled them on with hurried gestures. The woman chose to wear sneakers for her hike, and she tied the laces tight. Darcy had never climbed up a mountain, but she didn’t think that she could make it in regular shoes. Darcy looked around, her mind searching for what else she should take with her. ‘You should have thought of that earlier, girl,’ the woman scolded herself with irritation. Darcy felt like slapping herself. She wasted precious time on small things. In the spur of the moment, Darcy fished her ID and a few banknotes from her purse. She left the credit card behind. Films showed that people’s moves could be traced if they used credit cards. After she shoved everything into her pockets, Darcy started toward the balcony doors with purposeful steps. The woman looked over the edge of the suspended terrace. Darcy had to climb down the trellis, which ran on the side of the balcony, but she could do it. She had climbed a few trees in her adolescence. Darcy clambered over the brink of the balcony. Men’s laughter from the other side of the house reached her ears.