Free Bait by Karen Robards Page B

with his hand around my throat, hit me, and threatened to kill me if I made a sound. Then he—” Despite her determination to make her recitation coldly clinical, Maddie couldn’t help the wobble her voice had suddenly developed. She had to pause to take a deep breath before she could continue. “He put duct tape over my mouth and forced me to my knees. I th-thought he was going to shoot me. Kill me.”
    Despite her best efforts to reveal no hint of weakness, she had to clench her teeth then to keep her voice from shaking. She stopped there, hoping he wouldn’t realize that it was because she simply could not continue. Instead of looking at McCabe, she looked past him out the wall of windows. The soft summer sky was such a brilliant blue, complete with fluffy clouds like sleeping lambs—hard to believe that the horror she’d feared for so long could have come home to roost on such a gorgeous day.
    But then, maybe it had not—maybe there was some mistake. Maybe she shouldn’t be so quick to write off everything she’d worked so hard for. There was always a chance ...
    She could feel McCabe’s gaze on her face as she fought to regain her composure.
    â€œBut you got away,” he said softly after a moment. “How?”
    Knowing that he was watching her was, finally, enough to enable her to pull herself together one more time.
    She met his gaze head-on. “I had a pencil in my hand. I stabbed him with it. In the leg, I think.” Her voice was steady now.
    His eyes widened. “You stabbed him in the leg with a pencil?”
    Maddie nodded. Remembering how it had felt made her go all woozy.
    Breathe, she told herself. Just breathe.
    He pursed his lips in a silent whistle. His eyes were now sharp with interest and fixed on her face. “Then what?”
    It took her a second. “What do you mean, then what? What do you think? I got out of there.”
    His lips quirked fractionally. “Could you possibly be a little more specific?”
    Maddie took a deep breath and fought for calm. “He let go of me, and I managed to get the door open and get out. The duct tape—I must have pulled it off because I was screaming. A man down the hall heard me and opened his door. I ran into his room. I stayed in there with him and his wife until security got there.”
    She stopped again. McCabe said nothing for a moment, which was a good thing because with the best will in the world, Maddie didn’t think she could have replied. Her heart was thudding, her stomach had twisted itself into a knot, and she was cold all over—so cold that it was all she could do not to shiver visibly.
    Finally he asked, “What were their names? The couple in the room?”
    She shook her head. “I don’t know.” It was something of a relief to discover that her voice still worked.
    â€œHow long were you in their room?”
    â€œI don’t know that, either. Maybe five, ten minutes.”
    â€œWhere did the guy who attacked you go? Did he follow you? Try to get in?”
    â€œHe was chasing me, at first, but ... I didn’t see him again after I ran into that other room. I don’t know where he went. He didn’t try to get in.”
    â€œDid you happen to see him in the lighted hallway?” He was looking at her with an intent expression that reminded her of a cat at a mouse hole. “Maybe you glanced over your shoulder while he was chasing you? Caught a look at his face? Something?”
    â€œI didn’t see anything. I just ran.” Maddie couldn’t help it; she shuddered so hard that he had to see it. Then, catching herself before she could weaken any further, she took a deep breath, then another.
    It’s over, she told herself. It happened, but she survived. Soon this would be over, too. All she had to do was keep it together. For just a little longer.
    He was watching her closely.
    â€œYou