Free RedemptionRidge by Denise A. Agnew Page A

see her like this.
    “Cowboy up,” Cecelia whispered as a surge of determination
came from deep within.
    The car came to a stop.

Chapter Two
     
    Fear slashed like a knife across Cecelia’s throat, stealing
her breath. Her heart hammered in her chest, banging so hard Cecelia thought she’d
choke. A door slammed. Muffled footsteps. Tensed and waiting, she made a
decision. At one time, she’d allowed Peter to win, to put her down and keep her
there. No more.
    The trunk opened and rain splashed across her body.
Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Another flash illuminated her
ex-husband’s tall body. Peter looked down on her, his scarred face a reminder
of the night that had changed everything for her. The night she’d found her
freedom. Now he wanted to take that freedom away from her again. She glared at
his hollow-cheeked face, his short blond hair darkened by the rain trickling
down his face. Laser-bright blue eyes cut through her. Under his big trench
coat his skinny frame had the quality of a skeleton. He looked worse than the
last time she’d seen him two years ago. He reached into his coat pocket and
pulled out a knife. The metal glinted in the fading light. Thunder growled like
an angry monster from a horror movie.
    He reached into the trunk and a protest ripped from her.
“No!”
    He slashed. The ropes around her feet and wrists loosened
and fell away. Her wrists and feet tingled as feeling returned with a
vengeance. Trembling and disoriented, she didn’t move. He grabbed her wrist and
yanked, hauling her from the prison with brutal force. She grunted in protest
as the momentum sent her tumbling onto the wet ground.
    Peter towered over her. “Get up, bitch. This is the end of
the line.”
    Weak, she shoved to her feet. She considered her
self-defense training but knew it was minimal in comparison to his strength and
speed. Even when he was strung-out on drugs he’d always been strong and
ruthlessly mean.
    Take advantage of what you know. Janey’s advice came
to her again.
    She settled in her mind, became calmer as she realized she
had two choices. She could fight. Or she could die.
    Cecelia stood and faced Peter, arms at her sides her feet
wide apart. She kept her voice calm and shifted her face into neutral. She’d
always done a damn good job of hiding what she really thought and felt about
assholes.
    “Why, Peter? What are we doing here?”
    He sneered, and as rain ran down his face, Peter Underwood
became the devil on steroids. Evil seemed to pour off him. “I saw you with that
fuckwad.”
    Confused, she asked automatically, “Who?”
    “That man you were flirting with at your job in the mall.”
    Her stomach dropped. Jake? Had Peter seen her talking to
Jake? Peter’s eyes showed none of the telltale signs indicating he was on drugs
and that surprised her. But then he’d been a bastard before he got on drugs,
and once she’d been hopped on illegal substances she didn’t care if she lived
or died. No, his expression said he didn’t have to be high to hate her.
    “I’m not interested in flirting with anyone, Peter. Just let
me go.”
    Wildness danced in his eyes. “You’re a stupid bitch,
Cecelia. Always were.”
    Desperation pushed her to say, “I’ve got some money saved
up. Let’s go to the bank and I’ll withdraw it. All of it. Take it and leave me
be.”
    “You think I’m nuts? That stupid Tastee Freez and that
lingerie shop for sluts who like to show their tits? You don’t make shit at
those jobs.” One corner of his thin-lipped mouth turned upward in an ugly
parody of a grin. “I don’t want your fuckin’ money. You’re cheating on me,
Cecelia. And I’m sick of it.”
    The glitter in his eyes was cold and relentless. Making it
out of this situation could prove a long shot. She uttered a disgusted sound.
“I don’t belong to you. Now let me go.”
    “You’re mine, Cecelia. You’ve always been mine. I told you
as soon as I got out of jail that I’d find you,