Free Courage Dares by Nancy Radke Page A

other. Perhaps he could get them to fight each other so he and Mary could escape. Maybe tomorrow, when one or two went for supplies.
    Mary asked Connor to move her sleeping bag beside his. When he did, she smiled in evident relief. Her soft, glowing gaze transformed her face, changing her from pretty to beautiful.
    His heart did a quick flip.
    He had to get her away from these men— especially Ramone. He had to be ready to take advantage of anything chance.
    They allowed him to use the bathroom before they retied him— at least it had a door on it—and he fretted when Mary asked to go. Ira stepped forward, one look stopping Ramone in his tracks.
    Ira seemed to have appointed himself her guardian, at least as far as Ramone was concerned. But if they ever got the chest, what then? Ira wouldn’t keep Judd from killing her.
    The four took turns, one standing guard while the others slept in their light-weight sleeping bags on two old mattresses.
    Connor followed Mary's example and let himself sleep. The floor felt hard, but at least he and Mary would get a full night's rest. Her father's large sleeping bag, although well-worn, was filled with goose down— too hot to zip up in the farmhouse. He’d appreciate it on the trail.
    He had barely drifted off when Mary sat upright next to him, gasping and muttering, her incoherent words shocking Connor fully awake.
    "What is it?"
    "Help. Stop. Mommy...." She threw herself toward him, her upper body landing next to his. Her voice sounded like a frightened child again. His heart sunk. His mother had said that only Mary’s father had kept her in the real world.
    "It's all right. Mary. They're gone."
    She might not recognize his name in her nightmare, so he tried her father's. "It's, um, daddy. Warren. You're okay."
    "Ummm." As he continued to talk, she quieted down, her head nestled in the cradle of his arm and shoulder. He had become her touchstone to reality.
    His mother had said that Mary had approached the edge once when her father was killed, once when she saw a knife-thrower at a carnival, and earlier as a teen-ager when her date tried to come on to her. Her reaction had frightened him to the extent that he had driven her to the emergency room.
    Mary was courageous, but her mental condition remained fragile. The sooner they escaped, the better.
    He rolled sideways, shifting his weight away from his hands and felt the ropes with his fingers. He had pulled his hands slightly apart as Ira tied him, and had been able to make the bonds looser. He hadn’t given them a determined try yet, wanting to wait until the men slept.
    He started to pick at the knot.

11
    Brilliant sunshine greeted Connor the next morning. The crisp air, vibrant with golden light, lifted his spirits. One or more of their kidnappers would have to go for supplies today. It would reduce the number of guards, opening an opportunity to escape. He grasped that hope, hoarding its beckoning promise.
    Freedom. When the chance came, he would act.
    Wes took the van and came back with donuts, coffee, and two boxes of cold cereal, also some milk and Styrofoam dishes. They wolfed the cereal down, each eating a half box of the sugared flakes, with Judd taking the lion's share, Mary the least.
    They didn’t bother to untie Connor or feed him. He didn’t mind. He wouldn’t be with them after today.
    Mary seemed to be back on her feet, Connor thought, as he watched her with admiration. After finishing her cereal, she worked on the list of supplies they’d need, slowly adding items until she had filled three pages.
    Trail food, candles, canteens, tents, and clothing— it sounded like Mary had included everything but a snowmobile. Connor hoped it’d take all their kidnappers' money— and most of the day— to buy everything.
    "How do yuh know she's putting down the right stuff, Boss?" Wes asked, scowling.
    Mary answered for him. "I'm going into those mountains with you, so I'll make sure you get the right things. This list