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Had he seen that? Was that why he had never mentioned the “L” word? Was that why she refused to use the word herself? Ugh! She was so messed up! Lying here, on the verge of potential death, she started to think about how precious life was. If she ever saw Hunter again, she was going to tell him how she really felt. Did she really love him?
    Yes, she realized. Hunter was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. And if she lived through this experience, she could deal with anything Kayla and her crazy mother threw her way.
    Lying there in the dim moonlight, Amber imagined that Hunter was here with her, holding her in his arms. Warm arms. His chest would be radiating heat. He would look at her with those hypnotic green eyes and she would forget about how hungry and thirsty she was. She would forget about the cold and the way her body ached. She would only float in those eyes as though they were a sea of calmness. Breathe, he told her. Breathe in. Fill your belly. Exhale, let your anxieties go. Breathe in. Breathe out. Sleep.
    Amber woke to the sound of an engine. She sat up, panicking. Was John coming back to finish her off? She should try to find a weapon. Instead, she found herself paralyzed with fear. She tried to cry out, but her voice wasn't working.
    The approaching engine got closer. Amber squeezed her eyes shut and curled into a tight ball as though she could make herself invisible. Surely, Hannah wouldn't let John kill her. Or had John killed Hannah? Amber's heart raced and she started to sob. She did not want to die like this!
     

 
     
    Chapter 10
     
    Several doors slammed. Running feet pounded in the distance. She heard confused shouting. When Amber dared to open her eyes, she saw bright lights flickering around in all directions. Then somebody banged on the shed door.
    "It's locked!" someone called out.
    More feet pounded outside. More voices circled closer. Then there was a thundering crash as pieces of the door began to splinter. Amber moaned. She backed away from the door, huddling in her plastic bag. When the door crashed open at last, she squeezed her eyes shut against the blinding white light, sobbing wildly. Please don't let him kill me , she thought.
    She felt hands moving over her. Then she was being pulled out of the dirt blanket and scooped up.
    “She's here!” a hoarse voice screamed.
    In her delusional state, Amber thought it sounded like Hunter. But that couldn't be. Hunter was in Paris.
    “Amber, baby, it's me! It's Hunter!”
    Hunter? Amber opened her eyes, blinking in the bright light of flashlights that surrounded her. So many faces and uniformed men. But, impossibly, Hunter was the one holding her in his arms, his face wet with tears, those amazing eyes staring at her with such fear.
    “Hunter?” she croaked.
    “Don't talk, Amber. Everything is going to be okay.”
    Amber shook her head, moaning. “He has a gun. John has a gun and he has Hannah.”
    “That ass wipe is never going to hurt you, baby.” Hunter's voice was hard as steel.
    “They got him. He's in jail. You're safe now.”
    “Sir, we should get her to the hospital,” a voice said.
    "We're taking you to the hospital," Hunter said, placing her on a stretcher.
    “Don't leave me,” Amber begged. Whether from relief or just overwhelmed, she started sobbing.
    “Please don't leave me.”
    “I'm right here.”
    Hunter held her hand and leaned over her. “I'll be sitting right by you in the ambulance.”
    Once in the ambulance, the medic leaned over and began to clip away the plastic bag. Amber felt her glove hat pulled away and then lights were shined in her eyes. The medic pulled out a stethoscope and held it against her chest.
    As Amber's body began to warm, she began to shake violently.
    “I'm going to give her a light sedative,” the medic said, holding up a syringe. “It won't knock her out, but she'll feel calmer.”
    “Look at me, baby. Look at me,” Hunter commanded.
    Amber stared into Hunter's