Runaway Heiress by Melody Anne

her small victory. She started moving her fingers around the loose piece of rope and after more struggling, she felt the rope release and she pulled her hand free. She turned her body, to better see the other rope and began working away at the knot.
                  She made much faster time being able to see what she was doing. She released her second wrist and then sat up in the bed. It was just the beginning of her flight to freedom, but it was a huge victory. She looked at her swollen wrists in the pale light seeping in through the bottom of the door, and cringed. They were cut up pretty bad but she couldn’t feel pain at that moment with the amount of adrenaline pumping steadily through her body.
                  She got to her feet and quickly fell back down to the bed when her head started spinning. She’d gotten up too fast. She winced as the bed made a loud squeak, straining her ears to see if the men had noticed. She sat motionless for about five minutes before she allowed herself to breathe normally again.
                  It didn’t seem as if they’d heard her. Okay, I’m out of here , she thought to herself with determination as she moved away from the bed. She stopped just before she opened the door because she heard shouting and the sound of a gun firing.

    ***
     

                  “There’s significant activity in the house and the windows are boarded up. I can’t pinpoint her exact location but I know she’s in there,” Chad said to the group of men who were hiding in the brush in front of the seemingly abandoned house. There were no other homes around for miles and they couldn’t spot any security measure in place. The men were either arrogant or just stupid. Chad was counting on the latter.
                  “I contacted my friend who’s a cop I know I can trust. Now that we’re in place, we may need his team for back-up. They should be here in about fifteen minutes so we need to move fast. You three take the back, Lucas and I will go in the front,” Trenton said.
                  “I’ll wait for one minute. While you have them at a standoff, I’ll find Bree,” Chad said, agreeing with Trenton’s plan.
                  “It’s now or never, boys,” Trenton called, then the men went into stealth mode and quickly ran toward the house. Chad counted to twenty while he watched them approach the steps. Trenton stood back, brought his leg up and smashed in the rickety front door.
                  Immediately, gunfire erupted as shots rang out.
                  Screw waiting a full minute , Chad thought as he rushed in. He had to get to Bree, and fast. There was no way he wanted her anywhere near the line of fire.
                  “Get the damn girl,” he heard someone shout, then saw a man dart for the stairs. Over his dead body! Chad charged the guy and caught him by surprise. He slammed the butt of his gun into the man’s temple, making him crumble to the floor. Then he charged up the stairs three at a time.
                  “Bree,” he called. Being discreet was no longer an option, as the house was an eruption of chaos. He had to evacuate her from the premises as quickly as possible and then notify the guys to stand down. She was their only goal. Let the cops deal with the mess of the kidnappers.
                  “Chad,” he heard Bree’s voice filled with hope. A door creaked open, and there she was. She was pale, shaking and he didn’t even want to think about what was going on with her wrists, but she was alive.
                  Chad swung her into his arms, slammed his lips against hers for a fleeting moment, then pushed her behind him and started descending the stairs, far more cautiously than how he’d come up. She didn’t say a word, just followed him, her body brushing against his with each