The Matchmaker's Match

{Chapter} 27

{Chapter 27}

Adam stared at the fire, reliving the awful scene in the bank yet again. The blood, the death, and the complete and utter heartbreak that he had endured. He thought he had let that go.

Lord, help me to release this hate… again. I suppose that it’ll be like this every once in a while. I’ll let it go, and then it will come back. I don’t want to feel this way. I want to forgive them. Maybe it is that I have forgiven them, I just can’t forget. Katie had told me that we weren’t meant to forget. I’m so confused about these feelings that I have. I need to feel the forgiveness for them that only You can provide, Lord. Help me, please.

The soft roar of the fire was the only sound he heard for a while, until a pair of dusty boots appeared in front of him.

“Katie’s been gone a while, Adam,” Toni’s voice said.

Adam looked up at her. “She said she was going to a walk.”

“And you let her go alone? What’re you thinking, Adam?” Toni sounded more annoyed than angry.

“She’ll be fine,” Adam sighed.

“Fine. Be that way. I’ll go find her myself.” Toni walked off in the direction that Katie had gone.

Adam sighed. Katie had told him that she would only be gone a few minutes. Maybe something was wrong.

**********

“Let me go!” Katie screamed into the hand that clamped over her mouth.

“Quit yer squirmin’, honey,” her captor said through gritted teeth.

She kicked and clawed, but nothing made his hold on her lessen.

She screamed so loud that tears escaped her eyes and rolled down her red cheeks. She knew what was happening, but there was no force inside her that could stop it. She kicked until her strength failed and finally her captor threw her to the ground. The side of her face scraped against a stray rock on the ground and cut her cheek. She rolled onto her back and saw two men above her.

“What should we do with her?” one said in a gruff, unnatural voice.

“I think we should think on that a minute,” The other said in the same tone.

Katie scooted back on her hands and tried to get away, but one of them grabbed her foot and prevented her escape.

Full of fear and out of energy, Katie broke down in tears.

“Please don’t hurt me,” she pleaded.

The men laughed.

“We’re not gonna hurt you. Just have a little fun with you, that’s all,” Her captor grinned.

His accomplice chuckled.

“P-Please…” was all that Katie could say - all that she could plead.

This only brought laughter from her captors. One still held on to her foot, and she tried to sit up. The other fell on top of her and her arms out to her sides by her wrists.

“Be still!” he growled.

“Let go of me!” Katie yelled, and with a new burst of energy, wriggled and squirmed to try to free herself.

She felt the hand on her foot let go, and fear pierced her heart. She screamed the only name that brought her and hope. “Adam!”

A loud plop came from near her feet.

“Get off her before I drop you like your pard there.” Katie couldn’t believe the owner of that voice was her cousin.

“Toni?” she looked past the man on her and saw Toni’s enraged face.