Claiming Sarah (Ace Security #5)(74)

“One more,” she agreed.

“Yay!” Owen exclaimed, bouncing on his butt on the end of her bed, making her wince as the vibration of the mattress caused her ankle to throb.

He really wasn’t a bad person. He’d taken her against her will, but he hadn’t beaten her, hadn’t abused her, had actually been extremely worried about her. He was generally a happy person, if overly emotional at times.

It was obvious he didn’t understand that what he’d done was wrong. He was happy in his knowledge that he’d done what his mom had wanted for him. He’d “married” Sarah, and she would take care of him for the rest of his days.

Sarah had to hope that Aubrey didn’t really understand her son would take her suggestion as gospel, and actually kidnap Sarah and take her into the mountains.

The cabin was clean now. She’d made a game out of Owen picking up all his toys. Every time he filled one of the large toy bins along one of the walls, she’d play a round of Go Fish. When he swept the floor and cleaned the kitchen countertops, she’d sing a song for him. And when he cleaned the dishes in the sink and put them away, she’d read him a book. Positive reinforcement seemed to work best with Owen, and Sarah had already gotten very good at it.

“Do you want a snack before we start?” Owen asked, the hope in his voice easy to hear.

Sarah couldn’t help but chuckle. She knew he wasn’t asking if she wanted a snack, but was asking because he wanted one.

“Sure. But not popcorn. Last time you made a mess trying to pop that stuff on the stove. I think a can of peaches should tide you over.” There were times, like now, when Sarah almost forgot Owen was in his midforties. Every emotion was easy to see on his face and hear in his voice.

Owen pouted, but he nodded and climbed off Sarah’s bed. The motion once again jostled her ankle, and she inhaled deeply, trying to breathe through the pain.

It wasn’t getting better. Even though she’d splinted the hell out of it, her ankle still throbbed in agony every minute of every day. If she didn’t get it taken care of, she was probably going to end up crippled for life.

She pushed the thought aside. Minute by minute. That was the only way she was getting through this. She couldn’t think about what her life would be like if she was still here a year from now.

Trying to get comfortable, Sarah propped the pillows behind her back and attempted to relax. She still had another hour to go before she could take another Tylenol. She’d been taking them every four hours just to keep the edge off how much she hurt.

A scraping noise outside the window to her right suddenly made her freeze.

Her eyes went to Owen in the kitchen part of the cabin, but he obviously hadn’t heard anything. He was humming under his breath as he struggled with the can opener on the peaches.

Not daring to look over, in case Owen saw her, Sarah’s heart kicked into overdrive.

Had Cole found her? Were the police surrounding the cabin right now?

And if so . . . what would Owen do when he figured out that the nice little life he’d set up for the two of them was about to come to an end?

Or what if it was just an animal? Another mouse trying to find a way in to stay warm?

Sarah had no idea what had made the sound, but she prayed as hard as she could that, after a very long week, she was about to be rescued.





Chapter Sixteen

Cole stood out of the way behind a tree and stared at the small cabin in the woods. It was dark now, and it had been a very busy four hours since they’d located the dollhouse at the hospital.

Blake had gone to the hospital and examined the dollhouse. He’d found a signature on the bottom. Nathan had tracked down the artist and learned that he used to live in a small town in the mountains west of Castle Rock called Twin Cedars. It wasn’t much of a town, not anymore. There was a gas station and a small mom-and-pop grocery store, and that was about it.

A call to the artist verified that he’d indeed made the dollhouse. He’d custom-made that particular piece for Aubrey Montrone years ago. He’d specifically remembered it didn’t match the cabin she owned, which she’d always wished was bigger. So when she’d commissioned the dollhouse, she’d sent a picture of the cabin and told him to use it for inspiration, but asked that he embellish and make it larger, with two stories instead of one. The artist also volunteered that he’d made a second piece, a smaller dollhouse, for Aubrey about twenty years ago, as well.

Then the man told Nathan that he’d seen Aubrey’s son in the only local store a week or so ago.

The artist had been there visiting his friend, who owned the place, and recognized Owen from a picture Aubrey had apparently shared with him when she’d ordered the smaller dollhouse. Owen hadn’t said much, and had bought a very strange assortment of food. Mostly canned and boxed food. Nothing fresh. Things that would last a long time.

When Nathan had asked if the man had seen the car Owen was driving, he’d said yes. He’d gotten into a gray Galant.

Cole had made a fist pump in the air at hearing that. The man hadn’t seen anyone else in the car, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Owen could either have already stashed Sarah somewhere, or she could’ve been lying down in the back seat. Cole refused to even consider the possibility that she’d been in the trunk at the time, or that Owen had already hurt or killed her.