Heather Woodhaven - Credible Threat

A few hours earlier an accountant had bumped into her on his way out of the building. There had been plenty of room in the hallway—in fact she’d been standing to the side, admiring the potted plants that resembled mini palm trees—so she knew it’d been on purpose. She’d waited for him to try to hit on her but instead he’d rushed out the front door without so much as an apology. What if she had a whistle-blower on her hands? In that scenario, it seemed more prudent to see what was on the drive than to wait for a few days for IT to sort it out. Sleep wouldn’t come any time soon without satisfying her curiosity.

She turned off all internet access and inserted the stick into the USB port of her laptop. The chamomile tea had cooled enough to sip on while she waited for the antivirus software to scan the contents. Finally the cursor reappeared and allowed her to click on the lone file.

A spreadsheet of Vista Resorts’ assets and liabilities, remarkably similar to the one she’d saved on her online server, loaded. She never would’ve put a client’s information on a portable, unrecognizable drive, so that definitely ruled out any forgetful actions on her part. As she scrolled down the spreadsheet, several lines were highlighted in yellow.

“What are we looking at?” she muttered to Babette. It seemed that millions of dollars had been diverted to—

A creak behind her sent chills up her spine. The intrigue of the mysterious flash drive coupled with the settling of the house had turned her nerves to jelly.

Babette perked her ears and sat up in attention. That was odd. The cat let out a warbled growl that should’ve made her laugh if she wasn’t so freaked out. She spun around to the empty living room. The open floor plan allowed her to see the kitchen, as well, from her vantage point.

Rebecca blew out a breath. “See, it was nothing.” She grabbed her phone anyway. In reality, she had nothing to fear. Her grandfather owned a state-of-the-art security system and he’d made a point to tell her it was activated before he’d left. No alarm meant there was nothing to worry about. Her fingers clutched the phone tighter despite the reassuring thoughts.

The cat released another growl. Perhaps an early spring fly had flown into the house. Babette loved to hunt.

Rebecca walked toward the kitchen. Maybe the ice maker had caused the creak. The open layout allowed her to walk into the next room without any doors. She peered out of the ceiling-to-floor window, straining to see outside. Aside from the reflection of the moon off the lake, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

The darkness of the hill changed, as if in motion. She blinked and could see only the reflection of the furniture in the living room—and a man in a ski mask rushing toward her.

A scream tore from her throat and her chest seized in panic. She launched to the side, toward the back door. An arm snaked around her torso as a hand clasped over her mouth in such a swift motion that her phone flew out of her hand and hit the floor.

He pulled against her middle and dragged her backward across the floor. Rebecca squirmed and writhed against his steel arms to no avail. She tried to suck in a breath, but his hand covered her nose, as well.

Scratchy material brushed up against her cheek. “You’re coming with me either way.” He didn’t bother to whisper. So he knew they were all alone in the house. “It’s up to you whether you’re injured along the way.”

He moved just enough that air slipped through his fingers. She inhaled, but his heavy, spiced breath turned her stomach. There was no way a masked man trying to force her out of the house would earn her trust. If he got her into a car, she knew the statistics of survival wouldn’t be in her favor.

An oval mirror hanging on the wall opposite the desk in the living room showed her struggle. Her hazel eyes bulged against her taut, pale face, and the man’s lips formed a snarl over bared teeth surrounded by the black fabric of the mask. The visual image simultaneously horrified and cleared her mind.

She flung her legs out in a wide squat and dropped her weight like she’d seen her toddler nephew do a dozen times. The man grunted at the sudden change. His left arm pressed against her ribs so hard she cried out. He yanked her back again, but she sunk into her squat and he managed only to slide her another foot.

Rebecca twisted her hips to get her right foot behind the man’s left leg. She shoved her knee into the back of his leg in the hope it’d throw him off balance, but he didn’t budge. She bent her torso over fast, and his hand slid off her mouth for half a second before he yanked her hair instead. She screamed at the ripping sensation of her scalp, but as her chin lifted she saw a patch of exposed skin.

Her hand curled into a fist and she punched his neck. He gagged and released her long enough for her to elbow him in the stomach.

The cat screeched and the man bellowed. Rebecca didn’t look up long enough to see what the cat had done. She grabbed the shiny gold letter opener on the desk with her left hand and spun around, not even watching where she was going. The sharp edge slit across his arm and stomach. He jumped back with a roar.

“Get back!” She gripped the opener with her entire fist and shook it at him. His dark eyes watched her. He seemed more angry than hurt, with an air of confidence that he could overtake her again if he wanted. She didn’t wait to find out.

She bolted for the front door, an unbidden screech tearing from her lips. The front door had been left ajar. She slapped the panic button with her free hand as she flung the door fully open with her left shoulder.

She sprinted down the long driveway, listening for the slap of feet behind her. Silence only followed. The panic alarm never sounded. In fact, the alarm should’ve gone off when the intruder had entered.

Hidden in between the two evergreen trees in the yard was a black SUV-shaped vehicle. She flinched and ran to the far edge of the driveway, wondering if another attacker sat inside the vehicle. No headlights or engine sounds greeted her. The license plate on the vehicle was too dark to see, and there was no way she was going to investigate.

Her instinct demanded she yell “fire,” although she couldn’t remember why, only that she’d been taught to do so if in danger. “Fire!” she yelled so hard it stung her throat. She shouted repeatedly and ran down the quarter-mile drive to the main road. No one came to her aid.

Her feet stung from the loose chips of asphalt pressing into the thin layer of her socks. Her grandfather had no close neighbors. The lot sat on a two-acre hill overlooking the lake. She rounded the corner and ran into the street.

She chanced a glance over her shoulder but didn’t see anyone following her. Her attacker had worn all black. Or was she remembering correctly? It all happened so fast. It was possible he was out there, following her, watching her, waiting to pounce. That beast of a vehicle could suddenly come to life in a heartbeat.

She screamed for help, as if on a repeating loop, while she ran down the road. Her head swiveled constantly, searching for safety and possible threats. Headlights rounded the curve. She rushed toward them, flailing her arms.

At the last second, she realized it looked like she was waving a knife. She flung the letter opener to the side of the road and clasped her hands in front of her chest, pleading for help. The car didn’t so much as slow as it bared down on her.

Please, Lord.

It kept coming. The bumper barreled toward her. The headlights blinded her and she jumped out of the way. Pain rushed up her leg as gravel at the side of the road shifted underneath her toes.

Her balance lost, her fingers reached to grasp for something but met only air as she fell backward into the ditch.