My emotions got the better of me as we triasped for the next hour.

Jake had taken ahold of my knife and effectively put me in a pickle- 

Essentially, there was nowhere to go.

Not that I wanted to run.

Family meant everything to me and his threats were only a hair short of turning into desperate attempts.

I would not be the reason for their pain. 

My legs were close to buckling underneath me as the trail curved and dipped, leading to the rock. 

"Don't you think of making any hasty decisions." Evengot demanded. "Wouldn't be smart- especially in your predicament." 

I clenched my teeth, causing the response to release in a hiss. 

"Didn't even cross my mind. I will not allow my daughter to go through what so many women before me did." 

The tip of the blade dug into my skin. 

"Oh, Kristina. I'm barely holding on here. Choose your words wisely." 

Damn. The kidnapper was right. I wasn't being smart about this. 

When I didn't bother responding, he continued. 

"I'm a bad man; I'll admit that. But everything I did was for good reason. They may not have been stable reasons, but it wasn't like that with you." 

What? He was absolutely bonkers... 

"Jake..." 

"It's true. I tried to convince myself that I was doing it because you reminded me so much of Dorinda. That you were a means to an end, but it was all a lie. I wanted to love and cherish you. Be the one you could lean on..." 

He trailed off, making me shake in my skin. It pushed me to ask the one thing that was swirling in my mind. 

"And now?" 

This caused him to pause and swivel us around. The look in his eyes was still barren but almost hopeful. He lowered his weapon, stroking me. 

"Outcomes can always change. If I forgot about all this nonsense and I asked you to run with me... Would you?" 

Fuck. Of course what I wanted more than anything else was to scream: HELL NO, but his words had thrown me for a loop. 

He was a fool to think i'd fall for his charming words. Hell- they were anything but charming. They made him even more disgusting and delusional. 

But what could I do? 

There was no other choice.

There was- 

Like a silent prayer being answered, the unmistakable sound of sirens erupted. In its wake, the reverberation of several doors closing and the crunch of gravel followed.

"Fuck!!" 

Out of nowhere, Jake's entire demeanor changed. Angling us on the edge of the rock, it suddenly seemed more dangerous than sacred. 

Shouts emanated from down the path, forcing him to place the knife against my throat. Now he meant business. 

"Plans have changed, bitch." He murmured. "Looks like our future may be set in stone after all."