Glory & Promise by Kim Murphy

Author:Kim Murphy [Murphy, Kim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kim Murphy
Published: 2005-01-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Only a sliver of light shone through the crack under the door. Bound like a trussed turkey with her back next to Wil’s, Amanda ached. He was dead weight slumped against her and had yanked her shoulder and arms into painful positions.

At first, she feared that he might not be alive, but she occasionally heard ragged breathing. She felt a tug on the ropes about her wrists. Thank goodness, he was coming around. “Wil?”

He groaned. “My head... feels like someone took a sledgehammer to it.”

“A gun butt would be more accurate. You’ve been out cold for some time.” He tested the ropes and tightened the ones around her wrists further.

She let out a cry as the bindings bit into her flesh.

He quickly apologized. “Amanda, are you all right? Did they hurt you?”

Wil didn’t normally hedge. “They didn’t ravish me, if that’s what you’re asking.” She thought she heard him breathe out in relief. “They’re going to kill us, aren’t they?”

“No.”

“Stop protecting me. You know I don’t like it when you do that.”

“I’m not protecting you. They’re not going to kill us—not if I can help it.” He pulled on the ropes, and her shoulder bent at an awkward angle.

She yelped.

“Sorry, Amanda. I’ve got a knife in my boot if I can get to it. I’ll see if I can loosen your ropes.” The bulk of his weight leaned against her, and he struggled with the bindings.

As it had so many times in the past, her fear lessened when he was with her. “Wil, why were you afraid to mail the letter?”

His fingers continued working on the ropes. “That was a long time ago.”

“Four years.”

He stopped fighting the ropes. “Things have changed during that time. What happened to propriety, Amanda?”

“I keep wondering...”

His back straightened.

“So, you do too.”

Without comment, he fumbled with the rope again. The bindings began to loosen around her wrists—not much, but enough so that she could wiggle her hands.

“Can you reach the knife?”

“No.” She felt his hands on the ropes, returning to the task at hand. “Wil, I know why you risked your life in coming here. I don’t expect you to openly admit it, but there’s something you should know.”

“Amanda, don’t say it. That was another life. You’ll regret it.”

So why did she yearn for him to touch her? She felt ashamed. The rope loosened and her right hand was free. She twisted around but was nearly blind in the darkness. After some fumbling, she managed to release her other hand. She struggled with the knots binding Wil.

“Get the knife,” he said.

After what she had been about to confess, Amanda was unable to face him, much less touch him. “I was about to say something very foolish.”

“Fret about that later. For all we know, Chandler could be right outside the door.”

His calm was what she needed to regain her poise. Her heart pounded, and she reached out a trembling hand and touched him on the thigh. Hesitant, she didn’t need to be able to see to know that a wicked grin had spread across his face.

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