Nathan, all freaked out, blurted, "You gonna be in danger?"

"Who knows." Alexander shrugged, leaning back against the headboard like he couldn't care less.

Nathan mulled it over for a sec and then said, "I'll track him down ASAP."

Abigail stared at the food in front of her, totally speechless. "Wild veggies again, Landon? You broke or something? Need a loan?"

Landon sat right across from her. Abigail's hands and feet were shackled, making a racket every time she moved.

He shot her a cold look and said, "Don't wanna eat? Then starve."

Abigail sighed, "I'm your hostage now. If I croak, how you gonna lure Alexander here?"

Landon used to roll with a big crew, but after hopping from place to place, he was down to just three men.

No clue if he ditched them or stashed them somewhere.

But with how fast they were moving, Abigail figured Landon was on the run.

They were holed up in a mountain valley, surrounded by peaks on three sides with just a tiny path in and out. Looking up, the peaks formed a well-like trap. There was a nearly dried-up pond nearby. Abigail guessed it used to be deep, but now it was almost dry, just a small pool of water surrounded by pebbles. She had to admit that Landon picked a pretty good hideout.

Landon put his bowl down, turned, and went to sit by the pool, ignoring her.

Abigail muttered a few curses under her breath and picked up the bowl. No matter how much she hated it, she had to eat.

Starving to death wasn't on her agenda.

She scarfed down the food, put the bowl back, and glanced at Landon.

She couldn't tell if he was asleep as he sat there motionless.

Abigail eyed the exit. She knew someone was guarding it, so no way she could escape.All rights © .

She stood up, grabbed a chair, and quietly walked towards Landon, trying to keep the noise from her shackles to a minimum. But making no noise was impossible.

Luckily, she got behind Landon without him reacting. She raised the chair, aiming for his head.

Next second, the chair froze mid-air.

Abigail looked down and saw Landon had grabbed it. She forced a smile, saying, "Not asleep, huh?"

Before she could blink, Landon yanked the chair from her hand and threw it hard. The impact sent Abigail flying, and she screamed.

The chair shattered into pieces on the ground. Abigail, though, landed in the pool.

The pool didn't look big, but it used to be deep, and she sank right to the bottom.

With her hands and feet bound, she couldn't swim and kept sinking.

Landon watched the bubbles for a moment. When the water went still, he stood up, took off his jacket, and jumped in.

By the time he pulled Abigail out, she was out cold. Landon pressed on her chest, doing CPR with a blank face.

Abigail coughed up water and slowly opened her eyes, seeing Landon's face close to hers in the dim light.

Fully awake now, her eyes snapped open and she turned her head to dodge his mouth.

She stared blankly at the distant mountain, her face a mix of shock and confusion.