Nick and Melanie found themselves near the Great Lakes, just a couple of days away from Canada.

“Nick, we’re being followed,” Melanie whispered, holding on to him.

He looked behind them to see two men on horses, watching them curiously.

“Hold on,” Nick said and he flicked the reins. The horse took off along the lakeside, and the men followed.

The chase continued for several minutes, until the horse gave out from under them. They hit the ground hard, and the men caught up to them. One grabbed Melanie while the other grabbed Nick.

“Leave him alone!” Melanie said, struggling against the man who held her as the other punched Nick in the stomach. She saw him take another punch as darkness surrounded her.

______________________________________________


Melanie woke up in a tent, later, to see two gruff men watching her.

“Where’s Nick?” she asked.

One of them laughed.

“Someone will find his body eventually. Roscoe here beat him near to death, then threw him in the water. Shame, he was a looker. I can see while you gave in so easy,” he said.

Roscoe grinned evilly.

“So’s this one, Ed. She’s already deflowered, Paolo won’t know the difference if we sample the dessert, so to speak?”

Ed glared at Roscoe.

“No. Paolo said she wasn’t to be harmed,” he said.

“He won’t—“

“He will once he sees her thoughts.”

Melanie barely heard them. Her mind was clouded with grief. Nick was dead, or was as good as, and now she was to go back to Paolo Tennant a shamed woman, whose heart was as dead as the man she loved.

_____________________________________________

Paolo was waiting for the group when they arrived.

“Melanie, my dear, I’m sure you had a rough journey,” he said kindly, touching her face. She knew he was reading her mind, to make sure no harm had come to her. “Go upstairs and wash up for dinner.”

Melanie listlessly walked upstairs to do so. She was accepting that this was her life now, and there was nothing she could do about it.

________________________________________________________


Meanwhile, there was a man on the shores of Lake Superior, desperately clinging to life. A young child walking by noticed him, and alerted her father right away.

“Hey, are you okay?” the father asked.

“Help me,” the injured man said weakly. “They took her.”

“What’s your name?”

“Nick. Nick Carter,” he said, as the man whispered healing spells quickly. He felt his pain fade away.

The man helped Nick to his feet.

“Hello, Nick. I’m Brian Litrell. Why don’t you tell me about the girl they took? Maybe I can help.”