Kyle

by Riley Edwards

  “Still looking. Fucking sucks with no GPS and satellite images.”

  “You having issues with your map reading skills?” Dec joked.

  If I hadn’t had a sinking feeling in my gut and an ache in my chest, I would’ve joined in.

  “Fuck no. But without satellite I don’t know where houses are. I’ll narrow it to three locations but we’re gonna have to wing it. From what I remember, eastbound on this road is mostly farmland, but there are houses scattered.”

  “Yep,” I agreed. “But there are a few long stretches that would be good.”

  “The first one in about seven klicks just after the vineyard,” Thad announced.

  Just under four and a half miles. Normally Dec could travel that small distance in under two minutes but the truck in front of us was taking its sweet-ass time, forcing Dec to drive like a normal human being.

  “Christ. Can he speed up?” There it was. Dec hated slow drivers. “Geared up.”

  I glanced down at my AR between my legs, tapped my hip to confirm my sidearm was in place, then pulled my rifle up but kept it below the window opening.

  Without having to look behind me, I knew Thad was doing the same. The sign for the vineyard came into view and a long, deserted stretch of road lay in front of us.

  “We’re taking it,” Dec said before he slammed on the gas.

  The distance between us and the car was narrowing and I hefted myself through the window to sit on the frame and lowered my rifle.

  “Ready?” I called out to Thad.

  “On my count,” he returned, and counted us down.

  Watching the back right rear tire spinning, I waited for his signal. I heard the word ‘two’ and pulled the trigger. Both rear tires blew out. The truck careened right, then left, then back right as the driver lost control.

  With the truck up on two wheels heading for open field, I prayed we didn’t just kill all the women locked in the back. Thankfully, the universe had something else in mind when the truck tilted back down and came to a stop, still upright.

  Dec didn’t have the vehicle fully stopped before I jumped out and headed to the back, while Thad was already making his way to the driver.

  Two pops sounded and Declan and Thad were both at my side.

  “Done,” Thad unnecessarily announced.

  Not wasting a second standing behind the enclosed truck, with an armed man inside who could open fire at will, we moved.

  There was always a pucker factor when you breached a structure of any sort. One with no visual, pucker factor times ten. We had no idea what the guard was doing inside or where he was.

  Declan was ready with his hand on the latch to unlock the door. I was on the other, and Thad was at my nine o’clock ready to take a shot if one presented itself. We’d done this so many times it was like a well-choreographed dance. But with my unease, it felt wooden and unpracticed.

  Declan gave me a nod and I shoved all thoughts out of my mind and concentrated on his movements. As soon as his door opened a sliver, I quickly unlatched my side and simultaneously we threw both doors open.

  Terrified screams filled the otherwise quiet countryside, but no one made a run for it. My eyes adjusted, taking in the dark corners of the box truck, and found the women huddled together. The guard stood close to them with one woman pulled tight to his front, using her as a human shield, his weapon pointed at Thad.

  “Get back!” the asshole yelled.

  “Drop your gun and let her go,” Declan returned.

  “Get back or I start shooting them.” He swung his rifle in the direction of the girls, exposing himself.

  That was a grave error, one that cost him his life.

  Before I could take the clear shot he’d provided me, Declan beat me to it.

  A close range .223 round to the head was never pretty. The white metal wall behind where the man once stood was now painted with red.

  Women screamed. Then as if the shock of the event had waned, they ran for the open door.

  “Whoa.” Declan stepped forward, putting his hands up. “Everyone is safe. But you have to stay inside.”

  One woman did a flying leap out of the truck. Her feet barely touched the pavement before I grabbed her around the waist, turned her in my arms so her back was to my front, and held her there. I had to swallow back a gag as the smell of piss and bad body odor overwhelmed me. Her legs thrashed, her bare feet barely registering as they made contact with my shins.

  “You’re safe now,” I told her. “We’re gonna get you home.”

  She had no verbal response but she fought harder, wiggling and digging her fingers into my arm. I had no choice but to let the girl wear herself out, and by the energy she was putting into escaping my hold, she’d be exhausted within minutes.

  She felt like a malnourished feather. The only danger her exertion posed was her hurting herself.

  Declan was explaining to the others what was going to happen next, but none were listening. All eyes were on the girl struggling.

  This had to end. We couldn’t stand on the side of the road for much longer.

  “Enough!” I barked, but didn’t tighten my hold. “We don’t have time for this. We need to get all of you to safety and we can’t do that until you calm down.”

  Her movements started to slow but her whimpers did not. Low, guttural, soul-shattering sounds that conveyed all she’d been through.

  “Come on, honey. Slow down and breathe. You’re safe now. No one is gonna hurt you, but I need you to go back with your friends.”

  “Don’t put me back in there. Please.” Her request broke my heart but I had no choice.

  “You’re not going back in. All of you are getting in the van with us.”

  “Come on, Scarlett,” one of the older girls called as Declan helped her down. “Please come over here so we can leave.”

  The young woman in my arms nodded. With my arm still around her, I walked her to her friends. Scarlett was immediately engulfed into the huddle.

  “In less than an hour this will all be over for you,” Dec told the girls.

  None of them looked like they believed him. All of them looked broken and defeated.

  Fuck Harry Landry and his band of pissants on his payroll.

  “Come on, the rest of you come down.” Then to Thad, “Check the guard.”

  Thad moved slowly, making sure he entered into the back of the truck as far away from the girls as he could.

  “Easy,” Declan gently told the girls. “No one’s gonna hurt you.”

  Scarlett’s eyes came to mine, wild and full of fear. But in that moment, all I could see was the way Anaya had looked at me when I found her chained in the hull of the boat. Same stare—haunted, scared, alone.

  My gut soured and heart throbbed.

  I needed to get to Anaya. I could feel it.

  Chapter 29

  “Snap out of it,” Jeremy demanded.

  “I can’t.”

  He’d pulled Monica’s dead body into the room she’d been using and shut the door but I was still staring at the spot on the floor where she’d laid.

  “You can,” he coaxed. “And you didn’t kill her, I did.”

  No, he didn’t. It had been my arm that had pressed against her throat.

  “All you did was choke her out,” he started. “But when I pulled you up with her still in your headlock, I knew what I was doing. I knew the force would crack her neck. I did it, Anaya, not you.”

  I shook my head in denial.

  “No—”

  “Something you need to reconcile in your own head. But think on this while you’re figuring it out. Monica was going to kill your friend. It was Monica or Emerson. So you think on whose life is more important to you.”

  Jeremy stalked away and I didn’t need to think; Emerson was more important. All day, every day, I’d pick Emerson.

  “Hey,” Emerson whispered. “He’s right, though maybe he could’ve been a little nicer about it. But he’s still right. We’ll get throug
h this together. That’s what we said. You and me. We’re gonna be fine.”

  I focused on the angry red welts around Emerson’s neck. Perfect imprints of Monica’s hands around her throat. Anger welled up.

  I did what I had to do. Kyle would understand. I had no choice.

  “Okay,” I agreed. “I’ve just never…I didn’t know what to do…I just reacted.”

  “And you did the right thing. Thank you.”

  “Get in your room,” Jeremy barked. “Now. And do not come out no matter what.”

  Emerson moved first, gripping my hand and yanking me toward the hall.

  “What’s happening?” I asked as we passed the kitchen.

  “We have company. Do. Not. Come. Out.”

  Company? Were the guys here already to get us?

  Emerson shoved me through the door and turned to lock it.

  “Whatever happens, we stick together,” she told me.

  “You think—”

  “Yes. Monica said he was coming for us. I don’t think that was a threat, I think that was a warning. She knew.”

  I thought back to the conversations we had and everything started clicking into place. “She said no one found her.”

  “Shit!” Emerson growled. “It was a setup. All of it.”

  She pulled her phone out of her pocket and swiped it to unlock. A few seconds later with an angry huff she tucked it into the bra and looked at me. “No service. Try yours.”

  I pulled out mine and repeated the process. No reception.

  “No.”

  “Shit. The windows don’t open, and Jeremy has cleared the house of anything that can be used as a weapon.”

  I glanced around the room, noting there was nothing on the dresser that was near the door, nothing on the nightstands, not even a coat hanger in the closet. The room was empty. We had nothing.

  “Do you have a belt or anything in your bag?” I asked.

  “No. Nothing, just clothes.”

  There was a loud bang, right before two unmistakable gun shots.

  “This is happening,” Emerson warned. “As soon as the door opens, we both have to attack. We’ll only have a few seconds to surprise whoever’s here to take us. We can’t let that happen.”

  My heart was pounding in my throat and so much adrenaline was coursing through me my hands were trembling.

  “We can do this,” Emmy assured me.

  “I know we can. No one is ever taking us again. Not ever.”

  Fear was transforming into fury. This time, the daunting thought of being held against my will wasn’t riddled with regret. Instead there was a far greater emotion, one that would fuel my determination.

  Kyle.

  He was not going to lose me. I was not going to be taken alive. No matter what, I was going home to him, or I would die trying. I wasn’t going to live the rest of my life like Monica. That was not my destiny.

  Emerson gave me a wobbly smile. “That’s right. Kick, bite, scratch, whatever you have to do.”

  The bedroom door rattled and Emerson looked like she was preparing to run the hundred-yard dash. All we needed was the whistle to blow and we’d be off running. I hoped to God we weren’t running headlong to our deaths.

  No. I wasn’t going to think that.

  Fuck that. We were gonna live.

  The door swung open and there was a flash of recognition. But it was not Jeremy who’d entered. I took off, not waiting for Emerson. Not waiting to see if he had a gun. All I cared about was bashing his head in.

  With no thought, working on instinct alone I moved, my legs wrapped around the man’s waist, he stumbled back, and my head conked his. His curse was gruff and menacing, and he struggled to get me off. I punched, clawed, and scratched. Until he yanked my legs off him and threw me to the floor. Emerson leaped over me. I heard a grunt and wrapped both my arms around his ankles. Suddenly he was falling backward. Emerson tripped over my prone body but I was holding on for dear life.

  The man’s fall happened in slow motion, it seemed to take forever for him to tumble, but when he did, there was a loud crack before he hit the carpet.

  Blood pooled around the man’s head and his eyes were closed.

  The only sounds that filled the room were mine and Emerson’s panting.

  She crawled over me, placed her finger on his neck, and moments later announced, “Still alive. Quick, find something to tie him up with. I’m gonna check the house.” She scrambled to get the man’s gun, now feet from where he’d landed, and she was out the door.

  Tie him up? There was nothing.

  Sheets. I could tear the sheets. Maybe.

  After a few minutes of trying to rip the quality bed clothes, I knew I needed scissors or a knife.

  Glancing at Harry Landry, I knew he wasn’t going anywhere. But if he did wake up, Emerson had a gun. I ran out of the room and down the hall and skidded to a stop.

  Jeremy was on the floor, blood everywhere. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’d known he was dead. He had to be; there was no way Harry would’ve made it to us in the bedroom if he’d been alive. But knowing it and seeing it were two different things.

  “We need the keys to his bedroom. I need something to cut the sheets,” I told Emerson when she walked back into the house.

  “I think Harry was alone. I only see his car out there,” she said, and crouched next to Jeremy patting his pockets.

  When she found what I needed, she tossed me the keys. “I’m gonna watch the door. Holler if you need me.”

  Jeremy’s room proved to be a treasure trove. I wasn’t sure what he’d been planning for, but I found rope and duct tape. After rummaging around, I also found a large hunting knife and scissors. I’d leave the knife for now, until Harry was secure.

  I ran back to the room, and after three tries finally got Harry onto his stomach and his hands behind his back. I sat back on my heels and realized I’d never tied anyone up before and had no idea how to start.

  What sounded like a slight groan came from Harry and I started wrapping the rope as tightly as I could around his wrists and made knots as I went. I cut the rope and pulled out the duct tape and wound that over the rope and up his forearms. The thought of the tape removing his thick arm hair thrilled me.

  Emerson came to the door and looked down at Harry and nodded her approval.

  “Good work. Now his feet. But leave a few feet between his ankles. Just enough for him to shuffle. We can’t carry him.”

  “Carry him?”

  “He’s coming with us,” Emerson declared.

  “Are you nuts?”

  Harry started groaning, leaving no time for us to debate whatever plan Emerson had come up with.

  I tied the rope around one ankle, left a small length, then repeated tying the other side, and finished with the duct tape covering the rope.

  The shrill of Harry’s ringtone startled me and start to rouse him. More grumbling and twitching.

  “We have to leave,” Emerson told me. “And he has to come with us before someone comes looking for him.”

  Shit. Okay. That made sense.

  Emerson bent down and pulled on the ropes, testing my efforts, and when they didn’t budge, she smiled and shook Harry.

  “Wake up, dickhead. Time to go.”

  “What the—”

  “Come on, up you go,” she cut him off.

  “I’m gonna—” he started to growl, but Emerson spoke over him.

  “Shut up, asshole, and get up.”

  The phone stopped ringing and his mean, hard eyes found mine. “Neither of you will live through this.”

  I shivered at his statement and glanced at Emerson.

  I hoped like hell she knew what she was doing.

  Chapter 30

  It had been a struggle but we loaded Harry Landry into Jeremy’s car. I had Harry’s phone in my hand and was scrolling through his open apps.

  “What are you looking at?” Emerson asked as she navigated down the narrow road from the cabin.

/>   “He has some sort of navigation app open,” I told her. “The blue dot is moving with us.”

  Harry chuckled from the back seat and I fought the urge to look at him. I wanted to know what he found amusing but there was something in his eyes that creeped me out so bad I couldn’t look.

  “Fuckin’ amateurs,” Harry sneered. “The great Zane Lewis thinks his shit is squared away but he forgets to scrub a phone. Classic.”

  What the hell did that mean? Scrub a phone?

  “Here.” Emerson tossed me her phone. “Turn that off.”

  I powered down her phone and the blue dot disappeared.

  “Holy shit, he was tracking you,” I whispered.

  From the back seat came, “Ding. Ding. Ding. We have a winner! Maybe you’re only half as stupid as I thought.”

  “Power off all the phones. Now.”

  I did what Emerson instructed and now we were flying blind with no navigation.

  “We need to stop at a gas station and get a map.”

  Emerson nodded and Harry broke out into raucous laughter.

  “You brought the duct tape, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “When we stop, tape his mouth shut. I don’t want to listen to him.”

  Harry continued to snicker. I did my best to ignore him and come up with a plan to get us out of this mess.

  Twenty minutes later we pulled up at a gas station. Emerson had parked in the farthest corner, hoping not to draw attention. She’d waited until I returned with a map and a burner phone, hoping it got service in the mountains, then got out of the car so we could speak in private.

  “Good thinking.” She gestured to the phone.

  “Hear me out,” I started. “Maryland will be a seven hour drive if we take the back roads to avoid tolls and cameras. But we could go north and get to Lewis, New York, in three.”

  “What’s in Lewis?”

  “Zane owns property there. It’s an old missile silo. Kyle and Declan told me about it.”

  “I don’t know—”

  “Listen, we need to get somewhere safe and we need to do it fast. If Harry tracked your phone, who knows what else he’s done? What if he put some device on the car before he killed Jeremy? What if he has one on him and he has his people tracking him?”