by Grey, Helen
I heard the sound of Jax’s raised voice at the other end, but then Khalil moved away, toward the far side of the warehouse. I didn’t hear anything more. Panic surged within me, and once again, I struggled against my bindings. My wrists were rubbed raw, and I felt a burning sensation in several areas. I knew that I was tearing the skin off my wrists. Still, desperation called for desperate measures and I was definitely desperate. I never knew a body could withstand such fright, but I resisted the urge to succumb to the blackness that hovered around the edges of my consciousness. I had to stay conscious. I had to stay alert.
If any of those pigs so much as came near me or tried to touch me, I resolved that I would fight until I had no strength left. If they took me, it wasn’t going to be easy. My stomach churned and I felt a hot wave of nausea rise up my esophagus. Tamp it down! Tamp it down! I couldn’t allow my fear to run away with me.
Jax would come. He would figure something out. He had to!
Several moments later, Khalil returned to the group. I watched him as he watched me, and then he cast his gaze toward the others. I did too. They were all staring at me. They look like cats ready to attack a flock of birds. I swallowed the acid rising in my throat. I choked back my fear, the sob that threaten to erupt from my throat. I blinked back my tears.
“Untie her.”
The order came from Khalil, and Ajmal quickly stepped forward. I began to shake my head, to utter guttural denials through the gag, but he merely laughed. Once again, he knelt down before me and pulled a knife from a sheath he wore attached to his belt. He flashed the blade in front of my face, sneering. Then, in one swift swipe, he cut the bindings to my feet, first my right leg, then my left. I don’t know what possessed me, but anger surged through me. I lashed out with my right foot and caught him right in the balls.
He cried out and fell back onto his butt, one hand cupping his balls, the other grasping the knife and pointing it at my heart. His friends laughed while he grunted in pain, muttering what I could only assume were death threats at me in his native language.
“Quickly!” Khalil ordered. “Let’s go!”
Scrambling onto his knees, Ajmal slowly got to his feet, and giving my feet a wide berth, stepped behind me. I thought he would slash my arm open in retaliation, but seconds later I felt the bindings fall away from my hands. Tingling and nearly bloodless, my arms again dropped nearly uselessly to my sides. In the next instant, he had his thick, meaty hand clasped around my upper arm, his fingers digging painfully into my flesh, cutting off blood flow. His warm breath touched my ear as he hissed, “You will pay for that, bitch!”
I could offer no retort, the gag still around my mouth. He jerked me forward so hard that I lost my balance and fell. Pain shot through me as I landed on my left shoulder again and then bumped my head against the floor. I saw stars.
“Stop with your foolishness,” Khalil shouted. “First things first, and then you can have your way with her.”
Muttering under his breath, Ajmal jerked me upright. I felt more pain in my shoulder. At the least he would pull a muscle, at the worst dislocate my shoulder. I tried to keep my feet under me, but it was difficult. My limbs tingled and grew increasingly painful with pins and needles sensations from lack of circulation. Ajmal glanced at one of the others, uttered a harsh word, and the guy stepped to my other side. In between them, they held me upright as they quickly hurried toward the door of the warehouse.
I had no idea where we were going. If it was possible, I grew even more fearful. Just before we reached the door to the warehouse, I felt Ajmal’s right hand suddenly grab my right breast. He groped and then squeezed, so hard that I gasped in pain.
“That is only the beginning, bitch,” he swore.
“Ajmal!” Khalil ordered from behind. “Quickly, get her into the car. Andrews has promised to negotiate, but I agreed that we would bring her to him in one piece.” He laughed. “After that, you can play.”
Khalil moved up beside me, his gaze serious as he stared into my eyes. He barked a short laugh. “We will bring you to him in one piece, but I cannot promise what will happen after that.”
Chapter 3
It was still dark outside when I emerged from the warehouse. I still had no idea where I was, and for the moment, not any chance of escape. Ajmal grasped my arm tightly, and the more I pulled against him, the tighter he squeezed his fingers deep into my flesh. I hated him. I wanted to hurt him. I couldn’t. I was no match for his strength.
But, maybe, if I kept my wits about me, I could watch for a chance to escape. What was worse anyway? Dying in a hail of bullets or being raped and dismembered piece by piece—while I was still alive?
Khalil had said something about one hour. Jax had to do something within one hour. Did that mean he was close? Was he going to make a money drop? An exchange? Information? I had no idea, and my doubts about Jax’s loyalty warred with my instincts. Jax was a patriot! He was a soldier! He would never betray his country. Deep down inside I knew that, but this lack of information, this lack of knowledge, wasn’t helping me feel any better about my present circumstances.
Was I of any value to Jax? Would my being kidnapped by these terrorists endanger his life, or the lives of the other members of his squadron? I hoped not. If only I had left Jax’s mansion the morning after the car incident, none of this would be happening. I couldn’t help but feel as if everything was my fault. Regardless of the history Jax had with these terrorists, he wouldn’t be in the position now, nor would I, if I had just left when I had the chance.
I was guided toward a dark four-door sedan, similar to the one that had tried to push us off the road the other evening. Khalil climbed into the driver seat this time, the quiet one into the front passenger seat. I was shoved into the back, crunched between Ajmal and the blond guy. I cringed every time one of them touched me, their legs so close to mine that I had to carefully balance on my portion of seat so I didn’t bump into either one of them as the car pulled out and away from the warehouse.
I tried not to look at Ajmal and his threatening gaze and glanced to the man to my left. The one called Mohammed. He turned and smirked at me. I then tried to distract myself by seeking out landmarks that would give me some idea of where I was, but nothing but dark woods surrounded us. I had no idea what time it was, but I did see a very faint lightning of the sky to the east. It must be close to dawn.
I felt so exhausted I could’ve cried. My limbs trembled with fatigue, fear, and adrenaline. Every time Ajmal bumped up against me as the car made its way down the asphalt road, I felt my body go cold with horror. Is this what awaited me?
“Turn left here,” the front seat passenger said.
Khalil slowed the car and turned left at an intersection with a four-way stop sign. No cars were on the highway, no way for me to alert anyone that I was in danger, not that I could have, scrunched in the backseat between two terrorists. The moment I tried anything, I was sure I’d immediately regret it.
The car turned east and headed into the brightening sky. Never in my life had I appreciated the site of dawn as much as I did on this morning. Would it be my last? I prayed not, but my hopes were fading.
The thing was, I couldn’t even blame this on Jax. It was me who allowed my attraction to override my better judgement. This was on me. Sex with Jax had compelled me at first, but now I realized it was something much more than that.
I had fallen for Jax.
I had fallen in love with him.
Great.
Here I was, a captive, heading to who knew where, and I’d just realized how deeply I was in love with Jax; in love with a man that I barely knew. The fact that I didn’t have an inkling of what he felt about me made it even worse. That brought me around to the thought of how far he would go to save me. Was I disposable? Was I just someone who had gotten in the way, been in the wrong place at the wrong time? Would Jax risk his life, or anyone else’s, for mine?
I was just his nurse. I had known him less than two weeks all tol
d, and to be honest, I had nagged him more than I should have during those weeks. Then again, who could blame me? It was my job. But that was just it. I was his nurse. I wasn’t his girlfriend. I wasn’t his lover. I was nothing to him other than a convenient sex partner. Wasn’t I?
A hand on my thigh pulled me from my thoughts. I tensed and glanced toward Ajmal. He leered at me, his hands slowly inching upward along my thigh. All I could manage was some guttural sounds in my throat, the gag preventing me from telling him exactly what I thought. My demand for him to keep his filthy stinking hands off of me was garbled in my throat. I knew what he wanted. Horror again surged through me.
Then the blond man spoke, again in that strange, guttural Middle Eastern language. For a moment, I wondered where he had learned it, and how long he had been living with and consorting with terrorists. What had compelled him to join them?
My curiosity was stomped down when he too, reached down and touched my thigh, much like Ajmal was doing. Their hands inched upward toward my crotch. Unlike the feelings that Jax’s hands had evoked in me with the same movements, I felt nothing but loathing for these men.
I began to struggle, bending forward in the seat, pulling against my bindings, ignoring the stabs of pain in my wrists as I leaned forward, hoping to catch Khalil’s attention.
I did.
He glanced into the rearview mirror, saw what was happening, and barked a sharp order. Ajmal grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the seat, but he and his friend removed their hands from my thighs—for the moment.
My wrists ache so badly I wondered if I had created stress fractures from trying to free myself from my bindings. Probably. I didn’t care. I would break them if it meant I could get away.
The minutes passed. The car wound its way through the darkness, heading toward the east, until finally, we broke out of the woods and onto a highway.
At last, a chance.
If I could just figure out where I was, maybe I’d have a better chance of escaping if and when the opportunity arose. As the car pulled onto the highway in the wan light of dawn, I managed to spy one roadside sign. We were on State Highway 301, otherwise known as Five Chop Road. I knew that the road intercepted Interstate 95 running north and south just before Lake Marian. Just south of Lake Marion was Lake Moultrie and then the grand expanse of the Francis Marion National Forest.
My heart sank.
Perfect places to dispose of a body. Perfect places to torture and kill someone with no one the wiser.
I tried to look for additional landmarks, but in the next moment, Ajmal said something to the man sitting on the other side of me. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a handkerchief. Within seconds, I was blindfolded. Ajmal barked a short laugh.
“Stupid bitch,” he snarled.
“Fucking bastard,” I muttered behind my gag, my epitaph garbled and muted. Nevertheless, I hope he had gotten the gist of my words.
The remainder of the car ride was completed in silence—which was horrible given my vision had been removed as well. The sensory deprivation was terrifying. I didn’t know what was happening and couldn’t anticipate what would come next.
I did know we were on a winding road by the way my body swayed with the turns and long, looping curves in the road. I had no indication where we were going, but I felt sure Khalil did not head for the Interstate. Though I tried to maintain my sense of direction, it didn’t take long for me to come thoroughly confused as to the way we were going.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the car pulled onto a gravel road. A couple of miles later, it stopped, the lack of movement disconcerting. We sat in the running car for several minutes, no one saying anything, although my heart pounded in dread.
Was this the end?
Would Jax really come?
Could he save me?
Khalil finally turned off the engine, and then I heard the front passenger door car open. The car shifted slightly as the man sitting in the front seat got out. None of the others moved. I could only imagine that the man was looking over the area to ensure that it was safe. He muttered something in Farsi or whatever it was, and then I heard the other doors opening.
I heard the pop of the trunk as it opened. A strange noise, and then I recognized the sound of magazines being inserted into weapons. Was this it? Would they kill me here and stuff my dead body into the trunk? Or worse, leave it as an easy meal for animals?
Ajmal wrapped his large hand around my upper arm and, stepping out of the car, pulled me after him. I banged my shin against the door and winced. Still blindfolded, I didn’t know where we were, but I got the scent of brackish water. Beside one of the lakes? Near one of the tributaries that fed into them, or even down closer to Charleston Harbor?
Suddenly my blindfold was yanked free, along with some of my hair. I uttered a protesting noise and was abruptly rewarded with a slap to the side of my head by Ajmal. I staggered to the side, but managed to keep on my feet as I glared at him. I almost felt as if I was at the point that I didn’t care what he thought anymore. Almost. He was going to torture me, perhaps even rape and kill me no matter what I did, so I had resolved I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Again, such bravado was not in my nature, but under such extenuating circumstances, it didn’t seem as if I had much of a choice.
To my surprise, my captors now held automatic weapons. They looked like AK-47s, or at least I thought so from shows I had seen on television. I guess it didn’t really matter. I looked around, saw nothing but this small clearing surrounded by swampy growth and underbrush. Silence, except for the sound of flies, a mosquito or two buzzing near my ear, and a throaty croak of a frog in the distance.
I stood there, surrounded by these strange, angry men, wishing that things could be magically different. But I knew better. Not every story had a happy ending.
My heart thudded in dread. I kept trying to loosen the bindings holding my wrists together behind my back, but the pain had grown so intense that it was nearly impossible.
For a moment, I ceased my struggles and bowed my head. I prayed for the first time in I don’t know how long. I mean, really prayed. I prayed that the end would be quick and that my body might be found, that I would be given a decent burial. I didn’t want to lay out here in the dark swamp, my body slowly rotting away until nothing was left.
I wished I had spoken to my mother more often. I wished I could tell Nancy that none of this was her fault. Most of all, I wished I had told Jax how I really felt about him. Now he would never know.
“Andrews!” Khalil shouted.
Nothing.
I stared in every direction I could turn my head, seeking any sign of Jax, of a way to escape. Ajmal and the blond man stood slightly behind me, close enough to grab me, although at the moment they seemed intent on searching the surroundings.
We stood in the middle of a small clearing, a gravel patch really, that at one time might have served as a picnic area. In the distance, I saw the smoke stacks of a factory, and behind me, I heard the sound of birds. Wildlife. Could we be a near the hatchery?
Ajmal grabbed my arm and held me slightly in front of him. Coward.
The birds suddenly grew silent. The only sound now was that of cicadas deep in the underbrush in the dense woods between where we stood and the water. Even the frog had grown silent. I knew water was close by. I smelled it. Brackish, swampy. Would this be the last thing I ever smelled? Was I to die out here in the middle of nowhere, without being able to—?
“Take your hands off her, Ajmal.”
My heart stopped, skipped and then pounded in my chest. Jax! He sounded so close and yet, my eyes wide, I couldn’t see a sign of him anywhere. It was obvious that Khalil, Ajmal, nor the others could see him either. They formed a slight circle around me, their backs now turned toward me as they tried to pinpoint Jax’s location.
“Ah, Andrews, we meet again,” Khalil smiled. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Too bad not under better circumstances.”
“Le
t her go, Khalil,” Jax’s voice floated over the clearing. “She has nothing to do with this.”
I tried desperately, but couldn’t determine where Jax’s voice was coming from. The edge of the marsh like area was only fifteen feet behind me, but I didn’t get the sense that his voice came from back there. To the sides of the clearing stood stands of deciduous trees and shrubs. He could be anywhere in the shadows and nobody would be able to see him. As he intended.
“Do you have what I want?” Khalil shouted, his gaze continually sweeping the area in front of them.
I could tell he was nervous. His back was stiff and a slight tremor in his voice exposed his vulnerability. Despite being armed to the teeth, they stood out in the open with only the car offering shelter. On the other hand, they had no idea where Jax was hidden.
“Sure I do.” Jax’s voice carried over the clearing. “And you have something I want back.”
My heart pounded so hard my ears buzzed with each beat. I began to tremble, my knees shaking. I wanted nothing more than to collapse into a frightened heap, but I had to remain strong. The adrenaline was surging through me again.
Fight, flight, or freeze.
I wanted to fight, but couldn’t.
I wanted to flee, but knew I would get cut down before I made it even ten feet.
For now, I would have to settle with freezing in place, waiting for my chance, if and when it came.
Suddenly, and without any warning whatsoever, Khalil leveled his automatic weapon and pressed the trigger. Branches, leaves and twigs exploded as he swept the weapon in an arc through the underbrush surrounding the left side of the clearing. The others did the same to the right. I screamed, although the gag in my mouth prevented hardly any sound from issuing out. Surely Jax would be cut down!
I had just resolved to drop to the ground, but suddenly Ajmal’s arm was wrapped around my chest, just under my breasts. He pressed me close to his body. For now, I was a shield.