Sophie balled up on the bed as if to protect herself with her bound legs. Every part of her ached. “I can’t believe you’d do this to me.” She hiccupped. “I thought …”
Laughter erupted from the derisive one as his voice and footsteps ascended the stairs then stopped at the sound of a shutting door.
The continual dripping noise reminded her of a Chinese water torture. With each drop, her despair grew. How could she have been so wrong about Sky?
“So, Sophie,” She’d never heard Sky’s voice so hardened. “Do you still think God can make evil good?” His tone challenged. She wasn’t sure where his anger was directed—her, the other man, or maybe something else entirely.
She sniffed hard, and swallowed the lump in her throat. If she said it, maybe she’d actually come to believe it. But now, she wasn’t so sure. “God can do anything.”
Chapter Thirty
“Can you come in?” The thought of being alone right now left Cassandra weak. She pulled the cash-filled duffel from the back seat of Vince’s car.
Vince flinched at her words as though they were the last thing he’d expected. She’d pushed him away for fear he’d betray her again, yet since Sophie went missing he’d been working harder than Cassandra had to get her daughter back. She needed to remember, Sophie could be the child he’d barely had time to know.
What would he do if Sophie turned out to be Drew’s?
“Sure.” He stepped out of the car, and met her on the walk. His steps were solemn, hands in his pockets, attention to the gravel in front of him.
The house seemed bereft of life. No Tibo making vehicle sounds on the carpet. All his little cars were lined up neatly along the wall, piles of lint stuffed into the crevices of the toys as Tibo liked to do. There was no Sophie blaring David Crowder from her ear buds, and no Mom watching her 24-hour news channels.
Cassandra dropped the duffel on the floor. The sound seemed to echo in the space.
She turned to the man beside her. His blue-eyed gaze caressed her face, hands still firmly in his pockets.
She couldn’t help it. Her body longed to be in his strong arms, so she slid her hands between his waist and elbows and pressed her face into his chest, breathing in his scent.
Vince seemed to hesitate before pulling his hands from his pockets and wrapping them around her back. The tentative nature of his care reminded her of the new man he’d become. The man she could rely on. She wanted to absorb his strength, and he seemed okay to let her.
“I think I love you too.” She said into his shirt, remembering his admission over a day ago. She’d spurned him at the time, but he’d proved himself over and over to her. She needed for him to know now, before either of them set out to do a job wrought with risk.
Vince ran a hand atop her hair and kissed her forehead. “We’re even, then.”
She nodded and looked up. “Please be careful tonight.”
“I was going to tell you the same thing.”
Cassandra pulled tighter and his lips touched hers. It felt like a first kiss, and a last. So sweet and yet longing for completion, as though its impact would have to span eternity. The culmination of all they’d been through together—the hurt and the pain, as well as what God had refined in them with His wisdom, and His all-encompassing love. Cassandra wanted more. She didn’t want this to be the end.
Would they all survive this terrible night?
The danger they faced had not been lost on her. She’d gotten the message loud and clear from the comments that were cut short or the looks not well hidden. Kevin Perkins was a ruthless man. A man who’d beaten a young boy, and possibly killed his wife. Who knew what his friend was like, the other man who held her daughter. Somehow, that one scared her even more.
Vince pushed away this time. “I need to get back. Chen has a lot to go over with me about the layout of the area and the rooms in the house. He wants to show me how to use his equipment so everything is seamless.
Seamless. Cassandra liked that plan. “Hug Sophie for me when you get her.” She needed to be optimistic. He’d get Sophie back. And Sophie would need his love.
Vince smiled. “You bet I will.”
She reached her fingers into his goatee and caressed his chin. “Thank you, Vince Steegle.”
He kissed her long and gentle, breathing life into her weary heart. “You’re welcome.” One more kiss. “Now, I need to go.” He placed his palm on her cheek before stepping out the door and driving away. All she could do over the next several hours was wait for Lew to drop off her car, and Perkins to tell her where to drive it. She thought of her son, now safe with his grandma in another state. She knew what he’d say to do—“Pway!”
~*~
The man lived in the boonies. A long forested drive took Vince to the cottage house hidden by more trees. Not only was Chen’s business stealth, apparently so was his lifestyle.
Vince pulled up to the front. Chen waited by the door, as though he’d been there an hour or more, hardening in what sunlight actually reached the place. He checked his watch as Vince stepped out of his Elantra, then entered the house, obviously expecting Vince to follow. He did.
Chen disappeared into a room.
Vince turned to get smacked by a stack of clothes. “Hey.”
“Put ‘em on.”
Vince dropped his attention to the pile on the floor. Camouflage. “Are we headed into combat?”
“I usually work in the dark. Wear black. Might not be dark enough tonight, so we’ll need to blend with the trees.” Chen pulled a jar from a drawer and shoved it into Vince’s palm.
Vince opened it. Green paste. “What’s this for?”
Chen dug his fingers inside and slathered it on Vince’s face.
Vince stared at the man a full head shorter than himself. “You’re serious?”
Chen locked his gaze. “You want that girl back?”
Vince nodded.
“Then, I’m serious.”
After covering Vince’s skin, Chen opened a cabinet, took two backpacks from hooks, opened some more drawers and loaded one. Binoculars, metal containers, and packages with small printing on the labels. He pulled at some other drawers. “These will be your tools.” He dumped a gun, a knife, and a saw onto the table.
Vince shuttered at the memory of the blade that almost removed his spleen before he went to jail. “What’s the saw for?”
“There’s a padlock on the outer cellar door.”
“Won’t sawing it make too much noise?”
“No.” How could he be so certain?
Chen fished through a flat drawer and took out a black case. He opened its tri-fold flaps, revealing tiny metal rods, various shapes at the ends. “Remember how to use these?”
“It’s been a while since you to helped me when I locked myself out of the house. I wasn’t very good then.” And they didn’t have time for him to fumble.
Chen nodded, then surveyed Vince from lowered lids. “What’s in this for you?”
Vince couldn’t maintain Chen’s steely-eyed gaze. He dropped his attention to the floor. How could he explain his love for the people in his life to Chen, a man who saw relationships as dangerous entanglements?
Then it hit Vince. “What’s in it for you?”
Chen shook his head and began loading the second backpack with the tools he’d shown Vince.
“How’re we gonna do this?”
“I’ll get the kid outta the house. You get the girl.”
“How are you going to—?”
“Don’t ask. Just do.”
~*~
How does one pass the time waiting for hours to hear from a kidnapper? How does one sit around for the moment to rush as fast as she must to save her daughter? No one ever teaches this stuff in school.
Cassandra paced, prayed, flipped on the TV, flipped off the TV, prayed and paced some more. She opened the duffel bag of bills and counted each stack. She compared one stack to another to see if she could spot the phonies. Her heart sank.
She didn’t know which was which, but there were definitely some differences.
Cassandra threw the bills inside the bag then looked at them in the shadow within. “Lord, please don’t let him notice.” She rolled them around and looked again. She prayed that wherever they met, the lighting would be dim.
Tears stung her eyes. No, she wouldn’t cry again. She had to be strong. She’d go in there, confident as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
But she did. Way too many. More lives were at stake than the one they were trying to save.
Her life was on the line, and so was her daughter’s. The man had likely killed before, and she did not doubt he was poised to do so again. Even if Chen freed Sophie, there was no guarantee the man might not discover the bills and kill Cassandra on the spot, leaving Sophie without a mother to come home to. What if the other man killed Vince? Sophie would lose another father—the one she’d barely known.
Too much time to think. Cassandra was infinitely grateful for the sound of her SUV as it drove up to the house. Lew, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, stepped out and strode the sidewalk. She checked her watch. Boy, he cut it close.
Fifteen minutes till eight o’clock. Cassandra opened the door as Lew lifted his fist to knock. His brow see-sawed. “Ready?”
She twisted her face to stop the burn through her sinus passages, and shook her head.
He held up the collection of keys. “Well, your car is.”
Cassandra figured Lew wasn’t the warm, fuzzy type who’d hug her and talk her through her emotional depths. She’d have to buck it up and do what needed to be done. Standing straighter, she took the keys from Lew’s hand. “Thanks.”
He stepped inside and grunted. “This the bag?”
She nodded.
He picked it up and opened it. “D’you count it?”
“About a hundred times.”
He dropped it on the couch and paced between the rooms.
Now, Cassandra was getting extra nervous. Why hadn’t he left? “Is there something I could get you?”
“Nope. Just waitin’.”
“For what?” Did she need to pay him something?
He nodded to the phone on the dining room table. “The call.”
She was about to ask why, when it rang. Cassandra’s heart thundered inside her chest. Her mind whirled in confusion as she wrung her hands. Lew’s eyes narrowed. He gestured for her to pick it up.
Sucking in oxygen, she clicked it on. “Hello?”
“Hello, my friend.”
Cassandra almost told him that working on her house did not make him a friend, but then realized she couldn’t tip him off to what she knew. She pressed her lips tight.
“Are you ready to take a drive?” The distorted voice was cloying.
“Just tell me where.”
“Interstate 70 West. You’ll be on it for a while. Bring your cell phone. Leave it on.” Click.
That was it? That was all he was going to tell her?
“What’d he say?” Lew broke in to her thoughts.
She shook her head as if to flick out the nightmare. “Interstate 70 West. No more.”
“Then we better get moving.” Lew was out the door before she could protest.
She ran after him. “You can’t come. He said for me to be alone.”
Lew only smirked as he opened the passenger-side door. “You’ll be alone. Or at least you’ll look like it.” He pushed the seat back, climbed onto the floor. Cassandra’s mouth dropped open as he lifted what looked like a glove compartment from a hinge and folded his wiry build underneath it. His hands reached toward the base of the seat, and using a lever, he clicked it back into place.
“How did you do this?”
“Billy has some old friends who like to hide stuff.” He lifted the faux glove compartment and caught her attention. “Don’t worry. None of them know what it’s for.”
After arranging the floor mat, she could barely tell he was there.
Cassandra cranked the engine. It purred. The unfamiliar sound gave her comfort. “Will you be all right in there? I have a feeling this is going to be a long drive.”
“Don’t worry about me,” the muffled voice returned. “You’ll need the long drive to get used to the upgrades.”
“Upgrades?” How much had the repairs required? “What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say, your car has a little more power than it used to.”
Chapter Thirty-One
It took a good, long while to control the hitch in Sophie’s sobs. She didn’t know how long because with bound eyes, she still couldn’t see a clock. All she knew was that every inch of her felt raw, like she’d been scrubbed with sandpaper.
The room had been so silent she heard Sky’s breathing all the way across it. A rustling sounded, reminding her he was human. Or was he?
She decided to speak. “Now that I know who you are, why can’t you take the duct tape off my face?”
“No.” The answer was harsh, but at least he didn’t use the voice distorter anymore.
“Why not?”
No answer.
“Why?” she screamed. She had nothing left to lose after all.
“Shut up, Sophie.”
How could she have ever seen this guy as sweet, thoughtful, caring? Images of his teasing grin when he leaned through the car window encouraging her to try parallel parking again, assaulted her memories. The clap of a high-five with Tibo—whose face had demonstrated his own love for Sky—made her want to empty herself of even more tears.
“I can’t believe you’d do this to me.”
Movement shuffled some more.
“I thought …” She couldn’t get the words through her closing throat.
“That’s why I’m not taking off the tape, Soph. Then I’d get the puppy-dog eyes along with the guilt-trip.” Something hit the ground and clattered. “I don’t need any more guilt.” A harsh squeak sounded. His tone grew louder and sharper. “I am what I am, and that’s all there is to it. You won’t change me. My mother tried and failed. I don’t need your high-and-mighty religious crap to tell me anymore.”
Sophie barely had control of her voice. “He’s gonna kill me. Is that what you want?”
“See, that’s the crap I’m talking about.” Something hit hard wood. “You all think the worst. He just wants to scare you. Just shut up, do what you’re told, and you’ll be home safe with your mommy in no time flat.” The scorn in his voice ripped through her, leaving scars that would never heal. Scars were hard. That’s what she’d be. This jerk would not hurt her again.
~*~
Vince and Chen tromped through the woods. Chen thrust a pointer finger to Vince’s boots. “Quieter.”
Vince looked at his feet as if he could inform them of the reprimand and make them behave. As evidenced by Chen’s scowled glances, Vince didn’t think they’d gotten the message. He watched the man beside him, trying to imitate his moves. Chen was cat-like, smooth, agile. Too bad he didn’t work for US Intelligence. Now, if only Vince could mimic him.
Vince wanted to rush ahead, but just as he felt his stride, Chen grabbed him and thrust him into the rooted ground. He pointed to a clearing ahead. A cabin sat in the middle of it.
“Stay here.” Chen wove his way through the trees, under branches, through thickets. He peered toward the clearing from each new angle. He waved toward Vince then touched a finger to his lips. Duh. Vince knew he needed to be quiet. The question was how to make the sticks beneath his feet not call out his presence. He stepped, and threaded through foliage, doing his best to slink like a feline predator. Chen’s smile only reached half his face. Vince could tell it meant Chen noted his improvement. The two fell on their bellies behind a small mound of dirt.
Chen pulled binoculars out of his pack. “This gets us a view of the kitchen. Door to the cellar meets right there.” He handed the equipment to Vince so he could see as well. “Get to know each piece of furniture in case you find yourself moving through it in the dark.”<
br />
Vince scanned the canopy of trees above them. It would be another hour before the summer sun set, but the shaded spot could limit light if the electricity got cut. He placed the binoculars to his face again and took in the cabinets, the stove, the fridge, and where they stood from the doors. A rifle-filled rack hung on a wall beside the fridge, and a couple hand guns lay on the counter at the ready. These guys weren’t playing.
Chen pulled the spy-glasses from Vince’s face. “Over there is the outside cellar door with the padlock. When the one leaves to get the cash, I’ll make a diversion over there.” He pointed toward a less densely forested area. “Hopefully, the other guy will come out, and you can get in through the back.”
Vince released a serrated breath. “Hopefully?”
Chen shrugged. “If not, I’ll think of something else. But I have a feeling he’ll come out for this.”
Vince knew better than to ask. He stared at the cabin, so quiet and lifeless. “What do we do now?”
Chen lay taut, every muscle at the ready as he continued to peer through the binoculars. “We wait.”
~*~
Cassandra pulled into the vacant lot. The kidnapper told her to wait here for her last instructions. She’d followed all the others to the letter. Good thing Lew was in the car. He evidently knew the area well. A couple times she couldn’t find the road Kevin had told her to take, but she’d describe things to Lew and he’d guide her back to the place she needed to go.
The crickets chirped in the open field in front of her. She took this moment to do the breathing she had forgotten to do on the drive.
“We there yet?” Lew’s voice filtered through the vinyl encasement.
Cassandra didn’t dare move her lips for fear she was being watched from somewhere. “He said one more call.”
Lew didn’t answer. No time for pleasant replies or unnecessary words. Silence and solitude needed to be apparent from anyone who might view them from the outside.
Flee From Evil Page 23