by P. G. Van
“I don’t care what your name is, you were the guy who saved me from being butchered by the goons.” Her voice reverberated.
“I… I was doing my job.”
“Then why did you pretend to be my friend, why did you go out with me, why did you… why did you kiss me if you were doing your job and disappeared the next day, without a trace?” Her words flew endlessly as she fought back angry tears.
Neil had hoped she would have forgotten all about him when he agreed to the job of kidnapping her. He knew it was a bad move when he realized she remembered the moment that threatened to consume him and distract him six years ago. That one moment, he made a promise to himself to keep her safe forever. That one moment had the potential to derail his plan for revenge if he had not broken the promise and left.
“I have no fucking idea what you are talking about.” He denied any memory of the kiss.
“Liar… you can keep lying to yourself and continue doing a stellar job of delivering your package,” she snarled looking away from him.
Neil did not respond not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t know what to say. Something deep inside him burned every time she sniffled. He caught a quick glance and saw her resting her head against the window with her eyes shut. He realized it was best to let the conversation die a natural death. The engine roared matching the burn inside him as he drove the super sleek vehicle through the night.
Narmada felt the vibrations from the engine and the heat from his anger, but she was disappointed her tears didn’t melt him. It was one of the many facets she had planned to put on to get him to let her go. She knew she had to play every trick in the book to get him to soften.
She kept her eyes partially shut, her face turned away from him. She caught a glimpse of his expression on the glass of the window every time they passed through a street light and knew he was going to be hard to crack. She was tough and had to be tough growing up with two older brothers. Her resilience was tested growing up, and she had it in her to endure any situation.
*****
The air was different, she could tell from how crisp and clean it felt on her skin. She had stayed up long hours pretending to be sniffling and mumbling in her sleep as he drove in dead silence. She had dozed off at some point and woke up to voices not far away.
The car wasn’t moving, and it was parked to one side of a narrow mud road. It had to be early hours as the sun was barely up, and she looked in the direction of the voices.
Neil was talking to an elderly shopkeeper. He sipped a hot drink while he chatted effortlessly. She could use a hot drink loaded with caffeine. She needed it for the day ahead. She gingerly unlocked the car and landed her feet on the surface of loose soil without getting out of the car.
She looked in Neil’s direction and smiled when their eyes met, but he did not return her smile. She pulled her body off the car seat and walked toward him feeling the soreness in her muscles from sitting all night.
“Good morning.” She looked away from Neil smiling at the elderly man behind the food stall. “Can I please get some Chai?”
The man smiled and stepped away to fix her drink. She slowly turned to look at him when she felt the burn from his stare.
“Why are you looking at me like you want to eat me,” she teased.
He did not respond, his expression did not change nor did he avert his eyes from her face.
“Fine, don’t talk to me. It’s not like we are friends anyway.”
She almost started to panic thinking she would have no way to reason with him to let her go when he did not respond immediately, but he finally spoke.
“Yes, we were never friends.”
“Well then… thank you for saving my life.” She batted her eyelashes.
He nodded and looked away when the elderly man approached with her drink.
“Thank you, sir, my husband tells me you make the best Chai.”
The elderly man almost blushed before walking back to stand behind the stall. She took her drink to the car without another glance his way, but knew her statement surprised him.
Narmada sipped the hot liquid and felt her body regain some energy. She watched him in the side mirror of the car as he conversed with the elderly man. The conversation seemed genuine making her wonder if Neil knew the man well.
She sat in the car continuing to observe him in the mirror wondering what technique she should use next to get away from him. She looked at the greenery around her, fantasizing about running away and hiding in the shrubbery, but she knew better. She would get her freedom if Neil let her go—if not, there seemed to be no way to run and hide from him.
An uncomfortable silence enveloped them as they drove away from the coffee shop. She could not bear the silence another second.
“How much do I owe you for the Chai?” she blurted and a second later wanted to kick herself.
“What?”
She was glad she got a response from him. “You didn’t get your drink for free, did you?”
He clenched his jaw like he couldn’t believe his ears. “You owe me for the hotel and your dinner last night,” he retorted.
“You owe me for damaging my outfit,” she barked.
“I’m not paying for it.”
“I will make you pay for it,” she grumbled making him shake his head, a slight smile playing on his lips.
She was relieved she was able to get him to the state where she could talk to him again.
“You know I will. Remember the time I made Jessi pay for my ice cream because he made me drop it?” She turned to look at him.
A slight curve appeared on the edge of his mouth, but he did not let his smile show.
“You’ve turned into a stuck up.” Her statement made him jerk visibly, but he slowly shook his head. She was trying hard to get him to react, talk, or even lash out, but he had not shown any strong emotion since the time he ripped off her blouse.
Narmada was getting impatient as she knew she didn’t have much time. She had figured out she was being taken to whoever wanted her kidnapped, and they were traveling at night so they weren’t spotted. She looked out the window taking in the rural setting that made the sports car look out of place. She wondered how anyone could stay ‘under the radar’ in a luxury car driving through green fields.
CHAPTER 4
“Neil, I need you to stop… now. I’m starving.” Narmada pointed to a small restaurant off of the highway. It was late morning, and the place looked empty. She had hoped for a few more people to be around to attempt a run, but she had to try.
“You will not like this place. You ate less than an hour ago,” he sneered.
“I’m hungry, and I will eat whatever is available here… pull over,” she urged.
Neil growled under his breath but pulled off the highway and slowed down as they got closer to the restaurant. The place looked old, but it was clean. There was a young woman standing behind a desk, and a few men moved around the empty dining area.
Losing all hope of attempting a run, Narmada walked up to the woman and smiled at her. “Which way is the bathroom?”
“It is back there.” The woman pointed to a door all the way on the other side of the dining area.
“Sorry to ask but when was it cleaned last?” Narmada scrunched her nose.
The woman laughed. “It is clean, but it is a common bathroom. You can use the bathroom in my office if you don’t mind walking through the kitchen.”
“Oh sure,” she said cheerfully and turned to look at Neil as he approached them.
“What did you order?” His voice was sweet, and she noticed he put on a good show in public.
“Why don’t you order something for me to eat? I am going to go use the bathroom.”
“It’s that way,” he pointed at the door on the other side of the room.
“You can use that one, sweetheart. I have a special one.” She winked at him, before turning away to follow the woman toward the kitchen.
The woman smil
ed at her. “You two make such a cute couple.”
Narmada’s heart leaped not because of what the woman said but with another thought. It was the first time she was truly away from under his eyes, the place was empty, and he seemed to be okay with her walking away from him. She needed to take advantage of it.
“He… we are not a couple,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry, the way he looked at you… I thought you were together.” She stopped in the middle of the small office.
Narmada took a deep breath. “He is my kidnapper, and I was kidnapped from my home… I don’t even know when.”
The woman looked at her, in disbelief. “I’m sorry.”
“I know I should be running, screaming my head off, but it’s not going to help. I need help, he is too powerful for me.”
“Did he hurt you?” The woman’s voice was cold.
“No… he is taking me to someone else, and I need to get away,” she pleaded.
“Hang on.” She walked to the door and called out loudly to someone.
“My brothers can help,” the woman whispered.
Two burly men walked into the office wearing aprons and hair nets. “My brothers will stop him, and I can take you to the nearest police station.”
Narmada swallowed but nodded.
“I will take her to the back door.” The woman signaled to her brothers.
“Where is your car?” one of the men asked the woman.
“It’s up front, but I will take the grocery van. Just keep an eye on him,” the woman ordered leading Narmada back into the kitchen.
Narmada’s stomach clenched in anticipation as she followed the woman toward a door on one side of the kitchen. Her heart banged away in her chest like it was opposing her actions. A feeling she couldn’t comprehend loomed over her as she climbed into the back of the van.
“Keep your head down,” the woman suggested.
Narmada fought the knot that was forming in the pit of her stomach and sat on the floor of the filthy van resting her head on the metal side of the van. Her head started to spin, and she told herself it would be a few minutes before the rotten smell in the van would stop making her dizzy.
She had no idea what she was going to do when she arrived at the police station. She didn’t want to go back home, and all she could think about was the freedom she would have for living her life the way she wanted to. She looked at the thick anklets snugly wrapped around her ankles and knew she had to part with them to get started.
The woman slowly drove the van around the side of the building. She could tell the woman was nervous from the way she was breathing. The woman squealed, and the slow-moving van came to a sudden stop slamming Narmada’s head against the back of the seat.
“Where is she?” an overly familiar male voice demanded.
Narmada froze but not from fear, her body was reacting to how upset he sounded… more disappointed.
“She… she is in the bathroom,” the woman’s voice wavered.
Narmada heard his footsteps on the river stones that lined the side of the restaurant as he came around to the driver’s side of the vehicle.
“Narmada,” he called into the van, but she did not move.
“The woman is in the bathroom. I need to go pick up groceries,” the woman pleaded, and Narmada knew she was probably shaken up by Neil’s tone.
Narmada had enough and decided it was a futile effort to run and was about to open the door on the side of the van when the tires screeched on the muddy driveway. The woman had floored the van knocking Neil off to the side.
Narmada watched in horror as Neil’s body hit against the side wall and bounced off the wall to slam his body against the large van as it drove away.
The large, dark tinted window on the side of the van cracked, and she looked at him through the broken glass.
“Stop,” she yelled out. “Stop, please.”
The woman slammed on her brakes, and Narmada pushed open the back door of the van. She stepped out of the van, but her legs were too weak, and she fell flat on the muddy driveway.
“Narmada,” Neil rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms.
Her body shuddered as he held her to him, her face hidden in his chest. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have…”
Narmada’s voice trailed off when she felt Neil being pulled away from her. She watched as the woman’s brothers pulled him away from her.
“Get into the van!“One of the men yelled, but her eyes were riveted on the man who was not fighting his captors. Instead, he had a small smile playing on his lips like he knew she wasn’t going to run.
“C’mon,” the woman shouted from behind her.
She briefly turned to look at the woman before picking up her feet from the mud to run toward Neil’s car.
“Neil, let’s get out of here,” she called out and heard the twin thuds as he slammed the two men to the floor.
Narmada mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ looking at the woman who stared at her, a shell-shocked expression on her face.
Neil pulled the car out of the parking lot of the restaurant making the engine rattle. It took her a few minutes to be able to look at him. His profile looked dangerously chiseled, and she gathered all the courage she could before speaking.
“I… I’m sorry… I…” Her words dove into her mouth when she saw a patch of red on his light-colored t-shirt.
“Neil, you are bleeding,” her voice shook with guilt. “I’m sorry.”
“Stop it, Narmada,” he growled.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking…” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at the growing patch of blood on his shirt. The wound seemed to be on his arm, closer to his shoulder, but it didn’t seem to bother him.
“Neil, please pull over. You are bleeding badly.” It was a plea, and she didn’t know why her heart wrenched at the sight of his blood when she had seen a lot of bloodshed in the past.
“So, you could make a run into the wild?” he sneered.
“I’m sorry, I will not run. I promise never to leave you.” The words rolled off her lips sending jolts of shock through her.
Her breathing was strained when he pulled off the highway to stop under a tree. She heard him curse as he got out and walked to the back of the car. He opened the trunk and pulled a t-shirt out of his bag.
Narmada opened her door and stepped on the gravel with her entire body trembling. “Are you okay?”
He looked her but did not respond. He had his hand pressed to the side of his arm. The spot on his shirt was getting bigger. She took in a hissed breath. “Neil, let me look at it.”
“I’ll be fine…just need to apply pressure.”
She shook away the guilt that threatened to weigh on her and took a step closer to him. She pushed away his hand and attempted to roll up his sleeve to check.
Neil was too fast for her, he held her hand in a strong grip away from his arm. “I’m fine.”
“I just need to look at it,” she snapped.
His eyes bore into hers as he slowly released his hold on her hand and stood still as she reached for the hem of his sleeve. She pushed the sleeve up and felt him wince.
“I can’t see the wound.” She let the sleeve go and lifted the hem of his t-shirt a few inches, her eyes never leaving his.
She pulled his t-shirt slowly over his head and gasped when she saw an angry hole on the back of his arm close to his shoulder. Blood was oozing from a small hole-like wound.
“Neil, how did you get this cut?” She gasped taking her shaky fingers to the reddened skin pressing her thumb to stop the bleeding.
“It’s no big deal. Just put this Band-Aid on it.”
“We need to go see the doctor. The bleeding is not stopping.” She frantically pressed down on what seemed to be a deep hole in his flesh and noticed a few scary looking scars on his chest.
“Neil, what happened?” she ran her fingers over the old scars almost scared to touch them.
Tears gathered in he
r eyes as she saw more on his upper chest and his sides. She ran her hand over the one on his side. “Is this the one you got when…” Her lips trembled at the memory of the night she witnessed Neil kill a man who attacked her six years ago.
“Narmada…”
“I’m sorry.” She pressed her palm on the wound and wrapped the other hand around him. His skin felt hot on her cheek as she buried her face into his chest.
“Will you let me bleed while you keep apologizing?” he teased.
“Let’s go to a hospital,” she pleaded.
“Not necessary, but I could use your help. Keep your hand where it is.” He instructed reaching for a small pouch in his bag. He rubbed hand sanitizer on his hands and pulled out a surgical needle and thread.
Neil straightened his back and held the needle and thread in his hand. “I think I’ll need stitches.”
“Yes, let’s go see a doctor.”
“No. Can you do what you are asked to do this one time?” He laughed. Relief swept over her when she heard the sound of pure joy.
“Fine, what do I need to do?”
Narmada’s hand trembled as she splashed the side of his arm with an antiseptic liquid and took the needle and thread from him.
“I’ve never done this before,” she confessed.
“You need to run the needle between the broken skin once.” His voice was calm.
“I can’t… it hurts.” She shook her head.
“Narmada, it will stop hurting as soon as you stitch it up.”
“Please, you need a doctor.”
“Either you do it, or we get into the car and keep driving.” Neil sounded impatient.
“I’ll do it,” she blurted.
With trembling fingers, she dug the needle into his skin. He did not move or wince as she expected, but she felt the sting from the needle. She felt suffocated as she dug the needle into the other half of the cut.
She stood facing his back sobbing softly as she splashed some alcohol on the wound and put a bandage over it.
“It was so stupid of me to try to run from you.” She hid her face in her hands unable to look at him.
Neil looked at the woman who sobbed for the smallest cut he’s had in his life and something stirred inside him. He felt miserable about her shedding tears, but a small voice told him those tears were for him. He pulled on a fresh t-shirt and put his arms around her.