"Pretty little thing ain't ya?"
Fighting against the light that attacked her eyes, Elizabet kept them open to a minimum and tried to take in her surroundings. Sitting in an empty room devoid of furniture, she turned her head and caught a glimpse of Alice's dress. Turning as best she could to look over her shoulder, Elizabet found the woman's head slumped forward.
"What did she expect?"
Elizabeth turned to face the man who'd taken her and screamed into his face.
"There's not much point in doing that now, Missy. There's no one around. You can scream your little head off." Picking up her head in his hand, Elizabet fought against his hold as he turned her face slowly from left to right. "Have to give it to him—old Chuck, has good taste."
Hearing the name and putting the facts together, she watched as the man smiled.
"What? You thought I was abducting you to have my wicked way with you?" Caressing her face, he added. "Although right now I'm sorely tempted. So which one are you, Alice or Elizabet?"
Trying to convey her hatred for the man, Elizabet stared hard at him and hoped he could read her how she felt. Stepping forward, Elizabet found him stretch over her and purposely brush his body against hers. Moving away from him as best she could, she watched as he took the sack off Alice's head and tossed it to the floor.
"Doesn't really matter anyway. She's not bad either. After Chuck comes and identifies you, I know he won't want any witnesses. So then it'll be just be me and Alice all on our own." Rubbing her face once more, he smiled. "I do hope you're not Elizabet. If you are, I might want to think twice about that deal I made with Chuck-"
Hearing the door open behind him, Elizabet looked passed him to the man who entered the room.
"Coast is clear."
"And?"
Elizabet watched as the one at the door, rubbed his knuckles and answered. "He won't be talking to anyone. Told him he didn't see nothin—didn't take much to get him to agree with me."
"Good. We'll only be here for a few hours anyway." Walking to the door, he spoke to the younger man in whispers. Looking her over, Elizabet felt her skin crawl as the pair undressed her with their eyes. Seeming happy at her discomfort, the first man took out a key and held it out. "Just because you're locked in here don't go getting any clever ideas. Make a noise, cause a scene and well, I think you know what'll happen." Tipping his hat, he added. "Now you two girls have a great day." Leaving it at that, the pair laughed as they left the room and locked the door.
Elizabet listened as the floor boards in the hall creaked as the pair walked away. Allowing them enough time to leave, she focused on the piece of cloth in her mouth. Biting down and working at it with her tongue, she found herself able to move it around. Knowing that she'd need to work on its restraint first to free it, Elizabet moved her head from side to side and worked on the bandanna that held it in place. Pushing with her tongue and moving her chin, she found it drop away from her mouth. Once done she spat the cloth free of her mouth and took a deep breath. Turning her attention to her hands Elizabet pulled on them and found them held firmly in place. Giving up on that idea, she turned and whispered loudly over her shoulder.
"Alice!"
Out of the corner of her eye, Elizabet found her friends head hang limply. Knowing that any escape would have to be her own doing, she tried her best to shake the chair she sat on. Confused by its lack of movement, Elizabeth looked down and found it tied firmly to Alice's. Pressing down on the floor firmly with her feet, she found the task of moving Alice's dead weight an impossible one.
"Alice, wake up!"
As before, Elizabet watched as Alice's head hung low and didn't respond. Wondering how she was doing, Elizabet thought back to the last time she'd seen Alice and the sickening blow she'd taken. Hit over the head with the butt of a pistol, she fallen like a sack of potatoes to the ground and been unconscious ever since. Thinking at first that their attack was related to money, Elizabet had found a strong hand placed over her mouth and had feared the worst. Going through all the scenarios of rape or possible murder, she knew she wasn't going to go down without a fight. Remembering back to how wildly she'd fought against her attacker, she thought strange the next thing he'd asked her. Leaning in close and not taking his hand off her mouth, he asked, "Are you Elizabet? Nod your head if you are."
Her mind filled with questions, and wondering what giving her identity away would mean to both she and Alice, she'd remained perfectly still and silent. Looking to Alice's attacker and watching him tie her hands and feet together, she ignored the question in her ear again and kept silent.
"Just forget it, she's not going to tell you."
Looking as the man finished with Alice, she remembered the way he climbed off of her and walked over confidently. Smiling in her face, he'd said, "It doesn't matter. We'll take the two of them. And if she tries anything we'll just shoot her friend."
All the way to their final destination, Elizabet had played that conversation over and over again in her head. Now she knew, there was only one man who was crazy enough to do this. Charles. But making a move like this, especially an illegal one like kidnapping, was putting him in a whole new light. Now she knew his earlier threat in New York hadn't been an idle one. But this was San Francisco. Surely he hadn't traveled across the country, had he? She knew she'd find out soon enough. Looking to the doorway, Elizabet prayed it would be Tom that she'd see first, but something inside her said that wasn't going to happen.
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Review Of "The Irish Runaway."
"Shannon lost her brother. Sean is on a mission to make her his but Shannon runs away to become a mail order bride taking someone else's name. This story has drama a mad man and then there's Dominic lots of suspense well written and short with an ending you will enjoy."
Thank You
Thank you for purchasing this book. If you have a moment and enjoyed reading it, could you take a moment now to leave a review? I love to feature my reviews on my FaceBook fan page, and even in my books! I'll be incorporating the next round of reviews into my future books. Maybe I'll be able to feature yours?
BUT FIRST: If there was something in the book that you feel caused it to not warrant a good review (yikes!), please let me know by emailing me at [email protected] I'd love to try and fix that, if I can.
Thank you again.
Catherine Harper.
Mail Order Bride: Love On The Line: A Mail Order Brides Western Romance Page 8