by Hope White
A hug from Jenna.
A few minutes later the door opened again, and the bearded guy stormed inside.
Carrying Jenna over his shoulder.
Matt automatically fisted his hands. “What happened?”
The assailant dropped Jenna on the sofa and went to look out the window. Even from here, Matt could tell the snowfall had turned into a blizzard.
“Is she okay?” Matt demanded. He couldn’t see her well enough to determine her injuries, but thought he saw a smudge of blood on her cheek. “Well, is she?”
“She’s unconscious.”
“But is she okay?”
“How would I know?” the assailant shouted and glared at Matt. “I’m not a doctor.”
Upset by the guy’s tone of voice, Eli burst into another round of wails.
The guy snapped his attention to the little boy. With narrowed eyes and a firm set to his lips, he took a step closer to Eli.
“I can calm him down,” Matt offered.
The man took another step toward Eli.
“Try giving him the Binky,” Matt said.
“I don’t do kids.”
“I practically raised my nephew. They call me the baby whisperer.”
The guy glanced from Matt to Eli, considering.
“Look, you’ve got the gun,” Matt said.
“That’s right, I do.” The assailant slowly turned and went to the sofa. Hovering over Jenna’s unconscious body, he pressed the gun barrel against her head. “I would have no problem pulling the trigger on this one.”
Matt fisted his hands. “I understand.”
The guy trailed the tip of the gun against her hairline, as if caressing her, toying with her. Matt clenched his jaw so tight he thought it might snap.
Eli’s sobs grew louder, more insistent.
“The baby?” Matt prompted.
Casting one last, sinister smile at Jenna, the man crossed the room. He pulled a small key out of his pocket and came up behind Matt, probably wanting to avoid a head butt or other aggressive move. Matt would never risk something like that until he was free of the cuffs.
The guy placed the metal key between Matt’s fingers.
Then he stepped away, walking back to the sofa where he repositioned himself behind Jenna.
Matt unlocked the cuffs, stood and tossed them on the kitchen table. Rubbing his wrists, he went to Eli and kneeled. Inside his snowsuit he found the boy’s pacifier hooked on a ribbon clipped to his overalls. “Here ya go, buddy.” Matt popped it into Eli’s mouth and unbuckled him.
“Leave him in the car seat,” the guy ordered.
“Do you want him to stop crying or not?” Matt said.
The jerk raised an eyebrow and nodded at the gun aimed at Jenna.
“He won’t stop crying unless I get him out of this wet diaper,” Matt said.
The guy motioned toward the door where he’d dropped the diaper bag. Matt went to work by removing Eli’s snowsuit and picking him up. “It’s gonna be okay, buddy.”
He grabbed the diaper bag on his way to the kitchen table, intensely aware of the gun pointed at Jenna’s head.
The man made a phone call. “It’s Veck. I need a pickup. My car’s blocked. I’ll text you the address...That’s unacceptable.” He glanced at Matt. “I’ve got them...No, I said ASAP...No guarantees.” He hung up and texted something into his phone.
“What’s this all about anyway?” Matt asked, unzipping the diaper bag and pulling out diapers and wipes. He’d continue to play the role of Matt the janitor and see how far that got him.
The bearded guy glanced briefly out the window.
“I never thought helping out a friend would be so dangerous,” Matt said. “Any chance I’m gonna live through this?”
No answer. Matt lay Eli on the portable changing pad and removed the boy’s pants to get to work on the fresh diaper.
“I mean, what do you want from an innocent woman like Jenna?” Matt said.
“Innocent? She kidnapped a kid.”
Good, at least Matt had gotten him talking. That was his goal, get him talking and make him see Matt, Jenna and Eli as human beings, not as an assignment.
“Eli’s mother asked Jenna to protect him.”
“This woman’s unstable,” the man said. “I’ve been hired to retrieve her and the child.”
“Who hired you?”
“You ask a lotta questions.”
Matt secured the new diaper in place. “Can you blame me? You choke me unconscious, handcuff me to a beam and now you’re threatening to kill Jenna. All I did was help out a friend.”
“This friend got you in a pile of trouble.”
“Yeah, well, I’m guessing if you were going to kill us you would have done so by now.”
“Don’t test me.”
Matt picked up the little boy and rocked from side to side to comfort him.
“Buh-buh,” Eli said, with a whimper.
Matt spotted the white bear in his diaper bag. “You want this?” He pulled it out and nuzzled it against the kid’s cheek.
“He’s quiet. Put him back in the car seat,” the guy ordered.
“He’ll just start wailing again.” Matt rocked Eli and made his way across the cabin toward Jenna.
“Stay back.” The guy aimed his gun at Matt and Eli.
Matt hesitated. “You seriously think I’m gonna pull a ninja move while holding this child? I want to check on Jenna.”
“She’s got a pulse.”
Matt took a step closer and noticed redness forming below her eye and blood seeping from a cut above her hairline.
“You’ve seen her. Get back.”
Matt did as ordered, considering his next move. With his thumb pressing against his fingertips, Eli tapped his mouth with a whimper. The little boy was hungry.
“Got you covered, big guy.” Matt dug in the diaper bag and pulled out a multigrain bar, squeezable applesauce and crackers.
“Don’t suppose you’d go get the cooler from the truck?” Matt asked the assailant.
The guy narrowed his eyes.
“Didn’t think so.” Matt put Eli down and opened the applesauce.
Thanks to the snacks, Eli wasn’t fussing anymore. With wide eyes, he held the applesauce container and sucked it down.
“How much trouble did I get into by being a good friend?” Matt asked the guy.
The bearded man shook his head.
“That bad, huh?”
The guy shrugged.
“Can you at least tell me who’s behind all this?”
“They need the kid. That’s all I know.”
But why? That’s what Matt couldn’t figure out.
“No, Joey, no,” Jenna muttered, thrashing from side to side. “I can’t... My baby,” she groaned with an emotional intensity that ripped through Matt’s chest.
“Joey...no!” She sat straight up, sobs racking her body.
“What’s wrong with her?” the thug said.
Matt picked up Eli, who gripped the applesauce in one hand and his bear in the other. “Jenna, you had a nightmare,” he said. “Open your eyes.”
“My baby, he’s gone... My baby,” she cried, rocking back and forth, while squeezing her head between her hands.
“Jenna, look at me.” Matt kneeled beside her. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he had to shake her out of this devastating spin. “Sweetheart, open your eyes. Eli needs you.”
“My baby?” she whispered.
“No, Eli, remember?” Matt encouraged.
With a half gasp, she looked at Eli, and her brows knit together in a confused frown.
“It’s okay. We’re all okay,” Matt said.
She studied Eli as if she knew something was wrong, that he wasn’t the child she’d cried out f
or, but couldn’t make sense of who Eli was.
“Buh-buh.” Eli reached out with his hand and tapped Jenna’s nose with his bear.
“That’s right, Eli, Bubba will make it better,” Matt said.
Jenna blinked and a tear trailed down her cheek.
“It’s okay,” Matt said.
She shook her head and flopped back down on the sofa.
“That’s it. Relax.” He stroked her blond hair with one hand, while holding Eli with the other. A few minutes later her breathing slowed and she’d fallen back asleep.
Eli swung the bear at Jenna, but Matt caught it before it made contact. Rest was what she needed. The longer she slept, the longer she’d be at peace and not realize the severity of their situation.
He released Eli, who toddled across the cabin toward the kitchen. Matt followed him, babyproofing along the way. His thoughts were absorbed with Jenna’s desperate cry for Joey.
“What was that about?” the thug asked.
“Haven’t a clue.”
“Uh-huh. You called her sweetheart.”
He couldn’t help it; the endearment had slipped out. “So what’s next?” Matt pressed.
“They’re coming to get us.” He shot a quick glance out the window at the intensifying snowstorm.
The weather would delay his associates’ arrival, whoever they were, hopefully giving Matt time to figure out how to get the advantage over the assailant without putting Jenna and Eli at risk.
Yeah, and how was he going to do that? He suspected Jenna suffered from a concussion and that’s what had caused her to confuse Eli with a child named Joey. She was so vulnerable, to both her past and the cruelty of the man standing behind her. Matt clenched his jaw against the anger eating him up inside.
Crazed emotions weren’t going to save them from this mercenary. Matt had to push his worry aside and come up with a plan.
Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.
* * *
A few hours later darkness blanketed the remote Montana countryside. The snowstorm had developed into a full-on blizzard.
The assailant seemed edgy, pacing from window to window. Of course he was anxious. This assignment wasn’t going anywhere near as planned. He’d been hired to retrieve Jenna and the little boy, but instead was stuck in a cabin with an incoherent woman, an energetic toddler and Matt, an unknown who could potentially overpower him.
It probably didn’t help that at this moment Eli was being incredibly cute, toddling from one piece of furniture to the next, burning off energy from eating applesauce, crackers and two multigrain bars for dinner. Even a hardened man like this mercenary wasn’t immune to Eli’s charm.
The guy kept checking his phone, firing off text messages, probably demanding his associates plow through the storm to get to him ASAP.
Eli started fussing, flopping down on the floor and crying in between gasps of breath. It was obviously bedtime.
Matt changed Eli’s diaper. “He’s ready for bed.”
The guy narrowed his eyes, as if trying to discern Matt’s strategy.
“I’m going to put him down in the bedroom,” Matt said.
“He can sleep here.”
“With all these lights on?”
“Fine, put him to bed.”
His tone actually sounded pleasant. Little Eli might have crept his way into the guy’s heart.
“But don’t do anything stupid.” He pointed the gun at Jenna.
On the other hand...
“It might take me a few minutes.” Matt gently picked up the fussy child. Eli whimpered and rubbed his eyes with a clenched fist.
Matt went into the bedroom and shut the door. His first instinct was to look for a way out, but he shoved that thought aside considering the reality of his situation.
Matt, Jenna and Eli were captives of a mercenary without a soul. Even if Matt fled the cabin, he’d never make it far in a blizzard, and he couldn’t leave Jenna behind.
“Let’s get you settled.” He clicked off the overhead light and turned on a bedside lamp, submerging the room in semidarkness.
Not wanting to put Eli on the bed for fear he’d roll off, Matt shoved the mattress onto the floor. He pulled back the comforter and laid Eli down. The boy kicked his feet and cried out, not wanting to sleep, unwilling to miss the action.
Matt lay down beside Eli and rubbed the furry polar bear against the boy’s nose. “What’s Bubba doin’? Is he kissing you?”
The boy blinked teary eyes at Matt.
“Kiss, kiss, kiss,” Matt whispered.
While trying to calm the little boy into sleep, another part of his mind drifted to Jenna.
She hadn’t awakened since her nightmare about Joey a few hours ago. Matt hoped she didn’t wake up while he was in here with Eli. He didn’t know what Jenna would do if she thought something had happened to Eli, that someone had taken him.
Matt hummed to the little boy while his brain fired off questions. How had the bearded guy known Jenna and Matt were on their way? Had they been wrong to trust Marcus? Or were they being tracked somehow?
This wasn’t the time to figure out who’d had a role in this. He needed to soothe Eli to sleep and develop a plan for a safe escape.
That gave him an idea. Since Marcus was a former SEAL turned security professional, he would no doubt keep weapons in the cabin. Matt could use a firearm right about now.
Eli rolled onto his tummy, stuck his bottom up in the air and sucked intently on his pacifier. Matt stroked his back, whispering, “Good boy, such a good boy.”
A few minutes later, Eli stopped fussing and Matt removed his hand. The boy didn’t stir. He had drifted into a deep sleep.
Matt eased off the mattress and quietly searched the room for a weapon. With Eli in here, Matt might have a chance to rescue Jenna and take down the assailant in the living room.
A slim chance if he wanted to avoid Jenna getting shot in the process.
Opening the dresser drawers, he sifted through Marcus’s clothes, but found nothing.
He moved on to the closet because that’s where Matt kept his lockbox for his gun. He glanced at Eli, still sound asleep. Matt searched the top shelf. Nothing. He kneeled and tapped on the closet floor searching for a secret compartment, but it was solid.
Where would Marcus keep his firearm?
Matt stood and scanned the room.
A trained soldier would want easy and quick access, and might not worry about locking it up because he didn’t have children living with him.
Footsteps echoed from the next room.
Matt repositioned himself beside Eli.
The door cracked open, and light from the living area poured into the room.
“Shh,” Matt said, stroking the boy’s back.
The guy peeked at Eli. As if he thought Matt was going to abscond with the child out the window into a blizzard.
“Close the door,” Matt said.
The man’s eye twitched with frustration, but he closed the door.
Matt stood and continued to search for a gun. Checking the nightstand, he found a flashlight. That would come in handy.
He grabbed it and froze. Thought he heard something.
The roar of an engine outside.
Not good. The bearded guy’s men were closing in.
Matt concentrated on finding a weapon. He dropped to the floor and searched beneath the bed, aiming the beam of light left, then right across the floor.
Nothing.
As the engine grew louder, Matt realized it sounded more like a snowmobile.
The engine stopped. They were just outside.
Matt lay flat on his back and pointed the flashlight beam up, beneath the bed.
“Bingo.” In a holster attached to the underside of the metal frame was a firearm.
<
br /> “Good man,” he whispered, reaching for it. Just as he heard a scream.
“No! Let me go!” Jenna cried out.
EIGHT
Matt ripped the gun out of its holster and bolted across the bedroom. He hesitated. Charging in there with guns blazing wasn’t going to help any of them. A squeak from Eli drew his attention to the sleeping child.
He had to be smart about this. Needed to know what he was dealing with before he took aggressive action.
Cracking the door open, he peered into the living room. Instead of multiple men storming the cabin, the bearded guy stood behind Jenna with a gun to her back. He was dragging her toward the front door.
“Tell them you’re friends with the owner,” the bearded guy ordered.
So these were not his men? Interesting.
“The owner?” Jenna seemed out of it, disoriented. She stumbled as she reached the door, bracing herself with an open palm against the sturdy wood.
“Don’t mess up,” the bearded guy growled.
“Where’s Joey?” she asked.
“Who?”
“I mean Eli—where’s Eli?” She snapped around to glare at the guy.
Pretty gutsy.
“Your friend’s got him in the other room.”
She started to look toward the bedroom, but the guy smacked the back of her head with an open palm.
“Hey!” she shouted.
Matt would certainly need to pray for self-control if he ever got this jerk alone.
“Everything okay in there?” a muffled voice called through the main door.
Matt gripped the gun. Watching, waiting. He was ready.
She opened the cabin door. “Yes?”
“Ma’am, I’m Officer Patterson with the county PD. Do you live here?”
“No, I’m...I’m visiting my friend, Marcus.”
“Is everything okay? You look—” he paused “—upset.”
“I...I was asleep.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”
“That’s okay.”
Matt hoped the cop would leave so he could take care of the bearded guy without putting the cop in danger.
“Ma’am, are you alone?”
“No, my friend Matt is here with me.”