He tried to pay attention to the changes in road noise, traffic sounds, the turns the truck made. But everything was so muffled that he had no clue where they might be. Had it been an hour? Two? He had no idea. With his watch gone, and his mind a fog, time as he knew it didn’t exist anymore. His every moment was measured by stabs of pain that shot through his body with every beat of his heart. His hip had long ago gone numb. But, if anything, the pain in his head was worse than before. He felt every shift of the truck’s wheels on the pavement, every pothole, every slide of gravel.
Wait. Gravel?
“We’re slowing down,” she whispered.
He nodded, then remembered she couldn’t see him. “Yes. We are. And we’ve turned onto a gravel road. Wherever he’s taking us, we’re close.” He carefully pulled their linked arms over her head so they were side by side again, instead of nestled against each other.
The brakes squealed as the truck lurched to a halt.
Her fingers clenched his. “Now would be a good time to share your plan.”
Right. If only he had one. His thoughts were so jumbled. “Stay alert. Be observant. As soon as that door opens, evaluate your options and react. If he’s stupid enough to stand in striking distance, we tackle him. But I don’t expect he’ll do that.”
“So we have no plan.”
He sighed. “Pretty much. But that doesn’t mean there’s no hope. All it takes is one mistake on his part, one moment when his guard is down. Then we’ll get the upper hand.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I have to. We both have to. I’m not operating on all pistons right now, and my vision was blurry at the Brodericks’ house so I’m not expecting much better when he lets us out of here. I need you to fill in the gaps. Pay attention when he opens that door. Get a three-sixty view. We need to know what’s around us. Where to run if we get a chance.”
“Okay. I’ll... I’ll do my best.”
The driver’s door creaked open.
“Come on,” he urged. “Let’s scoot to the end in case we can surprise him, take him down.”
Getting to his knees was beyond his capabilities at the moment. Instead, he had to scoot across the metal floor of the truck. Thankfully, it wasn’t that large and they were soon positioned beside each other at the doors.
The sound of shoes crunching on gravel came from outside. He was heading toward the back.
Bryson could feel her shivering against him. He silently cursed the man with all the power right now, the man who’d hurt her more than most people endured in their entire lifetime.
He gritted his teeth and braced himself, hoping she was ready to dive with him to tackle the man. There was no other option since they were still handcuffed together.
The left door flew back. Bryson hadn’t planned on near total darkness and hesitated for a moment. But Teagan was already hopping out of the truck. He hurriedly followed and together they rushed forward, hoping to wrap arms around their attacker. They both met empty air and stumbled against each other before falling back against the closed right door. It was the only reason Bryson managed to remain upright.
Laughter sounded off to the left. A powerful flashlight switched on, forcing them to squint and shield their eyes against the brightness.
“Good try.” The man chuckled again. “But I assumed you’d pull a stunt like that so I stayed behind the door, out of reach.” He lowered the light to point at the ground, directly in front of them. Dirt and gravel mixed with pine needles and other debris. Since the only sounds were insects buzzing close by, it was a safe bet that they were somewhere outside of town, an hour, two, maybe more from Jacksonville if his judgment on how much time had passed was accurate. But he couldn’t be sure. Their captor may have driven in circles to disorient them and then drove to some rural part of town. Jacksonville was the largest city in the country by landmass, so they could easily still be in Duval County but nowhere near any homes or businesses.
Teagan’s fingers curled around his. Perhaps she was beginning to realize how isolated they were, and wondering the same thing that he was—what happens next?
Without the flashlight in his eyes, he was able to make out more details now. The moon and stars provided enough light tosee that they were surrounded by trees and Florida scrub, mostly small thin bushes and sharp palmettos ready to skewer anyone foolish enough to go for a walk in the woods.
The gunman stood about twenty feet away, out of reach, a dark silhouette with his arm extended, pistol gleaming in his grip. “Get moving.” He motioned with the flashlight to their right, aiming it at what was apparently their destination, a tiny cabin.
“I need my cane,” Bryson called out.
The flashlight swept back toward their captor. He aimed it up toward his own face, a slow smile spreading across his cheeks as he pulled something out of his pocket. “Let me guess. Because you wanted these?” He shook the two tiny keys on the end of a chain, making them click against each other. “Handcuff keys hidden in the cane’s handle. I knew you were awfully insistent on wanting that stupid thing. Took me half the trip fiddling with it to figure it out.”
He threw the keys into the trees, then leaned down and grabbed the cane, which had been lying at his feet. “Afraid you’ll have to do without it. I’m not risking another trick in that thing that I haven’t figured out yet.” He tossed the cane into the woods behind him. “Now go on.” He swept the flashlight in an arc toward the cabin again. “Teagan, stop standing there like a statue and help your boyfriend before he falls down.” He chuckled.
Bryson looked at her. She hadn’t moved since they’d tried tackling the gunman without success. Her fingers holding his were cold, stiff. Her body shook as she stared wide-eyed at the little house in the clearing. And then it dawned on him why. He’d seen it before, in crime scene photos.
The killer had brought them back in time, two years to be exact. He’d brought them to the infamous shack where he’d once held Teagan captive.
Chapter Fourteen
