One of the men grabbed me, holding a foul-smelling rag over my face.I’d blacked out.I had no idea where I was or how long I’d been out for.
I still felt dizzy, and I reached one hand out to the wall to steady myself.I squinted at my surroundings.A supply closet, maybe?The room was about twenty-five feet square, with a pile of rags and half a dozen mops and brooms propped up against one wall.A small window covered in grime was set high on the far wall.
In the other direction lay the door.I struggled to my feet, and two steps took me right to it.Wrapping my fingers around the doorknob, I tried to turn it.Not surprisingly, it was locked.
I leaned against the door and took a deep breath to clear my head.
When I felt a bit more balanced, I glanced up at the window.Too high to be easily reached.And even if I managed to get up to it and it actually opened, I doubted I’d be able to squeeze out of the small opening.
A sound penetrated from beyond the door.I turned my head, placing my ear against the cold wood.Men’s voices.I closed my eyes and strained to hear what was being said.
They weren’t trying to be quiet.I could make out two voices.They meshed with my vague memories of the kidnapping.
“How do we know her boyfriend is one of the guys after us?”
One of them snickered.“The boss saw the guy tracking us on surveillance a month or so ago.Guy’s connected, if you know what I mean.Lots of info online about him, including family.Didn’t take much to research the sister and get her to fall for Julien on one of those dating apps.Pillow talk was golden.She loves to brag about where he is, and when the idiot fell for the sister’s roommate Julien saw it as our chance.Talk about having the perfect bait fall right into your lap.This Ryland guy is nuts about the broad we snatched.The boss is going to send the guy an ultimatum.He backs off or his little bitch gets it.”
“Do you think he’ll actually do it?”
“She better hope so.The boss isn’t fooling around.If he thinks this Ryland guy isn’t doing what he’s told, he’ll start sending the girlfriend back to him piece by piece.”
I put a hand over my mouth to stifle a gasp.They sounded so matter of fact.As if they were discussing laundry or grocery shopping.But they weren’t.They were talking about me.About slicing me up into little pieces and sending those pieces to Ryland.
I needed to escape.ASAP.
Glancing wildly around my prison, I gave the window another look.Maybe?It would be tight.I should have stuck to that no-carb diet last summer.Hindsight.Always great.
“You think he’s going to let her go once he gets the bear?She can probably ID us, and maybe him too, if she figures it out.”
“She hasn’t figured it out yet, and Julien has been careful not to let the dumb bitch see him.The roommate doesn’t have any pictures either.Smart move, telling her it’s against his religion to have his picture taken.”
A loud snicker.“Yeah.I can’t believe she fell for that.Anyways, whatever happens, happens.You know the boss isn’t about to take a fall, so yeah, there’s a good chance we’ll have to dispose of the chick.”
“I didn’t sign up for murder.”The second man sounded hesitant.
“It’s a bit late to back out now.If the boss thinks you’re not all in, he won’t hesitate to get rid of you too.”
“I didn’t say that.It’s just… I’ve never killed someone in cold blood.And she’s a woman.She ain’t done nothing.Just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Think of her as another animal.It’s easier if you don’t talk to them before you do it, you know?Don’t think of the mark as a person.And this time there’s a nice fat payout.If we don’t find that white bear, the boss is going to be in a worse mood than he already is.This gig went south in a hurry.”
“Sure did.Who the hell are these Brotherhood guys, anyway?Never heard of them before.Do you think maybe there’s a curse on us?By a spirit or something watching over the bear.You know the Natives think they’re special.”
A loud snort sounded from the first guy.“We don’t even know there really is a white bear.It could be a hoax.Some kind of local PR stunt.You know how rumors are.Someone wanted to sound like a big shot, so they pretended they saw one of those spirit bears and the next thing you know, everyone’s seen the damn thing.Then the local tourist association grabs on to it to bring in people and fleece them for money.There’s probably a good reason they’re called ghost bears.Probably aren’t even real.”
“Yeah.”He sounded doubtful.“Maybe.Pity though.Can you imagine the kind of money an animal like that would bring in once we pieced it out?”
I kept one ear cocked for any sounds indicating the kidnappers planned to come check on me while I sidled over to the mops stacked haphazardly in the corner.My heart thudded so loud I was amazed they hadn’t heard it and come to investigate.
I took a few deep breaths, willing the panic to subside.
I had too much to live for.I wasn’t about to let two scummy poachers end it now.What would Diego do without me?He wasn’t exactly a coveted breed that would have a dozen people waiting to adopt him.I needed to get out of here for his sake.
Eyeing the mop with the thickest handle, I plucked it from the bunch and unscrewed the disgustingly smelly head, tossing it back on the pile of rags.The door was locked, but sooner or later one of those men casually discussing my murder was going to come in and check up on me.
If I could trip them up, I’d have a chance to escape.Slim chance, depending on where the other guy was.Not likely that both of them would come to check.
From what I could recall, both men were on the hefty side.They probably outweighed me by at least fifty pounds, and if they were used to tramping through bush to poach animals, then they would be in good physical shape.
