Chapter 13
Olivia woke from thevehicle’s jostling motion. Her head and jaw were throbbing, and a sharp pain shot through her right wrist and up the length of her arm, any time she tried to move.
The cut on the inside of her left arm was still bleeding, but seemed to have tapered off some. Olivia knew she’d already lost a lot of blood, because the entire right side of her scrub top was soaked through, sticking to her skin beneath it.
Looking around slowly, she realized she was in the back of some sort of SUV. She tried to move again, but her hands were tied together in front of her with thick, coarse rope, increasing the pain in her wrist.
She started to panic. Wanted to scream for someone to help her. More than anything, she wanted Jake.
Images from her last day at his cabin began moving rapidly through her mind. It was like was watching them through one of those toys she’d had as a kid. The ones with the pictures on the slides. With each click, she replayed the scenes.
She was standing with Mikey and Jake in Jake’s living room.Click.Talking with her brother in Jake’s bedroom.Click.Jake standing at his door, begging her not to go as tears ran down his face.Click.
Feeling lost and betrayed as she walked out that door.Click, click, click.
Jake wouldn’t be coming this time. There’d be no rescue, because she’d told him to stay away. Olivia could still see the devastating look on his face when she’d told him goodbye.
Tears filled her eyes, but only a few fell before she forced the rest away. Crying wasn’t going to help. She had no way to call anyone, so if she was going to make it out of this alive, she’d have to depend on herself to do it.
Glancing over her shoulder, she looked at the top of the seat she was laying behind. No one was sitting there, and it was tall enough to conceal any small movement she made.
She listened, hearing Cetro’s voice along with another man’s.Great. He brought a friend.
Olivia couldn’t understand what they were saying, because they spoke low, and in Spanish. As she continued to listen, Olivia became confident that they were the only two men with her in the vehicle.
Becoming more brave with her movements, she ignored the pain and began looking around as best she could for something,anythingthat could be used as a weapon to defend herself.
Of course, it couldn’t be like the action movies she’d seen. or the mystery books she’d read, where the damsel in distress always found a tire iron or a screwdriver conveniently lying around. There was nothing Liv could see that would help her.
Her body rolled slightly as the SUV turned onto what sounded like a gravel road, and she had to bite back a moan. Not long after, they turned again, driving a short distance before stopping.
Olivia’s heart rate was through the roof, and she had to force herself to take in deep, even breaths. Panicking right now would only ensure her death.
And she didn’t want to die. There was too much left to do. So much she needed to say.Not now, Bradshaw.
Her problems with Jake would have to wait. Olivia needed to figure out what she could do to fight off two grown men by herself.
Assuming they were both armed, and she was tied up and injured, her choices slim to none. Even so, Olivia refused to give up. She may go down, but by God, she’d go down fighting.
Their doors shut loudly, and their voices travelled around the sides of the SUV toward the back. Olivia quickly shut her eyes and pretended to be unconscious.
The back of the SUV darkened with the men’s shadows. She listened intently as they spoke. Thankfully, in English, this time.
“She’s still out.” She heard the other man say.
“Good,” Cetro responded.
