“You have a neighbor with a key?” the one in the back asked. “Or a friend?”
“Yeah.” It wasn’t a lie. There was an elderly lady across the hall who loved Stahma and said she reminded her of a cat she had as a child. “Do you have my phone?”
There was a pause as they drove down the bumpy road.
He reached around to press her thumb to the scanner to unlock it. “Don’t snoop,” she said firmly. There were more than a few photos they didn’t need to see. “Her name is Helen Crawley. She’s old as fuck and only has a landline.”
The bag on her head was lifted only enough to expose her mouth. Then, she heard the sound of a phone ringing on speaker.
“Hello?” Helen answered in her usual happy lilt.
“Hey, Helen, it’s Willow.”
“Oh hello, dear!”
Her heart was beating so rapidly she felt unsteady. This could be her moment to get help, but they might kill her. Shit. She couldn’t risk it. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she said, “So, there was a family emergency and I had to leave town. Could you check in on Stahma? Please?”
“Of course!” There was a sound coming through like she was gathering things. “I’ll go see the little sweetheart now.”
“Thank you, Helen. I’m not sure when I’ll be back yet. Her feeder should be full, if you clean the litter box, I can p—”
“Don’t you dare, Willow. Just let me know when you’ll be home. Hope your family is okay. I’ll take care of the little princess.”
“Thank you.”
“Uh-huh. Bye now.”
Then the line went dead. Her only shot to tell someone she’d been kidnapped and was now trapped in some random town. Since she’d taken the week off to play her stupid game, her job wouldn’t even know she was gone. The only person who would notice was Landon and he lived in fucking Costa Rica.
The bag was pulled back down over her mouth and he firmly pushed her back down to the floor.
After a few minutes, the vehicle slowed and the muffled sounds of car doors and voices drifted through the space. The store must’ve been busy.
The driver spoke. “Be back in ten. Hopefully. This place is fuckin’ mobbed.” His voice turned teasing. “Good girl for not screaming or blabbing to that old cat lady. Maybe I’ll get you a treat if you keep behaving for my friend here.”
A hand tightened on her side and the pressure from what she assumed was the gun increased.
She managed to nod and make a non-committal noise. It was enough to satisfy him because she heard the shuffle of clothing and the door shutting.
Silence settled between Willow and the man holding her hostage. She didn’t know what to say, or if she should ask him something. So far, they hadn’t hit her or done anything to hurt her. Well, except the drugging and they were going to shoot her in the head. But they could have done worse leading up to that point. She wasn’t injured at all.
Except the strain on my fucking shoulder.
But they didn’t know that. If they didn’t change her position once they were in the new location though, she would be complaining loudly. At least she had a gnarly scar to back her up.
She remembered how the one holding her had called her ‘pretty girl’. He had been gorgeous when she’d bumped into him—they both were. Now with the masks, something about them was even more alluring.
Why am I drawn to red flags like a fucking bull?
“So, why do you want to kill Sam?”
The man let out a long breath, but said nothing.
“She doesn’t seem very dangerous.”
“Stop talking.”
Willow moved to get into a better position and accidentally rubbed against what felt like his leg.
