Four
Awkward.
Quiet.
Suffocating.
I’m so ready for the damn ride to be over so I can show him my proof and get
these stupid ties off my ankles and wrists.
“How much longer?” Sunjiya asks, trying to break this uncomfortable as shit silence in the car.
“Fifteen minutes,” Akeem responds without taking his eyes off the highway.
They have been driving for over an hour, and because she is unfamiliar with this city or area, Sunjiya’s clueless of their true location. After she emerged from the bathroom, she was ordered up the stairs and out of the ranch home. The moment she was in Akeem’s rental car, he re-tied her ankles, together this time, and tied her wrists to the seatbelt on the door.
She tried her best to survey all of her surroundings, but after a few minutes in the car of only passing land, she drifted to sleep. The sedative in her system hasn’t completely worn off. Its residue mixed with a smooth ride caused her to close her eyes,forget her current predicament, and fall into a light slumber. She just pulled out of her sleep a few minutes ago.
After rotating her neck a few times to relieve its stiffness, she focuses her attention on the road. They have left the miles and miles of land and are now in the city with billboards and exit signs on the sides of the highway. According to the sign just ahead, Crescent Falls is twenty-miles away.
At least he’s being honest.
Akeem is in complete control. He’s calling the shots and carrying the guns, two now because he added a holstered one before they left the ranch. He could have been driving her to Miami and she’d be powerless to stop him. She’s at his mercy and there’s nothing she can do but hope her phone and ID are enough to convince him she’s not Tanjaya and is only in this city because Tanjaya texted her. Besides her ID and phone, all she has is her mouthpiece and an uncanny ability to talk her way out of most situations.
Exercising the only thing she has at this moment in this car with this gun-toting man, she asks, “If I prove that I’m who I say I am, will you let me go or are you going to kill me?”
Although Akeem knows none of his bullets will harm any part of her body, he embellishes and says, “I can’t answer that right now.”
“It’s a simple question,” she snaps.
“Not as simple as you think. We’re almost there. Chill out.”
Did this man really just say that?
“Chill out? You can’t be serious right now. You’re a fucking kidnapper and killer. You had me tied up in a basement in the middle of God knows where. You have me tied up in this stupid car with two guns on you. I can’t dammit chill out,” she screams and her voice starts to crack just a little, enough for her to hear and hate it.
If I’m going to die, it’ll be on my fucking terms. Hurt shoulder and all, I’m going to fight hard as hell. Killing me won’t be easy, not at all.
“So you know what? Fuck you and you chill the fuck out,” she spits angrily and he doesn’t respond at all.
Akeem’s eyes stay steady on the road as he presses the power button on the radio and turns the volume up, drowning out her words. He needs to think. He has to figure this shit out and her voice, especially when it cracks, distracts him.She distracts him.
After three songs, a few interruptions from the DJ, and a commercial break, they take the first Crescent Falls exit and head to Blue Pointe Apartments. Five minutes later, he pulls up behind building fifteen and parks. Then he kills the engine and turns to face her.
“Don’t try shit when we get out of this car,” he warns.
“What can I do?” she asks sarcastically then cuts her eyes at him. “Besides, I can’t wait to prove that you have the wrong fucking person.”
Before getting out of the car, he cuts her zip ties. Although she tries to resist, Akeem assists her out of the car and rests his arm on her hip. He leads her into the apartment. The door is unlocked from his earlier exit, so he coaxes her in as soon as he opens the door.
“The last thing I remember before you…” she says with wide eyes. “…is being in here.”
She nods toward the kitchen then ambles that way. He follows, watching her while simultaneously looking for anything to refute her claims. Because she returned to the apartment ahead of schedule, he had been unable to gather any intel.
Akeem starts with the cabinet drawers. The first one he opens has a hodgepodge of plasticware sets, unused chopsticks, a handful of peppermints, and packets of various condiments. The second one isn’t as full, just a stack of papers and openedand unopened envelopes that aren’t addressed or stamped. He removes them all and places them on the counter. The other three drawers are empty, similar to the majority of the apartment.
This wasn’t her final stop.
