And then what? Then hopefully Lawson and Xavier would find her. She didn’t know how, though. They might not even know she was gone yet. Shoving down her panic once more, she peered out through the windshield of the truck where Jed was talking with another man.
Suddenly, Jed stalked over to the vehicle and threw the door opposite her open, grabbed her arm and yanked her out. “You’re coming with me,” he snarled.
She stumbled, trying to catch herself as he pulled her toward the side door of a white van sitting just a few feet off the road. She glanced around as she was pulled along but didn’t recognize the area. He had taken a road away from the sanctuary shehadn’t noticed before. They were parked close to the tree line where they couldn’t be immediately seen. She could only guess this other man was his partner in some way.
If that was true, then Xavier was in even more danger since she had only mentioned her concerns to him about Jed. He wasn’t aware anyone else was involved and she had no way to warn him.
She took a chance and glanced at the other man as Jed dragged her along.
He didn’t even pay attention to her, his eyes only glanced up briefly from the phone he held in front of him, but the sight of him sent a shiver down her spine nonetheless. His hair was shaved close to his head, his eyes dark, almost black. Even from the brief moment he looked at her, she could tell they seemed blank, like those of a shark cutting through the water toward their prey. He wore large combat boots and a flak jacket—dressed, she noted to herself, like someone who was going to complete a messy job.
Was she that job?
Hannah hardly had time to think about it before Jed thrust her into the open door of the van, standing guard just next to her so she didn’t think about trying to escape.
That wouldn’t stop her though. She had to think of something.
She eyed the gun on his belt, wondering if he would turn it back on her soon. Her eyes darted to the window on the other side of the vehicle, noticing how close the van was to the tree line, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to make a run for it with her hands behind her back and Jed standing right there. He’d snatch her back or shoot her before she took a step. No, she realized there was nothing she could do. She just had to sit tight, and…and hope for the best. Even if it killed her to be so passive right now.
She peered out of the van as the other man made a call. He lifted the phone to his ear, a grin spreading over his face but not reaching his eyes.
“Dutch,” the man greeted whoever was on the other end of the line. “Long time, no talk. How’s your head?”
Hannah strained to try to hear more, but he’d turned his back to the van and he was too far away. She tucked her legs up underneath her, scooting across the floor to lean against the wall of the van. Jed shot her a look, as though warning her not to push her luck, and she met his gaze with a defiance she mustered up from somewhere inside of her.
“Watch it,” he hissed at her.
She glowered back at him. From somewhere, she could smell the metallic scent of blood—not hers. She glanced around the van and noticed a large box in the back. Unease rolled through her at the sight of it. She prayed that didn’t have something to do with her. Hannah was about to ask what it was when the mystery man turned back around facing her and started talking again. She tuned in to the conversation once more.
“You bring me that drive, or we kill the girl, it’s that simple,” he explained. “And come alone, Dutch. I don’t want to see any of your lodge friends with you. Just you and me, like the old days, right?”
Dutch? Who was Dutch? Hannah racked her brain, trying to remember if she had ever run into someone by that name or anything close to it at Warrior Peak, but she couldn’t come up with anything. But she knew one thing for sure—she wasthe girlhe was threatening.
She started to feel lightheaded, the shock of all of this settling in. They were threatening to kill her if this Dutch person—whoever they were—didn’t give them what they wanted. She was completely and utterly helpless, at the mercy of these evil men, and it scared the hell out of her.
She wasn’t used to things being out of her control like this. She was the one who was supposed to decide how her life turned out. But not this time. She was relying on someone she had never even heard of before to give these men what they wanted.
Why would this Dutch person care whether they killed her or not? What if they killed her anyway? From the lengths they’d already gone to in order to find this drive, who was to say they wouldn’t destroy the entire lodge and all the guests to not have witnesses when they got what they wanted.
Oh God…
Spots started to dance in front of her eyes. She was starting to let the panic consume her, and she was hyperventilating.Deep breaths. Slow and easy breaths.She couldn’t pass out, not now. But she needed to get farther away, put more space between her and the open door. Make it harder for Jed to get his hands on her again, should he try to yank her out.
The box…
As quietly as possible, Hannah shifted herself around and slowly inched her way to the back of the van where the box sat, taunting her. She needed to know what was in there. Maybe there was something she could use to help her escape. She kept shooting glances at Jed’s back to make sure he wasn’t aware of her movements. He truly scared her, and she didn’t want his full wrath turned against her. The look of hatred in his eyes…cold, hard, soulless. She didn’t want to give him a reason to act on that.
But, as soon as she made it to the box, she wished she hadn’t. She wished she had stayed where she was. Hannah drew in a sharp, shocked breath, and wished he hadn’t. The smell coming from the box had bile rushing up her throat. Her face paled at what she saw.
There, inside the box, was the crumpled body of a deer. Beneath it, a pool of dried, congealed blood had formed, and its eyes, once alive with energy and life, were glassy and empty.
She let out a groan of disgust and started gagging, wondering how long it had been in there. By the looks of it, it was starting to decay already.
“Get back here,” Jed warned her, reaching in to the van and grabbing her ankle roughly, yanking her back toward the door.
She put her head down between her legs, feeling the bile twisting and burning in her throat.
Why did they have that here? Were they going to do the same to her? She couldn’t believe this was happening. She had ignored her instincts about Jed too long. She would never let that happen again, not as long as she lived.Ifshe lived. If there was someone who came into the lodge in the future who gave off a weird vibe, she would pay attention and tell one of the others immediately.
