A Twist of Betrayal (8 page)

Number three was her marriage, but she could do little about that, too, until she and Dan were back together.

No matter what the state of their marriage was, she couldn’t keep the image of Dan out of her mind. And the image of him in her thoughts grounded her and brought her strength. Dan wouldn’t expect her to sit and wait to be rescued, reminding her again that escape was her main priority.

She had to do something. She was a fighter, always had been, never letting fear or anything else stop her. With her hands bound and a kidnapper who was twice her size, she knew physically fighting him would be a waste of time and probably cause her more pain. Knowing it may be a big mistake, she decided to try to reason with her kidnapper. She’d been able to talk juries into believing the defendant. She should be able to talk this man into letting her go.

In the driver’s seat, her kidnapper looked calm and composed, as if his plans were falling into place. She could see his eyes in the rearview mirror, and she knew he moved it to watch her.

“Did I tell you you could take the tape off your mouth?” His question was like a growl from an angry animal.

“It’s hard to breathe through my nose.”

“Well, it’s going to be harder if you try or say anything stupid. Because if you do, I’m going to do more than tape your mouth shut again, understand? I’ve got a plan here and a schedule to keep, and I don’t need you messing it up more than you already have.”

Justine tried not to let his threat rattle her. “Why were you following me?” she asked, not acknowledging his threat. It was also a roundabout way of asking why he kidnapped her. And how he knew her husband.

He didn’t readily reply, so she went on. “You don’t need me to escape since you already did. Just let me out here, it would be an hour or two before anyone found me. And you could be long gone.” She tried to speak in her strongest courtroom voice. She was, after all, on trial for her life.

“I already told you. You weren’t just my escape. Hell, I did the whole robbery just to get to you.” He looked at her in the mirror, and his smile sent a chill up Justine’s spine.

“Why?” She had done nothing but rack her brain trying to remember him, going through her mind and picturing everyone she’d ever defended and their families. This man was not familiar.

“Maybe I like you, that’s why.”

“I don’t believe that’s the real reason.” She certainly didn’t want or need him ‘liking’ her. This was not a friendly walk in the park. Justine swallowed hard and fought for control. “You don’t even know me well enough to know if you like me,” she pointed out.

“I know what I like to look at. And,” he went on, his smile growing into an evil grin, “I also know Danny Boy loves you a lot even though he doesn’t deserve you, even though you cheated on him.”

“I did
not
cheat on him.”

“I’ve been watching you a long time. So we’ll see how much he’s willing to pay to get you back.”

Again, he spoke as if he and Dan were more than casual acquaintances. Although perhaps he simply knew Dan if he’d been watching for a ‘long time.’ She probably would have dwelled more on that idea if her heart hadn’t dropped to her feet when she realized he knew about something about her that she couldn’t exactly remember herself. She pushed that bad thought to the back of her mind and concentrated on what he just said.

He planned to ransom her?

Being held for ransom was not a guarantee to keep her safe and it didn’t sit well with her. She and Dan were comfortable, but their lives were still ruled by house payments and car payments and insurance and a number of other things. They didn’t have the stash of money she guessed her abductor was planning to demand.

Also, she couldn’t help but feel there was more to this than simple ransom, it was like he was after something specific.

“Just how much do you plan to ask for?” she asked. She was more than a little curious as to what was she worth.

She was also stalling for time until she thought of something else. Something better. It was an old courtroom tactic she’d been known to use—ask useless questions in a hope to rile the witness into saying something stupid that might help the case later, or useless questions meant to confuse the jury.

“Two point nine million dollars,” he said, sweetly.

That’s a pretty specific amount
. “Is that how much you think I’m worth?” she asked, hoping to get some insight on this madman’s motivation. Justine’s stomach grumbled, reminding her she needed to eat, and she did her best to ignore it. The road twisted and turned more, and Justine completely lost track of her direction. And the clouds told her only of time slipping away as the sky darkened with the approaching evening.

“It’s how much Danny owes me, but if you give me any trouble, it’s hard telling how much you’ll be worth. Understand?”

The calmness in his voice, as if this were nothing more than a usual business deal, sent a shudder through her.

Dan owes him?
She nearly blurted out the question. She knew if she wanted straight answers, she had to keep him on a path that left him feeling safe and in control. Which meant she needed to stay in control. She was almost afraid to try any path at all. He was liable to clam up at any moment. Besides how could Dan possibly owe a man like him anything? He had to be mistaken. “You asked for this so-called trouble,” she reminded him. “I didn’t.” She felt as if she tested his limits with every word she said.

She watched the darkening sky and found the idea of being in the dark with her kidnapper even more terrifying than being in the light. She didn’t know how much good talking to him was doing, but it helped ease her own fears.

The motion of the van mixed with her empty stomach brought on a bout of nausea that she continued to fight against. She had a feeling that if she got sick in his van, he’d probably shoot her.

He glanced over his shoulder at her. “If you do as I say and your hubby doesn’t try to be a hero, you’ll be home to serve him his usual French toast tomorrow. If not, well, you might just be serving me French toast,” he said shortly.

For a long moment, she could think of no reply. That he should know Dan’s favorite breakfast was French toast was too much of a coincidence to sit well with her. It bothered her more than his knowing about her one night of maybe falling off the grid.

“What if the police find you before then? Or the FBI? They get involved in kidnapping cases.”

He chuckled. “I doubt I need to worry. I’m sure your husband will make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Why would he do that?” she was terrified to ask.

“He’s wanted by the FBI as much as I am.”

“What?”

This man was obviously out of his mind. Dan was an honored officer of the police force. He couldn’t be wanted by the FBI.

“Hold that thought,” he said, not answering her question as he slowed the van. “I have to pull over. We’ve got a cop with his lights flashing behind us.”

“What?” she asked again. Her heart raced at the idea of being rescued and he slowed down. He didn’t appear worried. Maybe this would be her chance to jump out and run. Could she run with her hands bound? She certainly planned to give it her best shot.

“What are you going to do?” She did her best to keep her voice even and calm, but her heart was racing in her throat and it was nearly impossible. And since she was lying on the floor, she couldn’t see what was happening
and
she couldn’t be seen.

“What I do depends on you, sweetcakes. If you make a sound, do anything at all to alert him, I’ll have no choice but to kill him.”

He turned in his seat and looked down at her with a cold smile. “His life is in your hands, and he doesn’t even know it.”

“You can let me out right now and drive away.”

He chuckled as he watched in his rear view mirror. “Sorry, not an option.”

“The truth is the longer you keep me, even though I’m unharmed,” she added quickly, “the worse it could be for you. The best thing you can do to help yourself and simplify this situation is to let me go right now. You could even tell this cop you picked me up and saved me.”

“Somehow, I doubt he’ll believe that. I’m sure he’ll think I just kept your hands tied because you look good that way. Now here he comes, so shut up,” he said slowly as he rolled down his window. “Is there a problem, Officer?”

Justine looked up and saw the brown of a leather coat, but from her angle on the floor, she could not see the officer’s face or even begin to guess if he could see any part of her if he looked in. Fear for this innocent man was enough to make her press her lips firmly together, even though it took all her willpower not to scream out for help.

She didn’t dare take the chance. Because if her abductor shot him, there would be no help for either of them.

“There’s been a situation in the area,” the officer said, his voice deep and filled with authority, although calm. “May I see your license and registration for this vehicle, please?”

“Of course.”

From her position on the floor, she saw her kidnapper move and wondered if he were really pulling out his license.

She heard the officer let out something between a gasp and grunt, and saw him fall away from the window as her captor swung the door open.

“What did you do to him? I didn’t make a sound. I couldn’t even see him from here!” she cried out, trying to sit up on the floor. The motion along with her smashed nose, made her dizzy for a moment.

He slid open the side door, and Justine could then see everything—the lonely, empty highway, the bare field beyond it, the officer with sandy-colored hair unconscious on the pavement. Quickly, her assailant grabbed him by the arms, hoisted him up, and dumped him unceremoniously onto the floor of the van. Then he climbed in and slid the door closed, casting them into the darkness. Without hesitation, he used the officer’s handcuffs to cuff his hands behind his back, and slid the officer’s gun from his holster.

“What did you do to him?” Justine demanded as he stepped over her and climbed back into the driver’s seat.

“I tasered him. Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”

“You could have left him there,” she suggested, trying to move closer, to make sure the man was breathing.

“What? So he could wake up in a few minutes and alert all his friends about me and which direction we’re heading? Forget it.” He put the van in gear and sped off.

Justine knew there was probably a video camera on the officer’s cruiser. She didn’t break the news that his taser job was caught on tape. Or that Dan and his colleagues all might know as soon as the cruiser was discovered.

“He’s not exactly in my plan, but I thought what the hell, the more the merrier!”

They sped away, and Justine’s heart sank as more distance was put between her and Dan. How long before the officer’s abandoned car was discovered? Would Dan find it and know to come in this direction?

She would have dwelled on those questions longer, but in the falling darkness of the van, she noticed blood on her jeans.

“His head is bleeding,” Justine said, trying to move to get a better look. Despite her hands still being bound together, she put pressure on the wound with one palm.

“Yeah, he hit the asphalt pretty hard.”

Her captor didn’t slow down or even look back.

“He needs stitches. He probably has a concussion, too.”

“Hopefully, for his sake, he’ll get over it.”

“He needs a hospital. He needs a doctor.”

“He gets you or he gets nothing. You decide.”

“You are one heartless sonofabitch,” she said.

“You have to be that way to get what you want in this world.”

Justine said no more as she continued to press against the officer’s wound to stop the bleeding. She only hoped before this was over she’d get the chance to give her kidnapper a bit of pain and make him bleed, even if it was only a little.

It was several minutes before the bleeding subsided. Justine said nothing, knowing full well she probably wouldn’t be given a bandage if she asked for one.

The drive felt endless. With the sway of the van, bouts of nausea touched her like waves, forcing her to breathe deeply and close her eyes until it passed.

It was fully dark by the time the van stopped. Justine was cramped, achy, hungry, and miserable.

When her kidnapper pulled the sliding door open to reveal nothing but darkness, she trembled with cold and fear.
This is it
, she thought.
He doesn’t really intend to ransom me. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and he’s going to pull me out and shoot me
.

The officer had moaned and moved a few times, but hadn’t yet regained consciousness.

So it was only Justine, alone. She would do whatever she had to to keep from letting him kill her. Slowly she patted her belly again, hoping the baby felt her reassurance.

Standing outside the open van door, he stared at her. Justine didn’t move. She didn’t even breathe. She merely stared back. She might be stiff, her knees sore from landing on the parking lot pavement and working on tile grout, but she was prepared to do something—anything. “Please just let me go,” she tried.

He ignored her plea. “Come on, sweetcakes.” His words dripped with sarcasm and impatience.

Dare she test him further? “What about him?” she asked, looking down at the man in the uniform.

“He’s not going anywhere like that. I’ll get you settled and I’ll be back for him.”

Justine wasn’t given a chance to refuse as he grabbed her leg and dragged her out of the van. In the dark, she saw nothing but trees, then the shadowed outline of a rustic cabin.

Nothing looked familiar. She tried to turn and look back at the drive, to search for a familiar highway or landmark, but he tightened his hold on her arm enough to probably cause bruises.

“No time to sightsee.” He pulled her roughly across a muddy yard. “There’s nothing there anyway.”

“I’m telling you, this is a mistake.” She needed a bathroom. She needed something to eat.

“Shut up,” he ordered. “I would have thought getting hit in the mouth and nose would make it hurt enough to keep you from using it. Do I need to hit you again?”