6 Jude
Jude was cold. Freezing, actually. Just how long had he been sitting on the bench at the beach? He tried to open his eyes and found that he couldn’t. Christ, had they frozen shut in the cold? Had hungry seagulls plucked them out?
He tried to lift his right hand to rub his eyes and found he couldn’t move it. Ditto for his left. Thankfully, his toes wiggled freely, but he couldn’t move either leg. Throwing his body forward, he could only move an inch or so. What the fuck was going on?
“Hey! Is anyone there? I need help!”
Jude called out, with his voice echoing back. When there was no answer, he felt his anxiety rising. Knowing panic wasn’t going to help him, Jude took a deep breath and willed his mind to think. Where the hell was he? He didn’t hear the sound of the waves hitting the beach or of gulls screeching to each other. Had Cope come to get him and brought him home? Jude’s head hurt with the effort of trying to remember. If Cope had brought him home, he certainly wouldn’t have disabled his sight and tied him down, no matter how angry he was.
Maybe he’d fallen asleep and had nearly frozen to death at the beach. A good Samaritan had called 911 and he was at the hospital being treated for hypothermia. Jude didn’t think that was right either. It was completely silent wherever he was. When he’d been in the hospital nearly two years ago, it was a hive of activity. Nurses came and went from his and other patient rooms at all hours of the night. Janitorial was always around emptying trash or the sharps containers. Family was visiting and meals were brought around. Jude had no idea where he was, but it definitely wasn’t the hospital.
Was he dead? Is this what hell was like? It certainly wasn’t heaven because there weren’t any half-naked angels bringing him drinks.
Remembering that his head moved freely moments ago, Jude swung it from side to side. He could hear the scrape of cloth against cloth. Maybe he wasn’t blind after all, just blindfolded. Moving his head, whatever covered his face shifted and Jude could see pale light. He kept up what he was doing until his face was free. A bright beam was aimed from above hitting his face, causing him to slam his eyes shut. He opened them slowly a few seconds later and gave them time to adjust from enforced darkness to a light that looked as bright as the sun.
When Jude was finally able to look around, what he saw nearly stopped his heart. He was strapped to a hospital bed of some sort in the middle of a cage, which was surrounded by concrete cinder blocks on three sides. There was a door at the front of the device, and another in the fourth wall, leading to only God knew where, maybe the outside if this was some sort of converted bomb shelter. He supposed he could also be in a basement, with the door leading to steps that would bring him into the house.
There was about two feet of space on all sides of him. There was no way he could reach the bars, never mind the padlock, which looked pretty solid. The cage reminded him of jail cells from old western movies he’d watched when he was a kid. Why the hell would he be strapped to a hospital bed in a cage? Was this a mental hospital of some sort?
Lifting his head, he checked himself over. He wasn’t in any pain, with the exception of a spot on his neck. It felt like he’d slept on it funny, but had a feeling there was more to it than that. His mind was still muzzy. Obviously, he’d been drugged, which would explain how someone had gotten him from the beach to wherever this fresh hell was.
Thankfully, he was still fully dressed, minus his heavy winter coat, along with his shoes and socks. No wonder his feet were as cold as ice. Jerking against his restraints, Jude bellowed, “Help! Let me go, you sick fuck! HELP!”
“No one can hear you,”
a deep voice said from out of nowhere. It reminded Jude of the voice modulator kidnappers used when making ransom calls on tv and in the movies. “Besides, if they could, I doubt anyone would come to your rescue. Certainly not your husband. Who will doubtless be entertaining someone new tonight. Not your friends either, who all think you’re the scum of the earth.”
The person laughed. It sounded even more maniacal with the sound being altered.
Jude thought his kidnapper, because that’s what this was, an abduction, had to be a man. He weighed a touch over two hundred pounds and it would have taken someone pretty strong to be able to haul him away. Unless of course the kidnappers had an assistant. His own Igor of sorts.
What the hell would anyone want with him? He wasn’t rich. Not famous. He was just a father and husband who’d gone from private eye to cold case detective. Jude was pretty certain Cope wouldn’t pay a ransom to get him back. Not today anyway. Maybe Jace would lend a hand, but if the kidnapper was right and his friends hated him, that might not be an option either. “Who are you and what do you want?”
Jude asked, feeling nauseous from whatever had been in the syringe. The memory had come back to him in a flash. He’d felt pain in his neck and then everything went dark.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
The voice laughed again.
“I have to use the bathroom,”
Jude said, trying to sound miserable. He was fairly certain he could get the upper hand on anyone who came into the cage to release him, especially with his knife strapped around his calf.
“Your wish is my command, Mr. Byrne.”
The manacles securing Jude to the bed released right before his eyes. All four of his limbs were free. “Son of a bitch,”
Jude muttered, getting off the bed and rattling the bars of the cell. They didn’t budge.
“Don’t take me for a fool. I’ve had time to plan every last detail of our time together. There’s no escape.”
“What about me using the bathroom?”
Jude asked, feeling his panic start to rise again.
“That’s what the bucket’s for.”
With a giggle, the voice cut off.
“What bucket?”
Jude asked the empty cell. He slowly turned to get a better look around. The floor was made of concrete, with the prison bars sunk into it. The bucket was sitting at the foot of the bed. It was of the five gallon variety, obtainable at any big box store.
Remembering his knife, Jude reached for his calf and found the holster and the weapon were missing. “Motherfucker!”
His voice echoed in the small space.
“You didn’t think I was going to leave you with a weapon, did you?”
the voice taunted.
“You listen to me, you sick fuck, when I get out of here, and I will, I’m going to find you and I’m going to kill you. Got that?”
Jude was in panic mode now. The bars of the cage were solid, so was the padlock securing them shut, beyond, the metal door leading to the outside world looked strong and thick. Jude was in real trouble here. He sat back on the bed and sunk his head into his hands. How the fuck was he going to get himself out of this mess?
“You’re never leaving this place alive. I guarantee it. Go ahead, try to escape.”
Jude took another look around his cell. There was nothing in the cage that would help him break out. “Fuck you!”
he shouted, before laying back on the bed and closing his eyes.
Escape wasn’t possible now, but Jude had no doubt that a moment would come when he could make his move. He also didn’t believe for a second that Cope, Ronan, and Fitz were disgusted by him. His friends were looking for him, Jude knew that for a fact.
What he needed to do in the meantime, was to conserve his energy and try to figure out how or why this was happening to him. Had he been targeted, or was this a random kidnapping? Yes, the kidnapper knew his name, but his wallet had been in his back pocket. It was gone now. The fucker could have learned his name from his driver’s license, which meant he also knew Jude’s address. He wanted to bellow in outrage, but wouldn’t. Screaming his lungs out wouldn’t help to keep Cope and the kids safe.
Jude would be smart. Bide his time. Go home to his family. Make the asshole who did this pay.