Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
B ean stifled a whimper as a cramp had her right calf spasming. She didn’t recall how long she’d run for, but it had to have been at least a couple of hours since she’d first encountered the man on the trail. For the longest time, she’d heard him stumbling after her. She knew she should have tried to cover her tracks, but she didn’t have the first clue about what that kind of thing entailed. When she no longer heard him, she thought she was making her way back to the trail, but no.
She was hopelessly lost.
On the plus side—because she was desperately trying to find any sort of plus side—it was still light out. That was something. The heavy forest canopy cast creepy shadows all over the place, so she was thankful it wasn’t the dead of night. Regardless, she was seriously rethinking her newfound like of the great outdoors. The only thing she was certain of was that the second she got out of this mess, she was signing up for Tactical’s survival course. And not the easy one. The big one that covered weapons and booby traps. Because holy shit, she had no clue what she was doing .
She winced when her calf spasmed again, but she was too afraid to stretch her leg out. In her search for the trail, she’d stumbled upon the hollowed-out tree she was currently hiding in. Literally. She’d tripped and fallen, smashing into the tree. Her impact had caused a family of something or other to scurry out. She’d quickly checked to see if it was truly vacant, and when nothing had attacked her, she’d crawled in. The space was tall enough for her to sit upright, but she had to bring her knees to her chest to remain hidden. Both her ass and legs were currently protesting her position.
She wasn’t exactly sure how long she’d been hiding, but she’d heard the man walk by twice. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn’t stay hidden forever. She was certain her absence must have been noticed by now, but she’d lost her phone and wasn’t wearing any sort of tracking device. There was no way Gavin or her team could find her. A shiver tore through her. If she didn’t get out of her hiding spot, she was going to die in the woods. Exposure, animals, the crazy man chasing her, or a freaking heart attack. There were no good options.
Slowly straightening her legs, she took a moment to rub her aching muscles. Then she waited. Her feet were poking out from the tree, and she took it as a good sign that no one grabbed her. After a few more moments, she carefully scooted out of her hiding spot. She frowned as her body protested every movement. Gnawing on her lower lip, she scanned the area around her and willed her racing heart to steady.
No such luck. She was still lost.
She took a tentative step, her ears peeled for any kind of noise. But there was nothing but quiet forest sounds. Or what she assumed were quiet forest sounds.
Not sure which direction to walk in, she moved in the opposite direction of her hiding spot’s entrance. She recalled hitting it and scampering backward as the critters fled and made a beeline toward her. Yes, that was the way she’d come.
Her stomach clenched tightly. Right?
After walking a handful of yards, she paused and tilted her head to the side. There was a sound that was different...
She closed her eyes and concentrated on the sound. It was like...
Her eyes flew open. The waterfall!
If she could get to the waterfall, she could find the trail from there. Her pulse quickened and she picked up her pace. She recalled that the trail had only been a few dozen yards away from the waterfall. If she got to the base of the falls, maybe she could make her way?—
Bang!
The tree beside her exploded. A sharp sting slashed across her cheek. Covering her head with her arms, she took cover behind a large rock. Another bang sounded, and she bit back a yelp. Rock fragments rained down over her.
“Come out, come out, girlfriend,” the man called out. “You and I need to have a talk. Besides, there’s nowhere for you to go.”
Her lungs seized. The crazy man wasn’t wrong. “What do you want?”
“I just want to talk.”
Bullshit. “Who are you?”
“Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. It’s your choice.”
She remained silent and tried to listen for his movements. The only thing she could hear was her thudding pulse and her erratic breaths. She shuffled to the side to peek around the rock and?—
A fist slammed into her face, knocking her onto her back. Her vision wavered as the man’s booted foot connected with her hip. She curled into a ball, but he was on her. Screaming, she bucked and writhed to no avail. He pressed her face into the dirt, his knee on her neck. She winced as he yanked her arms behind her, and fire tore through her shoulders.
Her blood turned to ice. The man had tied her wrists together.
He yanked her upright, and she couldn’t hold back a groan. Every part of her body throbbed. She wiggled her hands and relief had her shoulders sagging. He hadn’t zip-tied her, and whatever he’d used was loosening with every movement.
“Stay,” he muttered, shoving her against the boulder she’d hidden behind. He grabbed his gun, which he’d dropped on the ground, and waved it at her.
“Who are you?”
Again, he ignored her question. Instead, he fiddled with his phone one-handed. She took a moment to commit his figure to memory. Though he wore a ski mask, she saw enough of his skin to know he was white and had dark-blond hair poking out of the bottom edge of the mask. He was taller than her—which didn’t say much—but he was a few inches shorter than Gavin’s six-two. The guy was deceptively strong and had a lean runner’s build.
She narrowed her eyes when he glanced up, pointed his phone at her, and chuckled. “Say hi to the camera,” he said in that stupid singsong voice.
The fucker.
With another guffaw, he tapped his screen and grinned, pointing the gun at his phone. He must have switched the camera to selfie mode. “As you can see, asshole, I have your girlfriend. I’ll be calling you in twenty minutes, so you better be ready with the money. Ten million. Chop-chop, or else I’ll chop chop your lady friend.” He ended the video and sent her a smile that had chills racing up her spine .
There was no way she’d heard that right. “You’re ransoming me for ten million dollars?”
His smile grew wider. His teeth were glaringly white against the black ski mask.
Holy shit, this guy is psychotic.
“Oh, I’ll push for more, but ten mil will be fine for now.” He texted something, the video presumably, and then pocketed his phone.
As she continued to work the binding on her wrists, Bean’s mind whirled, trying to place him. He didn’t have an accent and spoke with a pompous air. She knew she should know who he was, but his voice wasn’t familiar. If she could get him to talk more, maybe he’d say something to jog her brain.
Minutes passed before she spoke. “Look, mister, I don’t know who you think I am, but trust me, I’m not who you’re looking for. No one is going to pay ten million for me.”
He scoffed. “Oh, so you’re not Gavin Frazier’s girlfriend?”
Her heart stopped, but she managed to keep her face neutral. Or at least she’d hoped so. Think, Bean!
“Everyone’s always underestimating me,” he said, slowly pacing in front of her and waving his gun as he spoke. “They think I’m a fuckup. But you know what? I’m a fucking genius . A genius who’s going to have an extra ten million in twenty minutes care of Gavin fucking Frazier. That asshole owes me.”
The man stalked back and forth like a caged animal. Minutes ticked by in silence as her eyes tracked his every movement. The binding on her wrists was nearly undone, and a plan formed in her mind. It was half-assed and certainly risky, but it was all she had.
There was no way in hell this guy knew what kind of relationship she and Gavin had. She barely knew. The only people who’d seen them together romantically were people she trusted with her life.
“Look, I’m telling you, Gavin isn’t going to pay ten million for me. He’s not serious about me. We fuck. That’s it. He’s not going to shell out that kind of money. Aside from fucking, he and I barely know each other.”
Even though everything she said was a lie, the words she spoke still turned her stomach. Because she and Gavin weren’t just fucking. Somewhere along the line, she’d fallen in love with the man. And she knew he felt the same way about her. Though he hadn’t said the words out loud, she’d seen it in each and every one of his actions. Every damn thing he’d done, his every touch, his every gesture had showed her how much he loved her. There was no doubt in her mind that he’d pay any amount to get her back. Just like she’d do the same for him.
It pissed her off that this asshole was trying to take that away from her. She wasn’t sure if Gavin and her teammates were going to be able to find her, so it was up to her to try and save herself.
The man shook his head, making a disgusted sound. “Please. I was there when you two were all over each other. And he confirmed it two days ago. I heard it with my own ears. You two are more than just a booty call.”
The puzzle pieces were all there, but they weren’t fitting together...
“Then you saw and heard wrong. Gavin and I aren’t an exclusive couple.”
“Sorry, but I’m not buying it. You see, no man can resist my lover, but he did. Twice. That’s how I know the two of you are serious. Ten million serious.” He laughed as if he’d made a joke and tucked his gun into the front of his pants.
Glaring at him, she hoped he’d accidently shoot his own dick off. Who the hell is this assho ? —
It clicked.
All the puzzle pieces finally clicked into place.
Branson. Fucking. Whitcomb.
And Constance—his lover .
Bean didn’t bother holding back her cringe. Yet another reason to hate that word. Stay on task, dammit!
She eyed him up and down, putting every ounce of disgust in her gaze, which wasn’t hard. “I hate to break it to you, but you’re wrong yet again. Gavin fucks plenty of other women. Maybe he was able to resist your lover because he didn’t want to dip his dick into some dirty, used puss?—”
Her head flew to the side. Pain exploded along her jaw. Managing to keep her hands locked together behind her, she nearly toppled over, but Branson grabbed her by the throat, righting her.
Holy shit, who knew the asshole could move that fast? One second, he was standing a few yards away, and the next...
She refused to squirm when his fingers tightened around her throat. Yeah, she’d probably pushed too far, but she didn’t care. Meeting his gaze, she wheezed out, “You can’t kill me until you get your money. Or are you unfamiliar with how extortion works?”
His hand dropped from her throat, and he backhanded her. “I know what the fuck I’m doing, bitch!”
She leaned into the boulder and worked her jaw from side to side. “Do you? Because you need some kind of leverage?—”
He yanked the gun from his waistband and took a menacing step toward her, crowding her space. “I know what the fuck I need! He fucked up our first plan and he’ll pony up every fucking dime.” He jabbed the gun into her ribs on the last three words.
She held herself completely still. Shit . Her plan to get him talking, to press his buttons until he was distracted enough so she could somehow disarm him may not have been the best idea.
Fuck it.
He may be bigger than her, but she sure as hell was smarter. “And how do you plan on getting your money, huh?” Holding his gaze, she shrugged. “Pretty sure you missed that call time you mentioned in your video.”
His eyes narrowed, and he spun away from her. He tucked the gun back into his waistband and reached for his phone. Yanking her hands apart, she rushed him. Jumping onto his back, she locked her arms around his throat as they fell to the ground. He bucked beneath her, but her mind replayed every self-defense video she’d watched, every mixed martial arts fight she’d seen, and she held on.
He managed to pull out of her hold and scrambled to stand. She wasn’t as fast. He came at her while she was still on her back. Her feet came up and landed against his chest, pushing him away with everything she had. She launched him backward, and two loud pops had her freezing.
She gasped as his body jerked to the side. He landed on his back, arms spread out, and he groaned.
Before she could take her next breath, there was movement all around her. Multiple dark figures swarmed from out of the trees and converged on Branson who was writhing on the ground, moaning and cursing. She scooted backward, desperate to get away. Strong arms enveloped her, and she tensed. Her mouth opened, a scream ready in her throat, when the arms tightened around her.
“Bean, honey, it’s me.”
She stilled at the familiar voice.
Gavin.
Every bit of tension in her body liquified. She twisted, burying her body deeper into his arms. The sharp edges of his tactical vest dug into her chest, but she didn’t care. Her trembling arms wrapped around him, and she buried her face in the side of his neck.
His arms tightened around her and emotion threatened to overtake her. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized how scared she’d been, how worried she’d been that she’d never see this man again.
He’d come for her.