Chapter 24
Rowan woke up groggy, sore, dry-mouthed, and...handcuffed. It was the last that shot panic streaking through her body, stinging her fingers and toes, ears and scalp. Her chest felt constricted, and her breathing was rapid, panting, and shallow.
Her situation came screaming back. She’d been kidnapped. Drugged. Tied and transported in the back of a van. Her reality didn’t produce even a sprinkle of calm. How much time had passed, she wondered. When the van finally stopped, she and the other woman looked at each other. Fear was swimming in her eyes. Rowan knew her eyes reflected the same.
The back of the van door swung open, almost dumping the woman to the ground. Without a word, a smaller man wearing a ski mask produced two syringes and efficiently stuck them both in the necks with a fresh round of drugs. Without saying a word, the man climbed out the back and shut the door. It was the last thing Rowan remembered until waking up for the second time.
They weren’t in the van. The cold metal floor had been replaced with a cold floor, definitely not metal. Concrete maybe.
When she and the other woman had been awake in the van, they hadn’t been able to communicate. Their captors never removed the thick tape covering their mouths. There was no tape now.
It was dark in this new place, pitch black, so she couldn’t be sure if she was alone or not. She tried to take stock of what she could feel. One wrist was cuffed to what felt like a thick pipe. With her free hand, she was able to trace the pipe, thick and solid and never-ending. The scaly texture could have been peeling paint or corrosion. No light, industrial type pipes, concrete floor...a basement?
She felt her ankles. Plastic ties secured them together. Painfully tight. Her running shoes and socks were gone. Taking several deep breaths, she ran her shaking hand over her body, and a small moan escaped. Her fear ramped up tenfold as she felt bare legs, bare midriff. They’d stripped her exercise pants and tank top off, leaving her in her bra and panties.
She pulled her knees up, wrapped her free arm around them, and rested her forehead. She was shivering almost violently. Probably a combination of shock, the temperature, and whatever drugs they’d injected her with.
Deciding to risk making noise, she whispered, “Is anyone with me?” There was a noise to her left, a shaky inhalation. “Are you the woman from the van?”
In a scratchy voice, the woman whispered back. “Yes. I just woke up. Are we alone?” she asked frantically.
“I think so. We’re maybe in a basement. Are you handcuffed to a pole?”
“Yes. Feet are tied too.”
Rowan heard the woman’s breathing escalate, and heard her cuff rattle against the metal of a pipe. She wasn’t cuffed to the same one as Rowan, but she wasn’t too far away either. Probably far enough that they wouldn’t be able to touch.
“They took my clothes,” she whimpered.
“Mine too, except for my bra and underwear.”
“Same,” the woman answered, voice wavering. “Are you from Houston?”
“Tulsa. Who are you? They mentioned William Stanton when they took me.”
“Oh God. I’m Katy Stanton. Will’s ex-wife. Do you know Will?”
“I’m Rowan Byrne. My sisters and I own an interior design business in Ireland. We are originally from Oklahoma and split our time between the two places. I’ve been in Tulsa for several weeks working on a job,” she whispered back. Rowan paused, not wanting to fully admit how well she knew her ex-husband. She decided on, “I’m well-acquainted with his aunt, Diana Gaines.”
Silence greeted her words. More sniffling. “Don’t lose hope, Katy. We will get out of here. My family will never give up looking for me.”
“You are Will’s girlfriend.”
It wasn’t a question. Shit. There was no time for subterfuge. The more information they knew, the better chance they had of figuring out what in the hell was going on. “We went on a few dates, yes, but…well, the man I love came back into my life. We are completely committed. My…sisters are married to his two sons.” She choked on the last part. It was hard to think of what her sisters were going through right now.
“I saw pictures of you and Will kissing. You both looked so happy…and in love.”
Katy said the last so low, that Rowan almost didn’t catch it. She was obviously still very much in love with her ex. If the situation was reversed, Rowan would be equally devastated. “We were never in love. My heart has always been Hugh’s. I am sorry, Katy. I won’t lie to you. We did kiss a few times. Only kiss. I believed Hugh and I would never be together. I came to Tulsa for a job, yes, but also to nurse a broken heart and attempt to move on.
“William was my attempt at moving on. When Hugh showed up, I called Will and let him know that I would no longer be seeing him and why.” Katy’s cuff clinked. She must be adjusting her position.
“Thank you for being honest. It’s been a tough couple of years. Suffice it to say, I made a huge mistake, just not the one he thinks I made. I’ve tried to stay hopeful. When I saw those pictures,” she paused, “I thought…I believed I might need to finally let go.”
“Don’t give up. If he thinks you did something that you didn’t do, then explain it to him.”
“He refuses to speak to me. Even at family things, he won’t even meet my eye.”
“Stubborn men. We must have chosen the two most stubborn men alive to love. When we get out of this mess, don’t allow him to have a say. Force him to listen.”
“Who are you seeing?”
“Hugh O’Faolain. I imagine you know him. William does.” A sharp intake of breath followed her admission.
“I’m glad he found a woman who loves him. He deserves it. I knew Helen. I…oh God, as if it matters, we’re handcuffed in a basement, but I think Will cheated on me with her.”
Rowan winced. Helen certainly enjoyed hurting others. “Only Will can answer that, but I can tell you that Hugh believes they only flirted and that it went no further.”
“You know, I’m beginning to see that my marriage might have been much different if I’d spoken up. If I’d demanded answers and demanded respect, but enough of that. It’s nice to meet you, Rowan, though I wish it was under different circumstances. Let’s figure out what’s going on.”
“Did the people who took you say anything?”
“No. I walked outside to water my roses, and a man grabbed me from behind. I didn’t know at the time, but the pinch in my neck was them giving me a shot. I woke up in the trunk of a car. A man with a mask on took the tape off my mouth and had me drink some water, gave me another shot, and shut the trunk lid over my head.
“Before I passed out again, I truly thought I was being taken somewhere to be killed. The next time I woke, it was in the van with you.”
Rowan swallowed several times before she could go over her experience. He throat was so dry between the drugs and no water. “I got up early Friday to go for a run. I saw a man twice downtown watching me. He wasn’t wearing a mask. He is very large, dark hair, flattop. I was too far away to make out more than that. I thought I was being paranoid.”
Rowan briefly considered that the man was somehow connected to Delton’s dark web filth and had tracked her from the site. The possibility had paralyzed her for a moment. She’d been able to shake it off thanks to her weekly online therapy sessions. Dr. Sehoy said it was perfectly normal to feel fear. The doctor encouraged her to acknowledge that the fears were valid but to recognize that Rowan could control how they affected her.
“So,” Rowan continued, “I kept jogging toward the River Park trails. Do you know where that is?”
“It’s been years, but yes.”
“I stopped on one of the trails to answer a text and was grabbed from behind. I realize now, it was the man I’d seen following me. There was another man on the trail, too. The big guy called him G and told him to give me a shot. The man holding me said that if my boyfriend William gave his boss what they wanted then they would let me go. If William didn’t, he would get to keep me.” Rowan still shuddered at his words.
“So, you were taken because they still believed you were seeing each other, and I was probably taken because Will would be honor-bound to free the mother of his children. Good Lord, what a mess. Stanton Industries designs new tech and security programs. I suppose someone, somewhere, wants to steal a design.”
“William would never do anything shady?”
“Never. Absolutely never. Our children work in the business. He would never jeopardize their safety, and of course, he wouldn’t do anything that would hurt Owen, his father.”
“Then there’s really nothing to do but wait. Surely, whoever had us taken has already contacted Will. I’m not sure how much time has passed. I’m worried that they gave us more shots than we know of. It might have been less than a day or days for all we know.”
“I did get a little water once. You weren’t in the trunk with me then. I was taken Thursday night. You were taken at least twelve hours later. You’re right though, we don’t have any idea how long we’ve been drugged.”
“We definitely haven’t eaten in quite some time. My stomach feels like it’s caving in on itself and—” Rowan abruptly cut off her whisper, stiffening at the squeak of stairs. She wanted answers, but she also didn’t want the men who had stripped her clothes from her unconscious body to come anywhere near her.
Light blinded her when a door on the opposite side of the room swung open. She could just make out two blurry images crowding into what was definitely a basement. Windowless as far as she could tell. As her eyes adjusted, she quickly glanced to her left, about six feet away, Katy sat, leaning against the metal pole that her wrist was cuffed to. They shared a look before focusing on their kidnappers.
Rowan was relieved to see they each were carrying a bottle of water. Her throat was painfully dry. The biggest man sauntered toward Rowan while G went to Katy, handing her the water bottle and what looked like a protein bar. Her stomach let out a low rumble causing the big one to smirk. Only G was wearing a mask. Big guy hadn’t bothered—that scared her more than anything had so far.
Why would a criminal let their victim see their face? Did he not expect them to be released? He stopped right in front of her knees and bent to clasp the back of her head in a painful grip, positioning her face toward his.
“Thirsty, Miss Byrne?” His voice sounded low and smokey.
Rowan swallowed, fear making her already parched throat burn. “Yes.” He took the bottle and rubbed it slowly across her lips. She didn’t dare breathe, praying this monster would stop touching her.
He kneeled on the floor, his legs touching hers. “I bet Stanton only needs one of you back. What does he need two women for? Would you like to stay with me instead,” he bent to whisper the last in her ear.
Even though her body was quaking in fear, the thought of what this man was suggesting…“I would rather be dead.” Instead of becoming angry, he looked amused.
“I like my women feisty. I bet you’ll be hell to break in bed. You should know—I’m extraordinarily patient.” Standing and addressing she and Katy both, he announced, “In case you’re under the impression that this will be over soon, you should know that my boss isn’t even going to send a ransom until you’ve enjoyed my company for seven whole days,” he chuckled at our gasps. “Four more to go, ladies.”
He finally dropped the water and protein bar next to her feet, backing up a few steps. My God, they’d been drugged for three days already. Her sisters, Nan and Hugh, had been frantic for seventy-two hours.
“Are we still in Oklahoma?” Rowan dared to ask.
He grinned, the scar on his cheek pulling his skin at odd angles. “While you ladies napped for three days, we’ve crossed into seven different states. I don’t want to be found, which means I won’t be. If I were to take you, no one would ever find us again. I’m very good at disappearing.” He and G moved to the door. He stilled with his hand on the doorknob. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours to help you ladies to the bathroom. You’ll have to be watched closely, of course.”
“I won’t need to go.” Rowan was sickened by the delighted grin on his face.
“No need for modesty. G and I helped you two take a piss yesterday. You both were so doped up you didn’t mind flashing us the good stuff. See you soon, well, maybe not too soon. G and I decided to spend a little money at the strip club around the corner. All those naked ladies will probably make us eager to see you.”
Nausea dipped fear tightened her stomach. He grinned after that parting threat. Once he flipped the lights off and shut the door, Katy and she were in complete darkness again, blacker than before after the bright light.
It felt like being trapped in Hell. If Hell was cold and colorless.
She heard Katy whimper. Rowan laid down on the cold, hard floor, curling her body into a ball, the bottle of water and protein bar forgotten. That man didn’t plan on letting her go. Worse was considering what might happen in a few hours.