Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Aurora could hardly breathe. “Where are we going?”
They were crawling through an air ventilation system. It had connected to the courthouse bathroom—that was how Jennifer had snuck inside. But Aurora still couldn’t understand what Jennifer had to do with any of this.
“Just keep moving,” the other woman said from behind. “Don’t make me ask you again.”
Aurora was trying not to panic, but every second, Jennifer was forcing her farther away from any help.
Had Max figured out she was missing yet? Would he realize they’d gone into the air ducts? She felt like ages had passed, but it had probably been just a few minutes.
“You did something to the coffee, didn’t you? Did that woman know? The one who gave me the drink?”
“We had to get you into the bathroom somehow. She gets paid to do what we tell her, not to ask questions about why.”
“But…”
Jennifer’s hand grabbed Aurora’s calf and pinched. “Shut up and move faster, you little brat. So fucking entitled, aren’t you?”
She blanched at the woman’s cruel tone. Jennifer had been so kind before—obviously, all for show. But why? Aurora’s mind demanded. Why is this happening? For now, she kept her mouth shut. She was afraid of what Jennifer might do if she didn’t.
Aurora kept crawling forward inside the narrow shaft. Dust tickled her nose. Her eyes watered as she stared forward in the dark, trying to see what lay ahead. But only small amounts of light filtered in through the metal walls of her prison.
Eventually, she ran into a barrier. “The shaft ends here. What now?”
“Just push. The panel should be loose.”
Aurora pushed on the thin wall, and it collapsed away, clattering against concrete. Jennifer shoved her from behind, and she stepped out into the parking garage.
Aurora inhaled, ready to scream for help. But then she felt the sharp pressure of the gun barrel in her back.
“Don’t even think about it. This way.”
They rounded a corner, and Aurora saw a white delivery van.
In front of the van stood the man who had attacked her and Devon. The nondescript, blue-eyed man who’d been following her for days.
She forgot about Jennifer. Forgot about the gun. She turned and tried to run, desperate to get away from him. But the man closed the distance between them in a few short steps and grabbed hold of her. He shoved his hand over her mouth, lifting her into the air as she kicked.
He shoved her into the back of the van and onto the floor. Jennifer slid inside and held the gun to Aurora’s forehead. “You still have a chance of making it out of this. If you cooperate. But if you make this difficult, I won’t hesitate. Do you understand?”
Aurora nodded. “Who is he? That man?” He hadn’t said a word. Aurora realized that she had never heard him speak.
“My fiancé,” Jennifer said. “Beck Neuman. Though I think you’ve already met him a time or two?”
Jennifer’s fiancé? What the hell?
What else did they want from her? If he and Jennifer wanted her dead, why hadn’t they already done it?
Her mind worked, trying to come up with some way out of this. She had something that these people needed—otherwise, they wouldn’t keep her alive.
But would they truly let her go after they got it? She didn’t believe that. Beck had been perfectly willing to shoot her just days ago. All she could do was lie here and wait to learn more, hoping that she could come up with some way to escape.
Or that someone figured out where they were taking her. Because she certainly didn’t know.
Beck got into the front seat and the engine revved. He eased out of the parking garage, pausing only briefly at the exit.
The truck drove slowly at first, winding through the downtown streets. Aurora listened carefully, counting the seconds as they passed. Then the vehicle picked up speed, clearly now on the freeway.
With every mile that passed beneath her, her panic grew. But the counting helped keep her calm. When she’d gotten up to ten minutes, they exited the freeway and were back on city streets. She couldn’t see through any windows but guessed from the car’s movements.
Then the truck began to climb. That meant they were in the hills north of West Oaks, in the fancy neighborhood full of massive houses that dotted the seaside cliffs. The most envied real estate location in the region, a place Aurora had never personally visited in all her years of growing up here.
But why would Jennifer be taking her to this area? She couldn’t imagine that Jennifer could afford a house here on an assistant salary. Max probably had friends here, but—
Then it dawned on her, just as the van pulled to a stop.
The doors opened. A salt-scented breeze ruffled her hair. She could hear waves crashing against rocks.
Jennifer pulled her upright, still aiming the gun. Beck reached into the back and yanked Aurora outside.