Chapter 22
Julia’s head jolted upright, a sharp gasp cutting through the stale, musty air of the room lit by a single bare bulb. Her senses reeled, assaulted by the pungent scent of dampness and the cold, hard touch of the metal chair against her skin. Her limbs were numb and stiff, and her shoulders ached.
As the room swirled in a dizzying dance, Julia fought for focus, her vision blurring in the dim light. A relentless throbbing pulsed in her temples, swirling together with the uneasy churning of her stomach. She slid her eyes closed, trying to ease the wave of nausea that passed over her.
Memories of the frightening event that led to this filtered back through her mind as the scent of dampness permeated her nostrils. Visions of the gunshot flashed through her mind along with the horrifying sight of James collapsing as blood bloomed on his shirt. A mix of fear and disbelief churned in her stomach. Their simple shopping trip had spiraled into a nightmare.
She’d been kidnapped, then drugged. She winced as the needle hole in the crook of her arm pinched.
She opened her eyes, a moan escaping her as she tugged at her arms and legs, both bound to a hard metal chair. Tears sprang to her eyes before spilling onto her already wet cheeks.
Each shallow gasp seemed to echo in the space, amplifying her panic. She squeezed her eyes shut, her heart pounding in her ears. A sob escaped her, shaking her shoulders. She gave in to the moment of panic, letting her chin fall to her chest.
A whimper from behind her stopped her sobs. She sniffled, twisting to glance over her shoulder. The whimper rose to a terrified cry.
“Sierra?” Julia called.
“Julia?” Her shrill voice, laced with raw panic, echoed in the large, empty room.
“Sierra, listen to me,” Julia said, keeping her voice steady. “I’m right here with you. We’ll get through this together.”
“How are we going to get through this, Julia?” she spat before her voice broke again. “We were kidnapped.”
Julia blew out a shaky breath through her lips before she spoke, trying to keep her voice even and calm. “I know. But we’re both still alive, Sierra. That matters.”
“For now,” Sierra shot back before another whimper escaped her.
“Sierra, you need to calm down.”
“I can’t!” she screamed. “I’m trapped. I can’t breathe.”
“Yes, you can, Sierra.” Julia twisted to eye the woman behind her. “You’re not trapped, you’re okay.”
“I can’t breathe. I can’t–”
“Sierra, you have to stop. Listen to me, I’m right here with you. Deep breaths. Come on, take a few with me.”
Julia sucked in a big breath and blew it out. “Come on, Sierra, in through the nose, out through the mouth.”
A moan escaped from the other woman.
“Deep breaths, Sierra. That’s it.”
Silence stretched between them for a breath before Sierra spoke again.
“Julia?” she said, her voice hitching with a hiccup.
Julia glanced over her shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Please keep talking to me.”
Julia bobbed her head up and down. “Okay, umm, I know this seems bad, but–”
Sierra sobbed again.
“We’ll be okay, Sierra. I promise,” Julia quickly finished.
“You can’t promise that!” she shrieked before another cry escaped her.
“Sierra, I know this looks bad, but this was a kidnapping. If they wanted to kill us, they could have.”
“What?” Sierra’s voice cracked.
“Listen to me. If they wanted to hurt us, we wouldn’t still be alive. We’re here for a reason. They need us for something. Ransom, most likely. So, we have some time. We can figure something out.”
“Ransom,” the woman breathed. “Daddy will pay that. He’ll pay it. We’ll be okay.”
Julia bit her lower lip, trying not to blurt out statistics for ransoms gone wrong. She had to allow Sierra to cling to whatever shred of hope she could. “Right. And it’ll take them hours to contact him and make the demands and set up the drop-off. If we have a chance to escape before then, we will.”
“Okay,” her voice squeaked. She sniffled before she added, “I should have bought you that red purse.”
“What?” Julia asked.
“The red purse you liked. I should have bought it. Then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Sierra, I don’t think that’s true. It wouldn’t have mattered. It’s not your fault.”
“At least you would have had a really nice purse though,” she said, breaking off into a sob.
Julia sat in silence for a moment, unsure how to counteract the comment. “Ah…I still will. I expect you to buy me that purse plus another one when we’re home.”
“Yeah.” Sierra’s voice shook.
“We will get out of this, Sierra.” Julia tugged at her bonds. “Can you get free?”
Sierra’s chair scraped across the floor as she jiggled in it. “No.” She sucked in a sharp breath.
“Okay, that’s okay, Sierra, I doubted either of us could get free. But I had to ask.”
“We’re not going to get out of here, Julia.” Sierra moaned again before she raised her voice. “Hey! Hello!”
“Sierra!” Julia hissed, not wanting the knowledge that they’d woken up public.
It was too late. The door to their room banged open. Julia wasn’t able to see the person who entered with her back to the entrance.
“What?” a gruff voice answered.
“Please, you have to call my Daddy,” Sierra pleaded. “Whatever you want, he’ll pay you.”
“Shut up or I’ll shut you up.”
The sound of shuffling footsteps faded as the door creaked.
Julia’s heart pounded. This may be the only chance they get.
“Wait!” Julia’s voice cracked with desperation. “I–I–I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Hold it,” the gruff voice growled before the door slammed.
Julia startled at the sound before she let her head fall back. Her desperate attempt to seek information or find an escape had failed. She searched her mind, trying to determine if she recognized the voice. It didn’t sound like Kyle.
“Seriously?” Sierra asked.
“No, I just wanted to look around. Gauge our odds, figure out a way to get out of this.”
“Oh, right,” Sierra answered, her voice rueful. “But then…I’d be here alone.”
“Yes, you’re right. It didn’t work anyway, and I won’t ask again. I’m not leaving you.”
Sierra heaved a shaky sigh. “Thank you, Julia.”
Silence stretched between them for a few moments before Sierra spoke again, her voice shaky. “Julia?”
“Yeah?” Julia asked, craning her neck to glance over her shoulder.
“I’m sorry I was mean to you.”
Julia huffed out a soft chuckle. “It’s okay. And you weren’t that mean.”
Julia continued to struggle against the zip ties holding her to the chair until her wrists bled. Another few seconds passed before Sierra called to her again. “Julia?”
“Yes, Sierra?”
“I’m sick.”
Julia ceased her movements, twisting her gaze toward the woman. “It’s probably from whatever they used to drug us. Try to close your eyes and take some deep breaths.”
“I’m afraid to close my eyes,” she cried.
“It’s okay. I’m right here with you. You can close them, and I’ll keep talking so you know I’m here.”
“Okay,” the woman squeaked out.
“So, umm, I’m not very good at talking. But, uh, I…I didn’t love that red purse, so it’s okay that you didn’t get it for me. I only liked the color.”
“You’re an idiot. That purse was great.”
“Duly noted,” Julia answered with a bob of her head. “I also don’t have good taste in purses. So, maybe it’s best if you do the picking.”
“I have way better taste than you, that’s for sure.”
“I won’t argue with you. Do you feel any better?”
“Not really, but thank you.”
Julia tugged at her bonds again. She needed to get them out of here and quickly. The longer this went, the worse it would be. She chewed her lower lip as she imagined Grant getting the news. His jaw clenched, his fingers wrapped into fists, his features twisted with upset.
He’d been through enough lately. He didn’t need his daughter’s kidnapping added to the list.
She tugged again, sucking in a sharp breath as fresh blood stained her skin when the zip tie sliced into her.
“What happened?” Sierra asked, her voice cracking.
“The zip tie is really cutting into me. I–” Julia’s voice cut off as voices sounded outside the room. Her heart ramped up, thudding hard against her ribs.
“You what?”
“Shh,” Julia shushed her. “I hear voices.”
She strained to make them out. They sounded heated. An argument between the kidnappers, perhaps?
Julia held her breath, her eyebrows knitting, as she listened.
“…want to see her.”
“Out of the question. Get out of here.”
“No. You wouldn’t even have them if it wasn’t for me. I gave you that information.”
“That doesn’t buy you any favors.”
“Oh, I think it does. There’s plenty more information where this came from, I promise. If you want it, I want to see her.”
A pause sounded. Julia slid her head forward, straining to listen.
“Keep it short.”
Seconds later, the door creaked open again before thudding shut. Julia sucked in a breath, wondering who had entered. Who was responsible for their capture?
Footsteps hurried toward them. Julia kept her head trained forward, ahead of what may happen if she tried to spot the person. A figure brushed past her before he rounded to face her, squatting down.
A hand caressed her cheek. “Julia, are you okay?”
Julie stared in stunned silence at the face of Dr. Kyle Carter. “Kyle?”
He assessed her wrists before she answered. “You’re hurt.” He shook his head, the tremor in his hands as he faced her again, guilt and determination etched on his face.
“What are you doing here?” Her mind tried to process the conversation. Had he been the one who kidnapped them? No, there were multiple people. Did he have help? “Did you do this?”
“Kyle? The creepy ER doctor?” Sierra asked.
“Hey, I’m not creepy,” Kyle retorted with a hard glance her way.
“Kyle, why are you here?” Julia demanded. “Are you responsible for this?”
“No…Yes. I…” He paused, his voice strained with guilt and desperation. “I thought I was doing the right thing at the moment, but I never imagined it would go this far. Look, there’s no time to explain now, but please believe me, I did not want you to get hurt.”
Julia’s heart thudded as she tried to make sense of his nonsensical statements.
“I may have made a call after you left the park and given them your location…but I didn’t know they were going to do this.”
“What call? Who did you call?”
Kyle’s features twisted as he stared up at her. “I swear, I did not know they were going to hurt you.”
“What did you think they were going to do with that information, join me for purse shopping?” she cried.
His face fell, and she shook her head. “Never mind. You have to tell someone where we are.”
“I’m going to do better than that, Julia.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a knife, sliding it open.
Julia’s heart skipped a beat for a moment at the sight. Was he planning on killing her?
He slid it closer to her wrist before he glanced up. “I’m getting you out of here, but you have to promise me that we can talk.”
“Why should I trust you after everything that’s happened?”
“I know you have no reason to trust me, but I’m begging you. There is so much you don’t know…about me…about everything. Just hear me out. That’s all I ask.”
“Are you crazy? I’m being held hostage, and you’re using this moment to make sure you get another opportunity to make vague accusations?”
“No, there are things you don’t understand. There is so much more going on here.”
A bang in the hall outside quickened her pulse. They were running out of options. Trusting Kyle seemed insane, especially with him still insisting on spewing his garbage. But this was their only chance. She had to take it and outsmart him later. She snapped her gaze back to the knife ready to free her and bobbed her head. “Fine.”
As Kyle approached with the knife again, a wave of uncertainty washed over her. The cold metal of the chair pressed into her back as Kyle sliced the zip tie from each of her wrists before he freed her ankles. Julia’s heart hammered against her chest, every snip of the knife sending a jolt of fear and hope through her veins.
He rose, sliding the knife into his pocket before he pulled her to stand. “Can you walk?”
“Yes, but–”
“Good,” he said, grabbing her hand and tugging her toward the door.
She pulled back against him. “We have to take Sierra.”
Kyle glanced down at the other woman before he flicked his gaze back to Julia. “There’s no time.”
He pulled her again, but she refused to move. “No! I’m not going anywhere without Sierra.”
Kyle stared at her for a breath before his shoulders slumped. “Fine.”
He pulled the knife from his pocket and released her from the bonds holding her before he slipped his arm around Julia again.
“Stop!” she insisted as Sierra rose on shaky legs. “She can barely walk.”
“We don’t exactly have a lot of time here, Julia.”
“We’re not leaving her,” Julia said as she slid her arm around Sierra’s waist.
Kyle grumbled as he took a step back toward them and swept Sierra into his arms. “Out the door and to the right. Stay close.”
Julia eased the door open, peering into the hall. “It looks clear.”
“Go, to the right and straight out. My car’s right outside the door.”
Julia whipped the door open and hurried into the hall, pausing to wait for Kyle and Sierra. “Go, Julia,” he encouraged her.
She hurried in front of him toward a metal door at the end of the hall. Hope surged within her as they closed the distance.
“Hey!” a voice boomed behind them.
Julia’s heart stopped at the sound.
“Julia, go, run,” Kyle said.
She glanced behind them at a blond man, his muscles bulging out of his t-shirt as he reached for the holster hanging at his side. Her eyes went wide before she spun and raced for the door.
She instinctively ducked as a bullet whizzed by them, slamming into the wall. A cry escaped her as she slammed into the door and skidded outside.
An SUV sat steps from it, and she sprinted toward it, opening the back door.
“Get inside, Julia,” Kyle ordered as he sat Sierra in the back, slammed the door, and hurried toward the driver’s side.
He slid behind the wheel and fired the engine as the door to the warehouse burst open. Julia’s eyes went wide as the man aimed the gun at them.
A strong hand grabbed her neck and shoved her forward. “Stay down,” Kyle said before he tugged the shifter into gear and stomped on the accelerator. The tires screamed as they sought to find purchase against the pavement.
The car sped forward, and Julia risked a peek over the window when a bullet smacked into the rear windshield. A splintering crack formed across it.
The next crack of the gun did no damage as Kyle continued to put distance between them and the building.
Julia gasped for breath as she twisted in her seat. “Sierra? Are you okay?”
The woman, a terrified expression still etched into her features, nodded. “I–I think so.”
Julia breathed out a sigh of relief as she settled against the leather. She swallowed hard, a mix of emotions springing up from relief to apprehension about their current predicament.
“You’re safe now, Julia.” Kyle’s voice snapped her back to reality. He reached for her hand, but she yanked hers away, still unsure of him and his motives.
The move didn’t please him, as evidenced by the tension in his jaw and his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.
The car slowed to a stop, and Julia’s heart skipped a beat. “What are you doing?”
“Getting rid of her.” He thumbed to Sierra before he dug into his pocket and pulled out the knife. Flicking it open, he jabbed it toward Sierra. “Get out.”
Julia’s eyes went wide. “What? No!”
“Julia, you promised. Either she gets out here, or I take her back.” He inched the knife forward at Sierra before he tossed his phone into the backseat. “Take the phone and go.”
Julia’s stomach turned. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m leaving her with a phone. She can call for help. She’s fine.”
Sierra grabbed the phone from the leather seat before she snapped open the door. “My daddy is going to kill you for this.”
As she slipped out of the car, Julia grabbed the handle and popped her door open.
“No,” Kyle said, lunging across her to tug the door shut.
Sierra’s door slammed shut and before Julia could react, he shifted gears and tore away.
Julia’s stomach churned as she stared into the side mirror at Sierra’s form, lit only by the taillights before she snapped her gaze to Kyle, her features a mix of fear and disbelief. Guilt gnawed at her along with a sinking sense of dread as she faced being alone with Kyle. “What is wrong with you?”
“I really wish you would stop asking me that. You knew the rules. I got her out of there. She has nothing to do with this conversation. And you’ll want to hear what I have to say.” Julia’s lower lip trembled as she stared at the man.