Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
“You don’t need to point that thing at me!” Kenna yelled, keeping her hands up. She’d managed to grab her phone from the floor, pretending to fall to her hands and knees on the carpet so she could grab it. Now it was stuck in the back of her pants, and no one had searched her.
In fact, these men were being oddly accommodating.
Jax, however, had emerged from the bedroom in time to see her on her hands and knees. Now, as he stepped slowly out of the RV, he had a cut on his forehead dripping blood down the side of his face. His very pale face.
“You don’t need to hurt any of us.” Kenna looked around at these men in their black fatigues, helmets, and bulletproof vests. Rifles pointed at her and her family.
Zeyla struggled, facedown on the asphalt.
“We’ll cooperate.” The taste of fear was back. Kenna tried to think. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my—”
“Get her up,” one of the men commanded. “I want all of them on the chopper. We’re airborne in two minutes.”
Kenna knew the odds of survival after a person was taken from one location to another diminished drastically.
Her only consolation was that the president had the resources to track them.
She’d said she cared about the baby and didn’t want her harmed.
Petyr was with her, and on the same page about the baby’s safety.
The idea she was looking to Dominatus for help didn’t sit right, but if that was all she had…
No, it wouldn’t ever be all she had. Not even the hope inherent in knowing Ramon, Bruce, and Amara were on site at the facility.
Was that where they were being taken?
Kenna had two potential assists. But the reality was, this could end very, very badly. She had so many points of vulnerability that could be used to force her to do anything they wanted.
She bit the inside of her lip. Surely He will save you…
Sure, there were ways she could be rescued, or someone might intervene on their behalf, but she had to put all her hope in God and not people.
One of the men grabbed her arm and started to walk her to the helicopter they had landed in the middle of the RV park. Problem for them was that people had emerged from their vehicles to find out what was going on so early in the morning. Now these guys were being filmed kidnapping three people.
“That one is pregnant!” A woman had her phone up, recording the whole scene.
Kenna winced. If these guys opened fire on the few people outside and confiscated the phones, that could end the exposure of their actions. However, if that woman was live streaming and not just recording, then the word was already out.
“Let’s go!” the commander yelled from behind them, ignoring the citizens watching this display.
The guy holding on to Kenna started walking faster.
He pushed her up the steps into the helicopter, not hurting her but also not giving her any choice but to comply.
She sank into one seat, and Jax sat beside her.
They clasped each other’s hands. Zeyla came in and shrugged off the person holding on to her.
She took the seat on the other side of Kenna and held her other hand.
Men climbed in and surrounded them, taking seats opposite and on either side.
The chopper lifted off the ground, and wind whipped through the vehicle’s open sides.
Zeyla tensed. Kenna whispered to herself because the noise of the helicopter was so loud no one would be able to hear her talking.
“If you say, ‘The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways—”
The man across from her smirked and shook his head, then looked away.
Whatever his thoughts were concerning her beliefs were none of his business. This time as a captive of Dominatus, she’d lean on the Lord. She’d stay where she was because she had already made Him her dwelling place. She could rest, protected by Him.
Sure, their lives were on the line. The danger was real.
Other Dominatus agents might just be their only way out of this, if rescue was in the cards. Her life had been tossed upside down in the past few years.
She closed her eyes and continued to recite Psalm 91, determined to make the Most High her dwelling, and to continue to do that no matter what happened.
They flew over buildings, residential areas, and parks. She knew they were headed west because the sunrise was behind them. The air chilled, and skin prickled on her arms. Jax’s head lolled to the side and rested on hers, but she knew he wasn’t asleep. He was injured.
Kenna didn’t know how much time passed on the journey. Eventually, they descended into a clearing centered in tall pine trees that would disguise any secret compound. Please be the same place Ramon is staking out.
That would be a God-thing, and she would thank Him for the blessing.
All the more so if this situation resolved itself in a way that ended the threat.
God could do that whenever and however He wanted.
People didn’t always understand, but Kenna was learning to find contentment regardless.
There was so much to learn about her faith, and how it all worked, and hopefully that would be a path she walked through—a long life full of family and happiness.
Not a short one of suffering that ended with pain.
Jax’s strong fingers had slacked around hers. Zeyla’s remained tight enough to squeeze the bones in Kenna’s hand together. How her cousin was doing, or what plan she’d concocted in her head, Kenna wasn’t going to worry about. No matter what, they were together in this.
Past the high fence with razor wire atop it, the buildings were concrete and square, single story—at ground level anyway. Who knew what hidden things this place housed.
A couple of Quonset huts had their doors open.
Leaves and the odd flattened cardboard box had collected at the base of a wall, blown there by the wind.
No one had mowed the grass around the asphalt in a long time, but it was green in a way that a lot of places couldn’t achieve without constant sprinklers.
Overhead the sky remained gray, even though dawn had risen while they were flying. Had the phone GPS enabled them to be tracked? Preferably by someone currently putting a rescue plan together.
Kenna recited more of her psalm, centering herself on the truth that God would protect her no matter what.
That in yielding her life to Him, she allowed Him to be sovereign over what happened to her.
Same with Jax. Zeyla still needed to surrender her life to the Lord, but with her history, giving up that fight and admitting defeat wouldn’t come without a fight. The woman could be stubborn.
Probably their whole family was.
The helicopter set down, and they all swayed with the motion. In front, as the pilot toggled switches, the engine cut off and the rotors began to slow.
The men around them were more visible in the daylight, and she caught tiredness in some of their features.
She didn’t want to have any empathy for them.
Maybe it came with her renewed faith, but she wanted to pray for them to know God like she did.
Not that she had it figured out, or that them getting “saved” would fix this situation, but they should know Him, because facing that truth and making a decision was important for anyone.
The guy who was in charge, at least of this group, waved at them. “Everyone out. Let’s go.”
Zeyla let go of her hand.
“Hey.” Kenna patted Jax’s arm, but he didn’t open his eyes. “Get a medic. He might be hurt.” She didn’t care that she was giving orders to one of their kidnappers. Not in the slightest.
Kenna kept patting his arm as Zeyla moved around her and crouched on the other side of Jax, concern on her face.
“Jax. Wake up.” Kenna patted his cheek, her fingers coming away wet with blood.
The in-charge guy grabbed Zeyla’s arm and dragged her out. “Let’s go!” He yelled the words at max volume, and she flinched.
Jax flinched as well, coming awake in a second and launching out of the seat.
“Whoa. Jax. Jax.” She grabbed the waistband of his pants, pulling him back to the seat so he didn’t hurt himself.
That was when she realized the phone was still in the back of her waistband.
Kenna reached back, slid it out, and pushed it down between the seats out of sight.
Please. She prayed the president sent an entire army.
The army would be great. Or the national guard.
State police. The Secret Service. Any kind of mass group of honest people who’d sworn an oath to serve and protect the citizens of this country.
She wasn’t fussy how that came, but rescue would be great.
“Come on.” She helped Jax out while he swayed, but he found his feet. “He needs a medic.”
Jax blinked like his eyes had to adjust to the daylight and lifted a hand to shield his gaze from the glare. He brushed at his forehead, staining his fingers with blood.
“He has a concussion.” Kenna didn’t know how she knew that, but it was likely true. At the least, he had a bad-enough head injury he was dazed. She got his arm across her shoulders. “Just point me to your medical facility, and I’ll take him there myself.”
Some of the men had dispersed, wandering off to the buildings. Or milling around as if the excitement was over.
Zeyla stood about twenty feet to her left with two guards, a look of defiance on her face.
As if she wanted to jump into action. And tear the heads off everyone standing around them.
Kenna could understand the sentiment, and the fury she held in her for these people who had ruined so much of her life. Taken so much from her.
But that wasn’t how this was going to end.
Kenna continued, “After Jax gets medical attention, I want to speak to whoever is in charge.” She lifted her chin. “It’s Major General Schnell, right? He’s the commander of this…outfit?”
“You think you give orders around here?” The guy unclipped his helmet to reveal gray hair smashed down, plenty of sweat, and a frown.
It’s worth a try. She was a big proponent of bluffing. “He’s here, isn’t he?” And if Ramon was at the fence, he could get the general on video, and the nails on his coffin would secure his demise. “He’s the one behind all this, right?”
“Let’s go.” He motioned for her to walk ahead of him.
Jax came with her, steadier on his feet than she’d have expected. It made her wonder if he was faking his diminished capacity. They held on to each other, following the commander to the nearest building.
“It’s such a nice day,” Kenna said. “We should have our meeting outside.”
From behind them, the commander didn’t say anything.
Jax squeezed her shoulder as they were pushed inside. That had been worth trying as well. She didn’t like the idea of being inside.
It would feel far too much like being trapped.
When the door clanged shut behind them, she realized she was right.