Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Emma
I blinked a couple of times, my head throbbing as I regained consciousness. I don’t remember being put out—other than it happened before I ever made it out of the Hudsons’ house. I was now convinced that those people were absolutely insane…
If they did this.
Something was fishy about the entire thing, but it was all a blur now. All I could think about was my current surroundings. My back was aching from the way I was slouched over, and wherever I was… It was dark—really dark.
A shudder rolled down my spine as I tried to gather my wits about me. Where was I? I focused on that, keeping myself from panicking. I knew that Mason would be looking for me… right?
Of course he will be.
I shut my eyes—not that it mattered, and that’s when I felt the vibration. I swayed slightly to the right, and it dawned on me then.
I was in the back of a vehicle.
My ankles and wrists were bound, and I didn’t have much movement. Was I in the back of a van? SUV? I couldn’t move enough to even tell.
“Don’t forget that she’s pregnant,” a deep male voice said from the front seat—or backseat. I had no idea where it was coming from, only that it was in front of me.
“Yeah, yeah,” another man chuckled. “She basically handed herself over. I seriously thought that we were going to have a hell of a lot harder time than this. It was almost like she wanted to be taken.”
“No kidding. Great day for a little tiff with the sheriff. Sets us up for success,” the first one—the one with the deeper voice—burst into laughter. “No wonder nothing ever gets solved in this town. He’s a dimwit.”
“Eh,” the other one disagreed. “I actually think he’s pretty sharp. There’s only a couple of unsolved cases in the county, and none of them are on him.” Something about this man’s voice sounded familiar, but in the moment, I couldn’t put my finger on who it might be… But the fact that it did sound familiar made the entire situation much more terrifying.
“You’re just partial to him,” Deep Voice kept the conversation going.
“I ain’t partial to anyone.”
I pursed my lips in the dark, trying to keep my breaths steady as I felt the vehicle bounce across something.
“Shit, this is rough,” Deep Voice grumbled. “I don’t know why we had to go way the hell out here. It ain’t like he’s gonna come find her.”
“Yeah, but see, that’s where I think you’re wrong,” the partial one said. “I think he will come looking for her. I think he might burn the whole town down to find her. I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s crazy about her.”
“Yeah, but we won’t let him in until it’s time… And then we’ll take care of the problem.”
“This is the stupidest fucking plan I’ve ever been in on. I don’t even get why we had to do this. What good does it do to kidnap some pregnant baker? That’s just… dumb.”
“The point is to take care of Hewitt—and they didn’t want him giving that proposal today either.”
I leaned against the side of the vehicle, wishing more than ever that I could get out of the binds. My fingers were tingling, and it wouldn’t be long before they went completely numb. I forced a deep breath, wondering if I still had my cell phone… I doubted I did… And of course, I had taken my smartwatch off and replaced it with a bracelet for the evening.
Ugh.
Nothing was working in my favor. I should’ve stalked after Mason. I shouldn’t have followed Brittany into the kitchen…
Brittany.
The conversation with her came flooding back—was she behind this? And was all the shit she told me the truth? I shook my head at myself in the dark, deciding that it didn’t matter. It didn’t change the fact that I was pregnant, and that I had been kidnapped.
It was truly irrelevant at the moment.
Though I might fight about it with him when this is over… if I get out alive.
No, I told myself. I am going to get out alive.
My thoughts came to a grinding halt as the vehicle turned off, and I realized that we were no longer moving. I held my breath as the car doors opened and then slammed shut again, heavy footsteps crunching in the gravel. I could hear muffled voices, but there was no making out what they were saying.
And then there was a click.
The back hatch—of what I now knew was an SUV—opened, flooding me with light. I couldn’t make out anything from the blinding sun, other than the fact that the men were in ski masks. Someone reached in and stuck something over my eyes, taking it all away before my eyes could even adjust.
Damnit.
“What are you going to do with me?” I muttered as I was dragged out of the back of the SUV. My voice came out groggy and sullen, like I had been sleeping for twelve hours.
“Maybe we should get the duct tape?” Deep Voice chuckled. “I don’t wanna hear her run her mouth all night long.”
“Whatever,” the other one said.
Hands that felt like iron claws held me still as the sound of duct tape filled my ears—and then the sticky tape went right over my mouth. I tried to fight, but my body felt so incredibly weak. I wasn’t sure what they had given me, but it was enough to make my arms and legs feel like bags full of sand.
It was miserable.
“We’re just gonna have to carry her,” Deep Voice grumbled. “Get over here and help me.”
“Yep,” the familiar voice said. I felt hands grip my ankles, and the sensation of being lifted into the air came shortly after. I longed to grab for my stomach, as if that would somehow protect my baby from the people who kidnapped me .
They carried me for what felt like ages, but in reality, it was more than likely only minutes. I grew even more nauseous as my body was jerked around, the two of them climbing up steps of what I assumed was a porch. The flooring squeaked under them, and one made a joke about it caving in.
The smell of cedar mixed with must hit my nostrils as soon as they got me inside whatever building we were entering. It reminded me of the way my grandma’s old attic smelled when I was a kid, and I didn’t like it then… and I didn’t like it now.
“Man, for such a little thing, she’s starting to wear on my shoulders,” the man with the deep voice groaned. “Get that basement door open.”
I heard the creak of a door swinging, and I braced myself the best I could as they started to descend steps. My brain envisioned them dropping me, and I nearly panicked at the thought of what that kind of fall might do to the baby…
The baby that I might never get to meet if I didn’t make it out alive.
Stop thinking like that.
It felt nearly impossible to keep my wits about me, but I continued to struggle with it, even as they sat me down on a cold, dank floor.
“Well, I guess we will just leave her here,” the man with the deep voice said. “I don’t know what he wants to do with her for now.”
“This shit is making me sick to my stomach,” the other one said. “It’s one thing to do someone’s dirty work, but this is on a whole new level for me.”
Deep Voice chuckled. “Oh, son, you’ll get used to it. You’ll start to realize it’s just another day at work—and once that happens, it’s all good from there.”
“You’re a cold, sick bastard.”
“Yep, I’ve heard that before.”
Part of me wanted to shout at them that Mason would find me, and the other wanted to demand why they had taken me… But the best I would be able to do is mutter things against the duct tape covering my mouth—and my head was still so foggy. It felt as though I was drunk…
And I hoped like hell that they hadn’t given me anything that would hurt the baby. The thought brought tears to my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. I didn’t want to give these guys the chance to see me be anything other than strong.
“You don’t try to talk much,” one of them jostled my leg. “You trying to be tough or something? Because you know, no matter how you act, you’re gonna meet the same end either way.”
I shivered, refusing to say anything in response. I wasn’t sure if he was playing with me to scare me, or if he was planning ongoing through with that threat. Either way, it wasn’t worth me reacting to.
Mason will find me.
Unless they hurt him, too.
No, I shook my head, reminding myself of what they’d said. Mason was unharmed, and I knew that. The one guy said that he would more than likely burn the whole town down to find me, and as crazy as it was, that made me feel so much better about where I was…
All I have to do is survive.
The sound of a radio going off startled me, and I jumped sideways, my shoulder crashing into the wall. However, what came over it was music to my ears, sending a glimmer of hope bursting in my chest.
“Missing female, approximately five feet six inches tall, brown hair, green eyes, one hundred thirty-five pounds.”
“Well,” one of them chuckled. “They sure got on that real fast, didn’t they?”
“Looks like we’re in for a wild time, I’d say,” the man with the deep voice replied. “And it is gonna be one hell of a time baiting that son of bitch in. I might have to call the boss and tell him we’re gonna have to act a little faster on this whole plan. It looks like Hewitt really ain’t gonna play, is he?”
My heart fluttered in my chest.
No, no he’s not. He’s going to find me.