Chapter 68
Waking up groggy, my head aches. The gag around my mouth is tight, deeply embedded in my jaw to the point where my cheek muscles ache.
It reeks of some chemical, and the smell is making me nauseous.
My eyes open and scan the inside. It’s still daylight.
The van has tinted windows, but I can see the fluffy clouds as the van moves.
A sound next to me makes me tilt my tender head to the side.
Jacinda is on her side. She looks dead, and I panic, moaning, trying to speak around the gag.
Kamilah is next to her, and she shifts, moving her legs.
Oh God, please don’t let me be hurt. I scoot closer and make more noise in the hopes of waking Jacinda and alerting Kami.
My legs are tied as well, and I manipulate my body so I can stretch them toward my friends.
I nudge Jacinda few times, but there is still no luck.
I keep making an effort to talk around my gag.
My tongue is dry, and I’m not sure it’s working, but finally, Jacinda comes to, groaning and rolling a little.
Her eyes open, and when she sees me, she starts screaming around her gag.
Horror fills her eyes. Behind her, I sense when Kami realizes.
She starts making the same noises that Jacinda made, terrified garbles that are painful to hear.
After a while, we were all quiet, unable to communicate anything, except to huddle closer to each other. I can’t imagine what they’re thinking. It’s probably the same thoughts I have. Where are we? What the hell happened, and what will happen?
Suddenly, the van slows, coming to a complete stop. I can feel Kami’s trembling through Jacinda.
The door opens, and we shrink together, not wanting to face what’s behind the door.
Two men appear. Their faces are covered in black ski masks with the eyes and mouth open.
The climb inside. One comes over to me, and I wonder if it’s the same man who took me, but his arms are covered.
The man who knocked me out had a large geometric tattoo on his forearm.
This one is smaller. The other man stoops near Kami.
He lifts some of her braids and fondles them before he gropes one of her breasts.
I yell stop behind the dirty cloth in my mouth, but he smiles, showing rotting brown teeth.
She bucks his hand away, screaming behind her gag.
Jacinda rolls her way and aims her feet at him, connecting with his leg.
He snarls and backhands Jacinda; she cries out, but stops kicking him.
Then he says something to the man leaning over me, who laughs and stares down at me.
He leans even closer, looking me over, surveying me, and my fear kicks up.
The words Kami said to us earlier barrel through my brain.
Kami’s quiet sobs and Jacinda’s heavy breathing add to my fear.
For me, for us. He touches my face with one finger.
I flinch before turning my face away toward Jacinda, removing his touch.
“I see why you are his. You are very beautiful. It’s a shame that we won’t get to enjoy what’s his. ” His words send a chill down my spine.
“Give them water. The last thing we need is for them to die before we get to the location.” He pulls out a bottle of water from behind his back and tosses it to the groper.
I watch him warily as he uncaps the bottle and pulls down my gag, roughly putting the mouth of the bottle against my lips.
He hits my teeth, but I don’t care. The cloth rubs my skin raw, and my throat is so dry and scratchy.
I swallow quickly, greedily. Then he does the same to Jacinda.
Even Kami drinks her fill. I can’t imagine how humiliating it is to be forced to take kindness from a man who assaulted her not seconds ago.
The water soothes my throat, and I quickly ask as many questions as I can. “Who are you? Why did you take us? Where are we going?”
He caps the bottle and puts it behind his back. He looks at me, and I swear he’s trying to tell me something with his eyes, but instead, he looks at the man and says something in the same rapid language they used before. The smaller man leaves the van, and I hear the engine start.
“You don’t need to know who I am.” He looks at all of us.
“You can keep your gags off, but remember no one can hear you where we are, but if you cause a disturbance I’ll cut your throats.
” He straightens as much as he can with his height.
“And I won’t care whether you belong to that bastard or not.
” With that final warning, he moves backward and exits the van, slamming the door.
The silence stretches before Kami’s frantic whisper interrupts the quiet. “We have to get out of here.” Her face is pale and her eyes wide with fear.
I can still hear the low rumble of the men’s voices, but they are too far away for anything to be clear.
There’s some laughter. They are joking around as if they don’t have three women bound in the back of their van.
I wish he had untied our restraints. My wrists are rubbed raw, and my circulation is being cut off.
I do my best to sit up and lean against the van’s wall.
I turn and look at Jacinda’s face. The handprint he left behind is red and angry. It’s starting to swell.
“What did he mean ‘who you belong to’?” Jacinda asks, her words slurred because her lips are swelling.
“I have no clue. My father is the only one I can think about. Maybe it’s one of his competitors? Maybe a ransom? I have no clue. Shit. This might be my fault. There was an attack on the gallery. This could be connected.”
Kami nods. “You are the target. The man who gave us water was speaking in Spanish. He said Jacinda and I are just a bonus. Something about the owl won’t recognize you once the boss finishes.”
My body freezes.