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“We’re coming. We’ll be there as soon as we can. Keep us updated,” Kyle said, then he hung up.
“Let’s go,” I said, walking out of the office and jogging towards Harris’s truck. Harris jumped into the driver’s side and started the engine as I slammed my door closed.
“We’re getting her back,” he told me as he sped out of the small parking lot of the office.
“Damn right we are,” I agreed. There was no other option. Evie belonged with us. She was our redemption. Our light. Our future. Without her there was only darkness and that was a future I wasn’t willing to contemplate.
CHAPTER 2
EVIE
I grunted with he exertion of ripping the liner away from the edge of the trunk. I had been in there for hours and I was freezing cold, my teeth chattering violently. I was bruised and aching from how much I had been thrown about, my body smashing into the side repeatedly, but it had all calmed me down enough to come up with a plan. I knew that Soloman was going to stop and drag me from the trunk at some point, and when he did, I was determined to do all I could to take the chance to run.
I needed a weapon, I realized. I could fight, but I already knew I was too small to have an advantage against him, so I needed an upper hand. I had searched the trunk, but there was nothing I could use around me. Then I had remembered something I saw on a TV show. Someone who was trapped in a trunk had pulled one of the taillights out and signaled for help when they stopped at a gas station. I knew it was unlikely Soloman would stop at a gas station, but I figured if I could get the tail light free, I could maybe break it and have something sharp to use as a weapon. It was a long shot, but all I had.
I finally got the liner out of the way and could see the taillight. Having no idea what I was doing I just started grabbing at the wires and yanked. The car was old, so I hoped falling apart too. After just a few tugs, the light came free and I was able to angle it from the metal, which held it in place. It was a small victory, but I didn’t have time to celebrate. I pulled the plastic part of the light free of the connecting wires and threw it down towards my feet. I used my heavy boot against the side of the trunk to kick at the plastic until I heard the distinct crack of it breaking, then I used my foot to move the pieces back up towards my hands.
It had broken into three pieces and, thankfully, two of them were pointy enough that I was sure I could do damage with them if I got my chance. I moved awkwardly, slipping one of the pieces into the pocket of my coat. The other I clutched in my hand, ready to strike the second the bastard popped open the trunk. I was probably going to get myself shot, but I refused to just let him drag me back to Hell without a fight. I had to try.
He drove for even longer. I had no sense of how long it had been, but I knew we were getting further and further away from my guys. I knew they’d be searching for me, and I had hope they’d find me, since I was in the car I had described to them. They had to find it on traffic cams this time, right? They’d find it and they’d track it. They’d come for me.
Sometime later the car finally came to a stop, the engine stopping and leaving me in an eerie silence. I clutched the sharp shard in my hand so tightly, I was sure it was cutting into my skin, but I didn’t have time to worry about it. I heard one of the car doors opening, and braced myself, ready to leap from that space and lash out. My adrenaline was surging once again, amping me up even more.
Footsteps crunched around the car, then he was at trunk. As he opened it I readied myself to jump and slash with one hand, and to bat away the gun if necessary with the other.
Then the trunk was open and I moved. I leapt up from my side with a huge force, powered by determination and adrenaline. Soloman wasn’t expecting it. I threw myself at him, knocking him to the ground and landing hard on top of him. I didn’t see the gun, which I had been expecting him to have, coming towards me as I scrambled to get enough purchase to lash out with the shard in my hand. I realized he didn’t have the gun at all as I looked around frantically. I really did have a chance! I lunged and caught the side of his neck, slicing through his skin enough for him to cry out, but not to do enough damage to stop him.
“Bitch!” he hissed as he grabbed both of my hands in one of his, and punched me hard in the side of my head with the other, stilling my frenzied attack. My head was spinning with the pain of the hit and my vision was blurring, but I couldn’t let that stop me though. I lifted up enough to launch my knee into his crotch with as much force as I could muster. He grunted loudly as he curled up a little, releasing my wrists. I sat up and gripped the shard of plastic, then launched it down into his side, using all of my weight to stab it into him. It was harder than I expected it to be, to push through his clothes and flesh, but when blood started to pour from the wound I released it and stumbled to my feet.
Soloman was moaning, pulling the plastic from his side. I thought about kicking him in the head to try and knock him out, but I worried he’d get the upper hand again. I glanced down to him once more, trying to see clearly through the pain throbbing through my skull. He was struggling to flip himself over, presumably so he could stand. I didn’t have much time. I needed to run!
Then I saw my cell on the ground beside him. I needed that. I had no idea where I was. I needed a way to call the guys, or 911. I needed a way to get help.
I stumbled forward and kicked out at Soloman, my boot colliding with the back of his head hard. By the time he turned to try and grab me, I had the cell in my hand and I was running as hard and fast as I could.
I looked all around me, trying to work out where I was and find somewhere to get help, but I had no clue where I was. The road was small and worn, likely some back road in the middle of nowhere. All around me were trees and woodland. I couldn’t see a house or other building anywhere in sight.
I ran for the woods, hoping to get lost amongst the trees. It was the only option I had. I knew he’d come after me when he was able to get to his feet. I had maybe seconds of a head start.
I ran as fast as I could between the thick trees. Luckily they created a canopy above, that had stopped the snow from falling as thickly, so I tried to only step in the areas that weren’t snow covered, so as not to leave a trail right to me.
I was clumsy and tripped several times, once catching my forehead on a large rock, only adding to the pain ricocheting through my head, but even as blood started to pour down my face, I didn’t dare pause. I just made myself get to my useless damned feet and run like hell.
My head was spinning and throbbing, my lungs burning as I gasped in the bitterly cold air, with each heavy breath. The blood was still trickling down my face and I continuously had to wipe it away to stop it from blocking my vision.
It was starting to get dark, the sun setting behind me. I knew I needed to find somewhere to hide. It was the best chance I had.
Off to my right I could see the ground dipped down into a small ditch, so I ran towards it, careful not to leave any footprints that could be seen. I threw myself down the steep drop, landing with a grunt as I hit a rock, but not stopping to assess the injuries I could feel throbbing down my side. I moved down the hill, with a mixture of running, and shuffling on my ass when I fell over, until I eventually found a place where the ground over hung a small hole I was sure I could just about squeeze my body into. Above the over hang were thick trees, so I would be well hidden, especially with darkness falling. I curled up and crawled into the small gap, hiding myself beneath earth and over hanging undergrowth, then I just held my breath and listened.
The woods around me were filled with sounds, but they were all sounds that belonged. I could hear birds and the wind blowing the almost bare branches of the trees. I let out a breath and fumbled for my cell, which I had slipped into my coat pocket as I ran. I was curled up with my head bent in to my knees to fit in the small space, but I managed to get the cell between my knees and face, and I unlocked the screen. If I could just call the guys…but I couldn’t. No service, as I had feared. I tried hitting Harris’s contact anyway, clinging to hope, but the call didn’t connect, the cell simply beeping at me.
I fought not to cry as I put the phone back into the safety of my pocket and curled into myself even tighter. I had to wait and listen. If Soloman didn’t come in the next hour or so I’d move and try to find some service to make the call, but I had to be patient. I had to be sure he wasn’t right behind me. I had to ignore the panic racing through me and be smart.
ALEKS
“Guys,” I called as loud as I dare. We were back at our place, working every possible angle to try and get a lead on where that bastard had taken Evie.
We knew he had her. We’d seen him approach her in the reception area of the daycare. We presumed he’d pointed a gun into her side, though the image hadn’t been clear enough to be sure. She’d walked out with him right behind her.
