Page 38 of John’s Yearning

“Fucking bitch! You’ll pay for that,” he threatened.

She didn’t waste her energy screaming for help, because she knew nobody would come. Instead she pulled herself up, rocked forward and threw a punch at his face. He dove to the side and twisted her legs, attempting to turn her back on her stomach again.

“Get the fucking bitch in the van!” the driver yelled from the cab.

For a second, her aggressor seemed distracted, and she used the moment to jerk her legs up. This time she was able to free one leg from his grip and swung it in the direction of his head. But before it could connect, the asshole twisted her other leg, causing her to cry out in pain. She felt him shove her deeper into the van, but she managed to grip the side of the door with one hand and held on for dear life.

“Jump in, you idiot,” the driver yelled. “We’ve gotta get outta here!”

Her attacker jumped into the van and would have landed on her, had something not jerked him sideways at the last second. What, she couldn’t see immediately, but she could hear it: a ferocious growl accompanied the thud and a painful howl sounded as the kidnapper slammed against the rough metal interior of the van.

“Fuck!” the driver screamed.

The van jerked forward, as a dark figure reached for her.

“Savannah!”

She recognized the voice instantly and let go of her grip on the door frame. John yanked her out of the van, which was already in motion. With his arms securely around her, they tumbled, landing on the hard ground, rolling for a few feet, before coming to a stop on the grassy shoulder of the dark road.

The van’s engine revved, and when she whirled her head in its direction, she could only see faint taillights disappearing in the distance. She squinted in an attempt to read the license plate, but couldn’t make out any letters or numbers.

Tears ran down her cheeks.

“Are you hurt?” John’s voice was full of concern.

She shook her head and tried to sit up, but searing pain shot up her side where she’d landed on the hard surface of the van.

“You are hurt!” John helped her sit up.

“Just some bruises.” Then, for the first time she looked at him and met his eyes. “She wasn’t in the van, John. They didn’t bring her. I gave them the money, and they didn’t bring Buffy.” Sobs tore from her chest. “Why?”

John helped her up. “I don’t know, Savannah, I wish I did. But we have to leave. There’s nothing for us to do here. They’re gone.”

“I couldn’t read the license plate.”

“I’m surprised you had the wherewithal to even try to read it.” He put his hand on her elbow. “I got a look at the plate. I’ll have my people run it, but I don’t have much hope. Thugs like that don’t use vehicles registered to them.” He motioned in the direction the van had disappeared. “My car is over there.”

She sniffled, trying to stop her tears and allowed him to lead her to his car. He helped her into the passenger seat, then shut the door and got in on the driver’s side. A moment later, the engine hummed, and the car was in motion. The smooth ride should have soothed her, but it didn’t. She was still shaking, still in shock. She’d done everything the kidnappers had asked for, and they hadn’t given Buffy back to her.

While she went back over the events of the day to try to figure out if she’d done anything that could have warranted the kidnapper’s change of mind about handing over her daughter, John made a phone call, reciting a license plate number and requesting it be checked out immediately.

If he hadn’t gotten there in time, she would now be in the van and would have disappeared too, and then who would save Buffy? But John had found her.

“How?”

He gave her a sideways glance. “What?”

“How did you know? How did you find me?”

16

John looked at Savannah’s tearstained eyes. His heart had almost stopped when he’d seen the thug trying to drag Savannah into the van to abduct her. He’d arrived at the same time as the kidnappers, which was good timing, as it meant that neither Savannah nor the kidnappers had heard his car engine. He’d already switched off his headlights before he’d stopped the car. His superior vampire vision had allowed him to drive without the lights, once he’d entered the park—just as the sun had set.

“When I couldn’t reach you, I broke into your flat and found the kidnapper’s note.”

“Why did you come?”

“I had to make sure you were safe. I was fully prepared to watch without interfering. I didn’t want to put you or Buffy in danger, but when I saw that thug toss you into the van, I had to act. I knew then that Buffy wasn’t inside.”