Chapter 1: Captive
She had been kidnapped! And if that wasn't mortifying enough, her kidnappers had stuffed her in the boot of a car! Now she needed a plan because she refused to be a victim!
Annie Carlisle regained consciousness slowly. The air was stale and hot. Her hands and feet were tied and the tape over her mouth made it difficult to breathe. The low hum of a car whirred beneath her, its speed steady along a winding road that bumped and jostled just enough to exacerbate the headache hammering against the inside of her skull.
Annie nearly groaned. The headache was likely a side-effect of the drug they had used to knock her out.
Bastards! she thought.
It was also likely she had been stuffed into the boot of a car… either that or the idiot had a broken air conditioner—damn, it was hot! But no, she couldn't hear breathing or any other tell-tale movements indicating a fellow passenger—definitely the boot.
Cautious, Annie shifted slightly. Her hands were tied awkwardly behind her back and she was apparently wrapped in some sort of canvas material that scratched at her arms and face.
Annie sighed in frustration. There had been a day when this situation would have been child's play: a flexible movement backward to untie her legs, another quick motion to bring her hands out in front of her, and finally the relatively easy manipulation of the boot latch and voilà! But she was out of practice and frankly, out of shape… and her head was killing her!
Bastards! she thought again.
And the sudden flat tire just below her left ear was hardly alleviating her discomfort!
She felt the car slow to a stop, heard the hard crunch of gravel beneath the tires and the click and thud of the driver's door opening and closing.
Ha! she thought, grinning against the tape on her mouth. The spare will be in the boot! Which meant the bastard would have to move her and she would, naturally, have to make things as difficult as possible for him.
Wriggling, Annie heard the boot click open and the resulting light filtered weakly through the teeth of a long zipper. She was in a duffel bag! she realized indignantly. Even more infuriating were the ill-placed hands that slid her to the back of the boot to reach the spare.
"You bastard!" she shouted, which due to the tape still covering her lips, came out as little more than a loud, muffled noise.
Fuming, Annie lay still long after the bastard had changed his tire and resumed their winding drive.
When they stopped for petrol Annie was sorely tempted to press her advantage and scream, but she needed information… and her dignity. When the car slowed to a stop again soon thereafter, she wondered anxiously if she was all out of chances.
The boot clicked open again, followed by the slow grate of the zipper.
Annie blinked in the sudden sunlight, wanting to sigh at the welcome breath of fresh air. She scowled instead. The effect was probably ruined by the hair plastered to her face and the tape over her mouth, but she hoped her eyes at least communicated her earlier sentiments.
Bastard! she thought.
The bastard himself was less than extraordinary. He wore a nondescript suit with an equally boring black tie and his dark hair was cut close to his head, suggesting a military background. Though his expression was neutral, his eyes were a warm golden brown.
Not a psychotic murderer, then, she reasoned fleetingly… But he still has a bagged woman in his boot!
"Hi," he said, his voice low and calm. Disturbingly… nonthreatening.
Annie blinked and her gaze flickered to the soda bottle and straw he held in one hand before the sharp glint of a small knife in the other hand caught her undivided attention. Swallowing hard, she struggled to maintain a nonchalant expression, but her heart beat hard against her ribcage as he leaned forward.
"Now, don't move," he murmured, his accent distinctively English.
Annie glowered at him as he brought the small blade toward her face.
With a quick flick of his wrist, he cut a narrow slit in the tape across her mouth and Annie was back to blinking.
A corner of his mouth twitched as he opened the soda bottle and offered her the straw.
Annie's eyes narrowed. Was it drugged? Poisoned?
"Come on, drink," he said, voice still low and quiet.
Annie raised a sardonic eyebrow. Do I look stupid to you? she thought. Then she realized she probably did. She was, after all, trussed like a holiday turkey, stuffed in a duffel bag in the boot of a car with Captain Black-Tie-Guy on an apparently secluded back road, on her way to who knew where… Yeah, definitely some stupid in there. So she went back to the scowling.
Looking frustrated now, the bastard rolled his eyes and tossed the bottle aside.
Careful to hide her victory grin, Annie had an idea and started to wriggle toward the lip of the boot.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?"
Annie stopped moving to glance pointedly at her mouth before looking up again. Would you like me to mumble it first, she thought derisively, or do you want to just pull this tape off and cut to the chase?
The bastard stuck a patronizing finger in her face. "If you scream, I'll have to kill you. Do you understand?"
Annie raised a defiant eyebrow in response.
Rolling his eyes, he peeled back the tape over her mouth and Annie smiled. Much better! she thought.
"Well?" he snapped.
Annie frowned. "I need a ladies room," she said primly. "Shall I go here, or am I allowed a brief interlude?"
Looking irritated, the bastard considered for a moment and Annie wished she really did have to use the restroom, if only to see the look on his face when she used his boot as her facility.
"Okay," he said finally, pressing the tape back against her lips.
Annie scowled.
The entire situation was a bit surreal, truth be told. The bastard could almost be described as a gentleman were it not for the fact that she was tied up as he lifted her out of the car and well… the situation in general.
Setting her feet on the ground he held her patiently as she fought for balance on unsteady legs. Of course, it didn't help that they were tied together either! Holding her upright with one hand, he pulled another rope from the boot.
"You all right?" he asked, releasing his hold slowly.
Annie would have laughed were it not for the stupid tape on her face! Instead she studied his license plate, committing it to memory, while he tied a noose at one end of the rope and slipped it loosely around her neck. Then the little knife was out again. In two quick movements the rope around her wrists and ankles fell away.
Annie rubbed her wrists gratefully, reaching up to remove the blasted tape over her mouth.
The bastard stopped her. "You don't need your mouth to pee."
Annie glowered at him.
Holding the rope around her neck like a leash, he pointed to the brush behind her. "You have one minute."
Annie walked backward slowly, unwilling to turn her back just yet.
Raising an eyebrow, the bastard checked his watch. "Fifty-five," he said. "Fifty-four."
Smirking, Annie whirled around and into the brush. He kept the rope taut but it was easy enough to secure it around a low branch. Ripping off the tape, she made her escape, her movements quick and quiet. Just like old times, she thought.
She moved carefully down a steep incline, glancing over her shoulder with a soft chuckle. When she looked forward again the bastard was waiting for her and had the audacity to look annoyed.
Irritated herself, Annie took a wild swing at his head but he caught it deftly, twirling her around like a demented dance partner and tying her hands behind her back.
"No, damn y—!" she started before he pressed the tape over her lips again.
"I hope you enjoyed your interlude," he said, binding her feet again, "'cause it's your last on this trip." Setting a shoulder to her midsection, he lifted her like a sack of flour.
Annie was mortified! Good grief, she thought, I really am out of practice! To make herself feel better, she kneed him hard in the chest.
"Rule three," he grunted, maneuvering her body to lay across his shoulders. "Never look in the package."
Annie snorted.
The trek back to his car was graciously quick, considering Annie's flagging dignity, but the two police officers circling his car were unexpected.
Annie grinned behind the tape over her mouth before letting out a shrill scream.
The bastard growled, flipping her off his back and into one of the cop's arms.
Annie blinked, startled.
Her rescuer blinked back before awkwardly setting her on her feet while his partner got the royal crap kicked out of him.
Definitely military, Annie decided as she watched the bastard make quick work of her would-be rescuers.
Shaking her head in annoyance, Annie didn't even put up a fight when he stuffed her back in the duffel bag in the boot, this time with two police officers.
Annie sighed.
Bastard!
© 20th Century Fox