Kim awakened, cold and groggy. Her mind was a morass of memories, running into each other, leaving her befuddled and sad. Slowly, she pieced together what she could recall—Poppa's funeral, the wake, the plane ride, her phone call to Jeannie, her message for Shane. Sadness of the loss she soon remembered suddenly brought the dawn of dread: the Dragon's ring sliced across her mind's eye, jolting her back to her present reality.
Unsure of where she was, Kim sensed almost immediately that she wasn't alone in the shadow dark room. The breathing of whomever it was nearby told her this person was asleep—or at least was pretending to be. Carefully, Kim opened her eyes to narrow slits, trying to appraise who lay there before her in what felt and smelled like a damp cellar. This initial cursory glance at her cellmate revealed little, since whoever it was lay face down on the cot. Courage slowly filled her veins, so Kim tentatively moved toward the hidden figure, hoping to uncover an ally who wanted to escape the Dragon as much as Kimberly did.
Kim stealthily tiptoed toward the cot across the dark cell, appraising the size and feel of her surroundings. You're quite the detective, Nancy Drew, Shane often teased, whenever Kim retreated to what he called her teen sleuth mode, dissecting one of his cases with rapid-fire questions and observations. Kim was acutely aware, though, that in a dire situation, the power of observation could not be overlooked. No matter how minute it would seem, something she saw could easily be her ticket out of wherever it was the Dragon had stashed her.
Moving slowly to face the sleeping figure, Kim was soon close enough to make out from the dark straight hair strewn across her face that it was a woman. Two more tentative steps toward the woman brought Kim both joy and pain. She gasped at the recognition, causing the woman to spring to life, grabbing Kim's wrist and pushing her onto the now empty cot.
"Hope, Hope, it's me. It's Kim. Oh, thank God." Kim yelped, trying to withstand the pain that came from her sister-in-law's knee jutting into her back.
"Kim? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Hope released her, helping Kim regain her breath, and led her to sit on the bed. Sitting next to her, Hope questioned, "What are you doing here?"
Kim rubbed her wrist and looked incredulously into her friend and sister-in-law's face. "Don't you know who's brought us here?"
"Kim, the last thing I remember I was leaving the pub to pack a few of Ciara's things for Dad and Julie. They were going to keep her overnight, so I could focus on helping Bo heal." Hope's voice trailed off as she recalled her husband's precarious health. "Oh, Kim. What if he needs me and I'm not there?" she wondered aloud miserably.
"Hope, he'll be okay. If I know my brother, he's already well on his way to being well and figuring out where we are."
"Where are we?" Hope questioned, her eyes scanning the darkness of the cell.
"Where? I don't know exactly, but I do remember who took me, so my guess is England."
"England?" Hope was now incredulous as she swung her head to concentrate on what Kim had told her.
"It's him. It's the Dragon. I recognized his ring." Kim explained.
"The Dragon?" Hope couldn't believe her ears. "But he was given a life sentence all those years ago."
The women's conversation abruptly stopped as the wooden door creaked open, letting in light and their captor.
"Pleased to see that my guests are awake. You've found the accommodations to your liking, ladies?" the Dragon mused sarcastically, surveying the cell's meager provisions. The Dragon stood before them weaponless, yet the two guards behind him held guns they were ready to use.
"How?" Kim wondered aloud, clutching Hope's hand, never taking her eyes off of the Dragon or his guards.
"Never mind how, Mrs. Donovan." The Dragon chimed. "That certainly seems irrelevant now. What matters now, fair ladies, is why. And you won't have to wait long for the answer." He smirked, "Unfinished business."
"Revenge?" Hope asked. "If you want revenge on us, why keep us alive in this cell?"
"Oh, your deaths are imminent. However, the party is incomplete. I anticipate the arrival of your cohorts soon enough."
"Bo and Shane?" Kim replied. "What have you done to them?"
"Done to them? Why, I've merely sent them invitations." The Dragon produced a photograph of an unconscious Hope and Kim, bound and gagged, with the inscription "London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down, London Bridge is falling down, my fair ladies?"
Kim knew that once Shane saw the photograph, nothing would stop him from coming to London, cognizant as he'd be that he would be walking right into the Dragon's hands. Kim knew her brother, too. Injured or not, he would not rest knowing that Hope was in danger.
"You'll never get away with this." Hope countered.
"Mrs. Brady, I already have." The Dragon motioned to the cell and its sub par accommodations as he backtracked toward the exit. "Your husbands should be here promptly, and alone, if I haven't underestimated them."
The Dragon motioned to the left guard who produced a photograph whose contents were knives to Hope's and Kim's hearts.
"Oh my God!" Kim cried. "No . . ."
"You're a monster." Hope spat through clenched teeth, trying not to let the image of a tearful Ciara crush her.
"You see, if they don't come alone, these two young ladies will never return home." The Dragon sneered as the mothers' eyes absorbed the photograph of Jeannie cuddling a frightened Ciara in a similar cell. "Our business will soon be finished, fair ladies." He smirked, shutting the cell door behind him.
"Okay, Hope, so what are we going to do?" Kim asked desperately, knowing the gears in Hope's police mind were already turning.