Chapter Twenty-Two

Language and violence ahead. You have been warned.

Max had to admit, just when he thought Daniel couldn't possibly do anything to impress him even more, he knocked another one right out of the ballpark. What should have taken him at least four hours to figure out, it only took him two hours to pinpoint the area Nancy was in. Sure, he still had to search hundreds of acres of forest, but at least he had a starting point.

It was a hell of a lot better than nothing. And he would take anything he could get at this point.

Max knew he was racing the clock, because he truly didn't believe that Nancy didn't have the twenty-four hours Wolfe and Krieger were giving her. It was just something they were dangling in front of her, giving her a false sense of hope. Even if she did manage to elude them for twenty-four hours, there was no way they were going to just let her walk away.

They had put too much into finding her and setting up the little demented game. People were paying to watch them kill her and there was no way they were going to disappoint their twisted little audience.

It really was a shame that Max was going to put an end to it first.

Daniel had assured him he could lead a trail to every person involved, basically handing them all over to the police in a gift wrapped package. Once Daniel had gotten through all of the firewalls and false trails, it was a simple case of tracing it back to the original source. With one click of the button, the website would be shut down, leaving an unknown number of people who didn't feel they were getting their money's worth pissed at Krieger and Wolfe.

As tempting as it was for Max to give Daniel the go-ahead to put an end to it, that website was the only thing allowing them to keep an eye on Nancy. It sickened Max to see her being hunted as if she was nothing more than an animal. But the two things that Max had learned about Nancy were that she was resilient and resourceful.

Two things that he loved about her.

Loved?

Max halted in his tracks, wondering if that was what he was really feeling for Nancy. Did he even know how to love someone? He'd never in his life been in love—lust, yes. But never love, but Nancy made him feel something deep inside that he'd never felt for any woman. And he knew he shouldn't love her. He was wrong for her on so many levels—he was the last man who should ever be allowed to love her.

But he couldn't stop himself from feeling that way. And he didn't want to.

"You have a faraway look on your face," Daniel said, snapping Max out of his reverie. "It's a little frightening, to be honest."

"Shut up, Daniel."

Daniel chuckled as Max continued to lead the way through the forest.

"I knew I should have left you in the car," Max muttered, shaking his head in annoyance. He knew as soon as he said that, it wasn't true. Daniel was a valuable asset to him, especially now with his gadgets. He was currently using a thermal imagining scanner, which used radiation to pick up variations in temperature, which made finding warm-blooded creatures in the middle of the forest easier to find—whether it be human or animal.

"You make it sound as if I'm a child," Daniel said, feigning offense.

"You said it, I didn't." Max turned his head, flashing Daniel a quick grin. "Are you picking up anything?"

"Thumper and Bambi, but nothing that even remotely screams human."

"Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Well, I don't know, Max." This time there was no mistaking the annoyance in Daniel's tone. "We're currently searching hundreds of acres of forest—I can't exactly tell you where we should have begun our search."

"Sensitive subject, got it."

"I'm sure I have told you this several times already, but I am trying the best that I can." Daniel sighed as he continued to scan the area ahead of them. "I swear, I am going to start a drinking game if I say if again."

Max smirked. "It's not a fun drinking game if you don't have anything to drink."

"Who said…" Daniel's voice trailed off, causing Max to stop and turn back around.

"What is it?"

"I'm getting something on the scanner."

Max quickly made his way to Daniel's side. "Human something or animal something?"

"Definitely human." Daniel narrowed his eyes at Max. "And before you ask, I don't know if it's Nancy or not."

Reaching behind his back, Max pulled his gun out of the waistband of his jeans. "I guess there's only one way to find out."

Nodding, Daniel put the scanner away and pulled out his own gun.

Using his fingers to signal for Daniel to go to the left, Max stealthily made his way around to the right, remaining as quiet as possible. He wasn't sure who was waiting for them, but every part of him was praying that it was Nancy and that she was okay. They could put an end to this quickly, but he knew it couldn't be that easy.

It never was.

A few yards up ahead, he found a figure slumped against a tree. The person didn't appear to be moving and for a terrifying moment, he thought it was Nancy as he caught a flash of blonde hair. Caution went out the window as Max sprinted the rest of the distance only to stop short when he realized that it wasn't Nancy.

It was Randy Wolfe.

Max couldn't hold back the smile that tugged at his lips as he noticed the large red stain on Wolfe's shirt. The injured man's green eyes stood out in stark contrast against his pale skin as he looked up at Max.

"I have to say, this is quite the unexpected, nice surprise," Max said, holding his weapon at his side. "I didn't know Christmas would be coming so early this year."

"Bite me," Randy bit out.

"Sorry—not my thing." Max's head jerked up as the sound of approaching footsteps reached his ears. He visibly relaxed when he saw that it was Daniel. "So, what the hell happened to you? Didn't you're mother ever tell you not to run with scissors?"

Randy winced in pain as he tried to sit up. "Your bitch happened."

Max let the insult go as a rush of pride washed over him. "Nancy did this to you?"

"Do you have another bitch running around the forest?"

Okay, Max couldn't really let that one go. He struck out, punching Wolfe in the jaw, causing the other man to topple over. Max barely glanced up as Daniel let out a chuckle. "Watch how you speak about her."

"Screw you."

Max leaned down, gripping Randy by the neck. "Where is she?"

"Dead."

"Try again," Max growled, squeezing harder.

"If Krieger got a hold of her, she's as good as dead." Randy smiled, though it came across as more of a grimace. "You have no idea what he has planned for her."

Taking a deep breath, Max tried to get his anger under control. It wouldn't do him any good to kill Wolfe right now. At least, not until he got the answers he wanted. And he would get the answers. There was no doubt about that.

Keeping his grip tight on Randy's neck, Max plunged his other fist into the injured man's side where he'd been stabbed. He had to work hard to keep the smile off his face as Randy screamed in pain, his cries echoing all throughout the forest.

"Now, I'm going to ask you again," Max said softly, refusing to move his hand away from Randy's side. "Where is she?"

Randy grit his teeth, trying to pull away from Max. "If I tell you, you'll kill me anyway."

"Not true. I have no intention of letting you die a quick death." Max smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "You have my word. Now, tell me where she is."

When Randy refused to answer, Max dug into his wound, eliciting another roar of pain from him.

"I don't know where she is, you son of a bitch!" Randy screamed, panting heavily. He swallowed hard a few times before he was able to speak again. "She took off running as soon as she stabbed me."

"Which direction?"

"To the left."

Studying him for a few moments, Max gave a tight nod before removing his hand from his wound. "How long ago?"

"An hour, at least." Randy muttered a curse as he tried to sit up straight. "I don't know where she went, but I can point you in the direction of Krieger."

"Why would you do that?"

Randy let out a soft chuckle. "This whole thing was his idea. I was against it from the beginning, but he was funding the whole thing, so who was I to argue. I would have rather just killed Nancy when you brought her to me the first time."

"That still doesn't answer my question," Max growled.

"I want the bastard brought down!" Randy yelled. "The arrogant son of a bitch thinks no one can touch him."

"Where is he?"

"There's a cabin about a mile up ahead to your left. He was waiting there for me to bring Nancy to him."

Standing up, Max nodded to Daniel who stepped forward with a zip tie. Randy barely put up a fight as Daniel grabbed his hands and secured them to the tree behind him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Randy demanded. "I told you what I knew!"

Max smirked. "You didn't honestly think I was just going to let you go, did you? You just sit tight and if you happen to still be alive when I get back with Nancy, I'll pick you up so I can personally deliver you to the police."

"You'll go down with me!" Randy yelled.

"I don't think I will." Turning away from Randy, Max began walking away, Daniel right beside him.

"I won't let you get away this!"

"You might want to save your energy, Wolfe," Max called over his shoulder as he continued to put distance between them. "You're only going to die quicker if you don't."

He tuned out Randy's voice as the other man continued to shout after him. His focus was on other things.

He was going to find Nancy.

Nancy was pretty sure she had become an expert with déjà vu. And in her expert opinion, it sucked.

Especially when you woke up and found yourself tied to yet another bed.

The only difference this time was at least she wasn't waking up with Randy Wolfe in her face. Instead, she had found someone much worse—John Krieger. And at the moment, he was sitting in a chair across the room watching her, staring at her.

"Do you usually get your kicks by tying women to beds?" Nancy asked, ignoring the pounding in her head. She was pretty sure she had at least a baseball-sized lump on the back of her head. She tested the bonds, but found the ropes were tied tightly, almost stretching her body as far as it would go.

Krieger smiled lewdly, but said nothing.

Nancy let out a sigh as she let her head fall back down against the pillow. She honestly didn't want to know how he got his kicks—she just wanted to find a way out of this mess before he had the chance to kill her.

Because there was no doubt in her mind, that was exactly what he had planned.

"Are you going to say anything or just continue to stare at me?" Nancy asked, not masking her annoyance. Fear hadn't quite gripped her yet, but she wasn't sure how long it would be before it made its entrance.

"What would you like me to say, Miss Drew?"

"That you made a mistake and you're going to let me go and leave me alone."

"I would never say something so ludicrous."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "I only said it was what I wanted you to say. I never actually believed you would."

"You're a very intelligent woman," Krieger said softly. He still hadn't moved from his chair, which only annoyed Nancy even further.

"I'm flattered."

"As you should be."

Silence settled between them, which only made Nancy that much more uncomfortable. She didn't particularly like the silence; it made her feel claustrophobic. Of course, being bound hand and foot to a bed didn't help any, either. She tilted her head up, inspecting the bonds. There had to be a way to get herself free—a painful way, but a way nonetheless.

"You seem bored over there, Miss Drew," Krieger said, rising slowly from his chair. "Perhaps we should do something to occupy ourselves."

"I'm not bored," Nancy said, watching as he took slow, deliberate steps towards her. "I have no problem lying here, staring at the ceiling."

"I do." As he came closer, Nancy noticed he was holding something in his right hand, but she couldn't make out what it was. "I would rather that you were screaming. After all, the people paid to see a show and I intend to deliver."

Before Nancy could even comprehend what he was talking about, a burst of electricity shot through her body. Her mouth opened in a silence scream as she began convulsing, straining against the ropes holding her prisoner.

He'd hit her with a freakin' Taser.

"Son…of a…bitch!" Nancy bit out, wincing in pain.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't hear any screaming," Krieger said, ignoring her. "Let's try this again, shall we?"

Nancy let out a painful scream as she was hit with another wave of electricity. Her body felt as if it was on fire, the pain was so intense. She'd watched people get tased before, but never realized how much it hurt. Of course, she had to imagine that what Krieger was hitting her with was more intense than anything the police would use.

"Ah, music to my ears!" Krieger said happily.

It took Nancy a little longer to recover from the shock. When she spoke, her voice sounded shaky even to her own ears. "What is the…point of…this?"

"I want to see you hurt." Krieger leaned down until he was right above her face. "It would be too easy to kill you outright. I plan on dragging this out for as long as possible." He picked up a wicked looking hunting knife. The blade had to be at least ten inches long. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be in an Egyptian prison, Miss Drew?"

"Can't say that it's something that's on my bucket list," Nancy answered, trying to keep her eyes away from the knife.

"The conditions are deplorable. You're lucky if you even get one meal a day." Krieger traced a path along her body with the tip of the blade. "The things they do to you in there—even the guards—you can't begin to fathom."

"You're the one who landed yourself there."

"You put me there!" Krieger shouted, a vein bulging in his temple as his face turned a scarlet shade. "You and your detective friends! A bunch of teenagers, no less!"

"Sounds to me that it only speaks poorly of you," Nancy muttered, only to receive another volt of electricity shooting through her body. She couldn't stop the scream that tore out of her mouth or the tears that trailed down her face.

"You have a very smart mouth, Miss Drew," Krieger said, bringing the knife to trace along her mouth. "Maybe I should rectify that problem and cut out your tongue. I'm sure our viewers would love to see that."

Turning her eyes away from his leering grin, Nancy looked past his shoulder to see that there was in fact a video camera trained on her. She was surprised she hadn't noticed it before. It only pissed her off even more, knowing that she was at the mercy of a madman with no way to defend herself. And the fact that there were people watching her, probably getting off on seeing her in pain, infuriated her even more.

"You don't have to do this, Krieger," Nancy said softly. "You're throwing your freedom away for vengeance. Is it really worth it to you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because for five years, I thought of nothing but coming back to the United States and hunting you down," Krieger explained. "I worked hard and I was about to become a very rich man until you put a stop to it."

"As you pointed out, I'm not the only one who brought you down," Nancy said. "What about Frank and Joe Hardy?"

"What about them?"

"Shouldn't they be part of this little game you concocted?"

"Who says they're not?"

Fear finally made its appearance, stabbing through her chest almost as if Krieger had plunged his knife there himself. He had to be lying about them. "What do you mean?"

Krieger let out a chuckle. "You think they're not watching this right now? Why go after them personally, when I can take away the one person they would give their own lives for? The guilt will eat away at them for the rest of their pathetic lives."

Nancy knew Krieger was right, as much as it pained her to admit to herself. Frank and Joe would be consumed with guilt, especially if they had no idea what had been going on for the past few days. She'd even thought about calling them for help when she'd first gotten away from Randy, but didn't want to put them in the line of fire.

Especially not when she had Max.

She was about to open her mouth when there was a loud thump outside the door. Nancy had no idea if it was the wind, a wild animal, or a person lurking outside, but she wasn't about to waste any opportunity for help. Opening her mouth to scream, it came out muffled as Krieger clamped his hand tightly over her mouth. She jerked her head from side to side, trying to move it, but he placed the knife against her throat, stilling her movements.

"Not a word, Miss Drew…" Krieger warned softly.

"Open the damn door, Krieger!" Max's voice penetrated the silence. "We know you're in there!"

Nancy had never heard a more beautiful sound in the world and for the first time, real hope actually flared in her chest. She was going to get out of this alive.

Keeping his hand over her mouth, Krieger sliced through the ropes holding her to the bed before jerking her up roughly to her feet. She was still weak and shaky from the shots she'd taken from the taser, stumbling slightly before the knife settled against her throat once again.

Krieger's breath was hot against her ear. "What do you say we invite our guest in for the show?"

Sorry for the delay, but in my defense the final book in the Celestra series came out and I dropped everything to read it. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Pretty sure I forgot to eat or sleep at one point.

That being said, I would like to thank the following people for their reviews: Angelvie S, raven678, Michelle Gallichio, SC15, SarahE7191, Cupcake, and Lady Emily. I love you guys!

I apologize for any mistakes and let me know what you think!