THE FLUORESCENT GLOW of the gas station lit up the night, making the blackness surrounding it stand out in stark contrast. There were no cars and the windows of the store were dark.
“Great,” she said as they approached it. She stood next to pump number three and leaned against a metal pole. “They’re closed.” What were they going to do now? The enormity of the situation was sinking in, and she just wanted to slide to the ground and cry. She didn’t because that would have been counterproductive, but she seriously considered it for a moment.
“Maybe there’s a pay phone,” he said.
“Hi, Logan, welcome to the twenty-first century,” she said, knowing she sounded cranky and not really caring.
“Aren’t we pessimistic,” he said, then nodded to his right. “I see one right there.” He walked over to it, leaving her standing under the creepy greenish lights at the pump.
“Then why did you say ‘maybe’?” she muttered to herself, crossing her arms. She watched as he picked up the receiver and tried to get it to work. After a moment he turned around and shrugged. “Doesn’t work,” she said to herself. “Shocker.” She was about to start toward him when she saw fast approaching headlights coming down the road. Since they hadn’t seen a single car the entire time they were walking, she was almost certain it was not just a passerby.
“Logan,” she called as loud as she felt she could get away with. When he looked over at her, she pointed to the road. She couldn’t hear what he said, but judging by his body language and the set of his jaw, she assumed that it was not a good word.
Katie hoped beyond hope that it was Will with her car coming to save them, but when was she ever that lucky? Deciding not to chance it, she found the best hiding place she could under the circumstances. Which was not a good one. There wasn’t much time, so she ducked behind the pump and hoped they kept on driving. She noticed Logan crouching down behind a garbage can on the side of the building and wished that she could go hide with him. His hiding spot was better than hers. Hers sucked.
She held her breath as the vehicle turned into the lot. “Hang on to your butts,” she muttered, wishing she were at home hearing Samuel L. Jackson say it instead.
Now that the vehicle was closer, she could see that their luck was not getting any better. It was the Escape, and she had a feeling they weren’t here to fill their tank. From her hiding spot she could see Logan through a small gap between the wall and the garbage can, but the angle was wrong for the men in the car to see him. She and Logan made eye contact, her own worried look mirrored on his face.
The SUV stopped and two of the men climbed out, slamming the doors shut behind them. It was Clint and Rich, and they did not look happy. Especially Rich, whose eye was already swelling where Logan had hit him. That probably hadn’t endeared Logan and herself to them. The muscles in her legs were already starting to tremble as she crouched lower. She wondered where the third guy was. Maybe he was still in the car. Or he could have been back with Savannah. Or they could have killed him. Probably not, but it would be one less guy to worry about so she was secretly hoping for that one.
The men moved forward, and she realized that if they looked her way she’d be completely visible, so with careful steady movements she slid around to the other side of the pump, praying the entire time. She almost fell backward when there was a step down but righted herself, glad when she managed to bite back the girlish scream that threatened to pop out.
“I thought I saw something over there,” Rich said. She risked poking her head out to see where he was pointing. Right by Logan’s hiding spot. Shit, maybe my spot is better after all, she thought, her mind racing.
Logan was backed against a wall. Literally. If they found him, he wouldn’t have any place to run. There was at least three feet of snow built up in the field behind him, a wall to his right, and the two men in front of him. He was not in a good position, and they were heading right toward him.
She had to do something.
She had to do something now. Any closer and they would see him for sure. The thought of something happening to Logan made her chest tighten and her breath leave her body. She could not just stay hidden when she knew he was about to be caught. Catching sight of his face through the gap, she saw him shake his head with a glint of warning in his eyes. She was starting to wonder if he really could read her mind because she knew she had no choice but to divert their attention.
She popped up from her hiding spot then, standing still until she was sure they saw her. The movement caught Clint’s eye and he spun around to face her. “There’s the girl,” he said, smacking Rich on the arm and nodding toward her. Following his comrade’s movement, Rich turned and pulled his gun from the waistband of his pants.
Aw, shit, she thought as she turned tail and ran, trying to stay behind the pumps for cover. A bullet dinged off of one, making her shriek and duck, but they didn’t have a clear shot so she kept running. As her feet pounded on the pavement and nearly slipped out from under her—stupid boots—she heard them approaching and knew that hers was not the best thought out plan. The cold air was already making her lungs burn, and her eyes stung, tearing up, as the wind blew in her face. Deep male voices filled the silence, shouting over one another with an indiscernible jumble of words. This was followed by the sounds of fists hitting flesh and grunts of pain.
Curiosity overcame her and she made the mistake of looking back. A fresh surge of fear hit when she saw that Clint was almost on her. Farther back she noticed that Logan had tackled Rich. Now they were on the ground struggling, red-faced and straining, for possession of the gun.
Bad idea. This was a bad, bad, bad idea, she thought, picking up her pace and running faster. Maybe Logan could take out that guy and she could lose this freak. Clint was pretty big, so she didn’t think she could take him in a fight. Her best bet was outrunning him. And her best bet did not seem to be working. As she hit the street, she felt an arm wrap around her waist and Clint haul her back up against him. A surprised scream wrenched itself from her lungs and she struggled like crazy, kicking her feet and thrusting her elbows back. She connected an elbow in his ribs and he let out an ooomph of pain.
“Knock it off,” Clint said, and tightened his grip as he brought his gun up to her head.
She stilled, holding her breath and hoping with everything she had that he was not about to pull the trigger.
He didn’t. “Where’s the money?” he asked, his voice a low growl.
“I don’t know anything about any money,” she said, trying to keep calm.
“Bullshit,” he said in her ear, spitting a little when he said it. She flinched as it hit her cheek, and leaned away from him. Removing his arm from her waist, he clamped his hand painfully around her bicep and dragged her back toward the SUV.
As Clint pushed Katie forward, the sounds of fighting made her wince. Logan was on top of Rich, his fists making a sickening sound as they connected with the other man’s face, slamming relentlessly down, over and over again. The crisp white snow beneath them was flecked with blood and the gun lay, tossed aside, just out of reach. Between blows, Rich kept trying to dislodge him, looking about for his weapon, trying to connect a hit anywhere possible. Logan didn’t falter or show any sign that he felt it.
“Enough!” Clint yelled. Neither man looked over, too absorbed in their battle to take note of anything else. Lowering his head, Clint spoke into Katie’s ear: “I’d rather not risk hitting Rich, but if I have to I will shoot your boyfriend anyway. Call him off. Now.”
“Logan,” Katie yelled, her voice shaking in fear. “Stop!”
That got his attention, cutting through the violence long enough for Logan to raise his head. Seeing the gun pressed to Katie’s temple, every muscle in his body went rigid. With his opponent distracted, Rich surged upward, knocking Logan to the ground before jumping to his feet.
“You bastard,” he yelled as he reared back and kicked Logan in the ribs. Logan curled up and let out a grunt of pain as the guy kept kicking him.
“Stop!” Katie yelled, forgetting all about the gun and struggling against Clint. Every kick, every sharp intake of breath, was like a punch to her own gut. “Logan!”
“Rich, knock it off,” Clint said as he fought to keep his grip on Katie, who was struggling like a wild animal. After one final heel to Logan’s stomach, Rich stepped back, using his sleeve to wipe blood and sweat from his face. The fury in his eyes made it clear he wanted to keep going and didn’t want to stop until Logan was dead. Clint gave her a shake that was really more of a violent jerk. “I still have a gun,” he said.
Katie stilled, but the look she shot him was pure hatred. Her eyes narrowed and her breath came out in a sharp hiss, but she kept her mouth shut because she didn’t feel like having her head blown off. It would almost be worth it to be able to get at least one good hit in. Anger welled up inside of her chest and she was shaking with it as she tried to tamp it down. It burned in her stomach and filled her head with the rushing of her own blood. She wanted to see these men bruised, and bloody, and laying in a heap of agony writhing in pain, and suffering. She tore her eyes away from her attackers, knowing she would be unable to control her anger if she kept thinking about how much pain she wanted to inflict on them. Looking down at Logan, her heart ached at seeing him in pain.
Clutching his stomach, he struggled up to his knees. “It’s okay,” he said, glancing up at Katie and letting out a cough. “He kicks like a bitch.”
Rich surged forward, like he was going to attack Logan again.
“Rich, you can beat the hell out of him later,” Clint said, and Rich stopped to look at him. “Right now we need him to tell us where our money is.”
“Go to hell,” Logan said, getting to his feet. And Katie wished she could go to him. She wanted to put her arms around him. She wanted to take his pain away. She wanted this whole night to go away.
“Yeah yeah, you hate us, we hate you,” Clint said to Logan. “Now tell us where our money is or I’ll blow her pretty little brains out.”
Logan clenched his fists at his sides. “I don’t know where your damn money is,” he said. “If you hurt her, I swear to God I’ll kill you.”
“Before I shoot you, too?” Clint said. “I don’t think so. You only have one option if you want her to live. I’ll give you three whole seconds to tell me or I’ll shoot her. Three . . .” Clint brought the gun closer to her head. “Two . . .”
Katie squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the end.
“Wait,” Logan yelled, and the man drew the gun back a few inches. Katie let out the breath she had been holding, watching it rise in front of her like smoke. It wasn’t her last one, she thought, watching another puff of air fan out from her mouth. Never before had she been so grateful to see her own breath. To know she was still alive to take another one.
“I’m waiting,” he said when Logan didn’t speak.
“I don’t have your money,” Logan said.
“Then you are no good to me and I have to kill you both,” Clint said.
“I can get it, though,” Logan said.
“I thought you could,” the man said, sounding like he was losing patience. “Where the hell is it?”
“I don’t know personally,” he said, then held up his hands in surrender when Clint jerked on Katie’s arm again. “But Will can get it. I just need to find him.”
“I guess that makes two of us,” Clint said, and dragged Katie closer. “Rich, grab your damned gun then call Tom and Savannah. See if he found that guy yet.”
Taking a few steps to his left, Rich retrieved his fallen gun, stuffed it in the waist of his pants and pulled out his cell phone. Logan was shifting his weight from foot to foot and his hands were clamped in angry fists at his sides. She could see his breath coming out in sharp pants and had to look away from him. Her body shook with the control it was taking to stay still when everything inside of her wanted to go to him. “I’m getting voice mail on both of their cell phones.”
Katie could feel Clint tense up behind her. “Then try Savannah’s house phone,” came his curt reply.
Rich held the phone up to his ear and waited for an answer, then got a confused look on his already dumb-looking face. “Who is this?” he asked, then paused, his expression unreadable.
“What the hell is going on?” Clint asked.
“Umm,” Rich said, holding the phone away from his ear. “It’s that Will guy.”
“What? What the hell is he doing answering Savannah’s phone?” Clint said. “Take her and give me that.” He shoved Katie away from him, causing her to stumble into Rich, who grabbed her arm, his grip even tighter than Clint’s had been, then passed the phone off to Clint.
“Ow,” she muttered, but Rich didn’t ease up. Logan’s eyes narrowed, and she thought she heard him growl but he remained still.
“Where the hell are my partners and my money?” Clint said into the phone, then waited. “I don’t believe you. I have your friends, you bastard, and I will kill both of them if you don’t tell me where my money is.” He paused, then let out an angry sigh before holding the phone out and pressing it to Katie’s ear. “Say something, princess.”
“Will, what are you doing there?”
“Shit, they really do have you,” Will said. “No one’s even here. I was about to call the damn cops but now I have to ransom you guys instead? ‘Oh it’s way too dangerous to go and get the car,’ blah blah blah.” He was swearing, but Katie didn’t have to hear any more because Clint yanked the phone back.
“You had better get your ass over here with my money in the next five minutes or I start shooting,” Clint said, anger making his voice deeper. “And keep in mind that the police won’t make it before I kill you all, so don’t even bother calling them, got it?” He listened for another second before ending the call. He looked up then and said to them: “You’d better pray he gets here soon.”
The next five minutes were the longest most uncomfortable minutes of her life. No one moved, no one spoke, they just stood there waiting. A hair before the deadline, she saw headlights approaching and breathed a sigh of relief that Will was on time.
Will pulled into the lot, and Katie wished with every cell in her body that she and Logan were about to drive away. She took a moment to close her eyes and pretend that she was leaving. The car would be warm and toasty. Nobody would have a gun. She would be safe. They would go back to her apartment, and the second the door closed he would pull her into his arms and— Whoa, buddy, those thoughts weren’t getting her anywhere. She opened her eyes again and things were still just as bad as they had been before.
Will pulled the car up behind the Escape and slowly got out. Clint turned Katie to face him, making sure Will could see his gun pointed at her head. “I trust you have my money?” Clint said.
“In the five minutes you gave me?” Will said. “I don’t have it here.”
“That does not make me happy,” Clint said, a frightening edge of panic buried in his tone.
“Let Katie go and we’ll go and get it for you,” Logan said, and Clint turned to look at him.
“Do you think I’m a moron?” he asked, and Katie sincerely hoped Logan wouldn’t answer because yes, they all did think he was a moron. How could he not see what was happening? How did he not realize that Savannah had played him? Why couldn’t he see that they had nothing to do with his stupid money? “You’re going to get me my money, and I’ll keep the girl as collateral.” Katie’s heart skipped a beat. Collateral? As in he was going to take her away? The acid in her stomach churned, making her feel sick.
“No,” Logan said, and started forward.
“Logan don’t,” she said as Rich pulled out his gun and trained it on Logan.
“You have one hour. Understand? One hour. Rich,” Clint said. “You go with them and make sure they do what they say they’re gonna. No point in letting them turn around and run to the cops. Just don’t kill them, okay?” Rich nodded but didn’t look happy. “Call me as soon as you get the money. I’m gonna take her someplace they can’t get to her. And keep trying to get ahold of Tom and Savannah,” he said, then opened the passenger door to the SUV and none too gently shoved Katie inside. Being tossed around so much was really starting to get on her nerves, she thought as she rubbed her bruised arm.
“One hour or she dies,” Clint said before getting behind the wheel and driving away.