nineteen

Sweat dripped down Alexa’s temple and into her eyes, making them sting. Bound and gagged and left in the trunk of a car, there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

Her mouth taped shut, she yelled in muffled frustration and kicked the trunk, hoping it would pop open. Her furious grunts were muted and pointless, but she had to make noise on the off chance someone might hear; otherwise she had no hope until Graeme arrived.

There wasn’t a safety latch for her to escape.

She nearly lost her lunch as the car sped and swerved along what must have been the Smith River Ravine. At least she knew that much, because she had no clue where the trail at which he’d asked Graeme to meet them was located. From the long drive, and the sudden bumpy road, Alexa reasoned that he’d now driven off the main highway and was making his way toward the trail. He somehow knew he’d beat Graeme there if only by a few minutes.

But that was just it—would he come for her? Maybe Graeme would decide that Alexa was as good as dead and it was too late for him to save her.

Lord, please. . .help me. . . .

Trembling, she couldn’t stop the fear that zapped her energy, her will, but. . . No! She had to be strong.

To fight, if she got the chance. Still, it was difficult when looking down the muzzle of a gun. And now she better understood what Graeme had meant. Her high ideals about dealing with injustice were somewhat tempered from this experience.

Suddenly the vehicle stopped. Alexa tensed, wondering what would happen next. Was she within seconds of death? Perhaps he’d wanted to take her far away to kill her so she would never be found.

The trunk lifted. Bright light blinded her. Strong arms tugged her brusquely from the trunk and clumsily set her on the ground. Pebbles and rocks ate into her legs and backside. Dust tickled her nose.

Holding his firearm, the kidnapper nudged it under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. She squinted at the sunlight behind him, unable to fully see his features. But she’d already seen him and had memorized every inch of his face, which could be her death sentence.

“I would like to present you whole and unharmed, or else I fear my quarry will run. I’m going to remove the ties from your ankles. If you run, I won’t kill you. You’ll suffer much worse than that. Do you understand?”

Alexa nodded, imagining painful torture at the hands of this man. Her nose began to stuff up from the dusty ground or something in the trunk that had stirred her allergies. With her mouth covered, she struggled to breathe and leaned her head against the car bumper, trying to slow her need for oxygen.

He cut the plastic ties around her ankles. Alexa straightened her legs.

“I’m going to pull the tape from your mouth so you can breathe. If you cause trouble, I’ll put more tape on, and you’ll have to suffocate. Do you understand?”

Alexa nodded vehemently. To stretch her legs, to breathe—yesterday, she took these for granted. He ripped the tape from her mouth, a cruel grin on his face, causing Alexa to almost cry out, but she muffled it behind closed lips, wanting to keep the tape at bay.

“Good girl.” He patted the top of her head. “You can stand up if you like, but remember, don’t run or you’ll pay.”

He thrust his hand toward her. Alexa turned her face and moved her body to the side, avoiding his touch. She tried to stand on her own, but it was useless with her wrists tied behind her back. He laughed, then tugged her to her feet.

“Now all that remains is to wait and see if he comes for you.”

Alexa wanted to ask the man if he would then release her. But she knew too much, had seen too much. Her knees trembled at the thought.

Then she saw a plume of dust in the distance. Was it Graeme, or some innocent person or family about to stumble into trouble? Thirty seconds later, the grill of Graeme’s Jeep came into view and the vehicle bounced over the dusty road. Alexa remembered they were to meet at a trail and she glanced at her surroundings, noting the trailhead marker. Did the kidnapper plan to lead Graeme and Alexa along that trail to some remote, forgotten strip of earth?

Graeme stepped from the Jeep and stood frozen, his stance wide. Relief flooded her, though all it took was the stricken look on his face and all her doubts became certain.

No way would the kidnapper allow either one of them to live.

❧

One look at Alexa standing there, frazzled and helpless next to her abductor who held a gun, and it was all Graeme could do to keep his knees from buckling under him.

That’s why he simply remained standing, bracing himself with a wide stance. Alexa stared at him. In her eyes he saw relief knotted with dread, and too quickly, the relief completely vanished. She’d held on to the hope that he would show up—and the thought that she would even question his appearance ripped his soul open.

But worse, he imagined that fear replaced her momentary relief because she knew, like Graeme, that it would take a miracle for them to escape alive and unscathed.

Lord in heaven, if I haven’t prayed enough already, I’m asking You again—show us a way out! I’m sorry it had to come to this before I would step out with the truth.

“I’m here just like you asked. Now let her go.” Graeme forced coolness into his voice as he made his way toward Alexa and the kidnapper. He came here with every intention of negotiating for her life.

“Not so fast.” The black-haired man grinned, revealing his confidence that he had the upper hand, and waved his gun. “I need for you to get into the car now.”

Graeme held his hands out. “Look, I don’t know why you’re doing this. Who are you? What do you want?”

“I think you know why I’ve come. As to who I am, you can call me Ricardo if you have need to speak a name.” He shoved the pistol under Alexa’s chin, making Alexa gasp, her eyes wide with fear. “Now get in the car.”

Not willing to press him, Graeme lifted his palms in surrender. “Okay. . .okay. Just don’t hurt her.”

Graeme walked over to the car and looked at Ricardo.

Ricardo waved the gun. “Get into the driver’s seat.”

Doing as he asked, Graeme glanced Alexa’s way, trying to send her a message of hope. The look she gave Graeme told him she was counting on him to get them out of this. He slid into the driver’s seat, pushing a small flask out of his way, and kept his hands on the steering wheel. In the rearview mirror, he watched Ricardo force Alexa into the backseat, the gun aimed at her head.

“Now you will start the car and continue down this road.”

After turning the key in the ignition, Graeme hesitated. “But where does this road go? I’m not going to drive if you’re not going to release her.”

In the rearview mirror, Graeme looked into Ricardo’s narrow eyes and his crooked-tooth grin as he cocked the gun, pressing it against Alexa’s temple. “I think you will, my friend.”

My friend? The term was like a hot poker down Graeme’s throat. “Please, I don’t know anything. You have no reason to do this.”

“You know enough. Drive unless you want her to die.”

Graeme pushed on the accelerator and the car lurched forward on the bumpy road. He’d only thought he’d been terrified—now he felt like he and Alexa were looking death in the face, and it went by the name of Ricardo. Why, oh why had he gotten involved with her? If he hadn’t fallen for her amazing eyes and lustrous hair, for her inner strength and beautiful spirit, for her persistence and talent, she wouldn’t be here right now with him, facing certain death.

But how could he have resisted beautiful Alexa Westover—especially when she so clearly returned the affection and attraction? “I’m so sorry, Alexa,” he murmured.

His own safety aside, his first priority was to make sure Alexa survived this, and by the looks of things he would have to act soon. Unfortunately, negotiating had never been his forte. He would have to take physical action against Ricardo, but if he was going to die anyway, at least Alexa would have a chance this way. Either way, he had to formulate an escape plan and quickly.

“Where does this road go?” He pretended he didn’t know this region, but he was well acquainted with the wilderness they were entering and knew the road would eventually dead-end. At one time the state park service had planned to complete the road through this wilderness, giving access to the coast. No doubt Ricardo had every intention of dumping them where they wouldn’t be found for a very long time, if ever.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Graeme’s pulse roared in his ears at the thought of the road ending. He drove slowly, thinking and praying. Images of that fateful rainy day when Summer died replayed in his head, as if foreshadowing his current predicament with another woman he loved.

This is my fault! I never should have fled. I should have stayed to fight.

He couldn’t allow this to happen again. If nothing else, he should tell Alexa how much he loved her now, before it was too late to tell her—he’d left too much unsaid to Summer—although that might frighten Alexa even more. She might believe he’d given up on them surviving this. And that would be half true. He still held on to hope that Alexa would live, because he intended to take Ricardo with him to the next world.

He glanced in the mirror and caught her terrified gaze. “Alexa, I love you. If I had it to do over again, I’d give up the trees for you. I’d live with you in New York, or wherever you wanted to live—you’ve become important to me.”

Again he glanced in the mirror and saw her eyes shimmering.

“Really, Graeme?” she asked, a tremor in her voice.

“Yes. I’m sorry it took Costa Rica coming back to bite me for me to tell you how I feel.”

Ricardo responded with a malicious chuckle. “I knew you remembered why I had come for you, my friend. Have you told your new girlfriend everything? Like what happened to the last one?”

❧

Alexa wanted to tell the jerk to shut up.

Graeme must be saying he loved her because he feared the end was near, and that terrified her, but at the same time. . .

Graeme loves me. . . .

Her throat constricted, but like Graeme, she was desperate to tell him everything. “I love you, too. I would give anything if we had more time together. Please. . .” She choked on the next words. “Tell me we’ll have our time together.”

“Pray, Alexa. I can’t believe that God brought us together just to have this henchman end it all.”

“That’s enough. The both of you shut up before I shut you up!”

Graeme stopped the car when the road dead-ended. The fact that they were now stopping yanked away Alexa’s moment of hope, and then with a look in the mirror, she noticed the sliver of a grin on Graeme’s face. Why was he smiling under these circumstances?

Was it because she loved him? Unfortunately, love wouldn’t be enough to save them.