9

Chryssie opened her eyes, groggy and confused. She’d actually fallen asleep, a testament to her exhaustion. Kidnapped and still able to sleep. She felt energized, ready to…to do something. God, are You still there?

Always.

She smiled. Now she understood her grandmother and all her little sayings. Chryssie only hoped she’d get out of this mess so she could learn more about God. A look out the window told her it was late. Day had given way to night.

Why hadn’t Marv come to talk with her?

Her eyes moved heavenward. God, I’m not good at this. I don’t even know if I’m doing it the right way. But please help me get out of this situation alive. Thank You. And amen too.

Why?

For Gabriella.

Not just for Gabriella. I love you too.

Tears slid down her cheeks. God loved her. What an amazing thought. Her gaze moved to the door. It was open—just slightly, but open. Her first thought was to make a run for it. Or was it a trick? The goon was probably not far away, perhaps testing her promise to not try anything.

Chryssie tried to find some sort of a weapon. The room was empty except for the sofa. Nothing to help or use for defense.

Maybe the goon didn’t know he’d left it open.

Or was God giving her an opportunity to escape? This was her chance. Don’t think about it. Just do it. Before she could change her mind, she moved to the door. She peeked out but couldn’t see a thing. Her hand moved to the knob and she opened the door a few more inches. Time to go. Quickly, she moved to the steps.

“Hey, Marv? Is that you?”

His voice came from the other door in the room. The bathroom she’d been led to hours earlier. Forgetting quiet, she charged up the steps.

“Marv? Marv?” The goon’s voice sounded desperate.

She charged up the steps and through the door into a kitchen with a back entrance. Her way to freedom. She twisted the knob and it opened. Hot summer air assaulted her as she ran out of the house and to freedom. As she reached the edge of the porch, a man appeared out of the dark.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” he snarled.

She launched herself into the goon’s huge body. They both tumbled off the porch and down the steps. He moaned as they hit the ground, but the big man cushioned her fall. She was able to jump up before he could move. His fingers closed around her ankle. Chryssie kicked at him, then stomped on his hand. He held on tight.

“Let go of me.”

“You aren’t going anywhere, little girl.” His hand moved toward her other foot.

She kicked him in the face.

Arms grabbed her.

She twisted and turned to get away, but the arms held on tight. “Let go of me.”

“Not going to happen.” He snarled as he pulled her toward the house.

“No.” She opened her mouth to scream.

The man placed his hand on her mouth, muffling the sound, his other arm tight around her body. Once they were back inside, he tossed her on the floor. “If you move, I’ll shoot you. I don’t care what the boss says. I’ve had enough of you.” Hatred glared in his eyes.

“I’ve had enough of you.” She shouted back.

“That’s funny. Let’s get her back to the basement.” He lifted her up.

Despite the throbbing in her shoulder, she fought him.

He ignored her flailing and pushed her toward the door. “Unless you want to kill yourself by falling down the stairs, I suggest you behave. Your choice.”

“Fine. I’ll walk.”

“Too bad. I was looking forward to throwing you down those steps.”

When they were back in the basement, he pushed her inside the tiny room once again. “I’ll be right out here. But you know what? I’m not even bothering to lock the door. Go ahead and come back out. Make my day.” He pulled a gun from his waistband. “I’m not joking around.”

“Marv said not to hurt me. Shooting qualifies as hurting.”

He bared his yellow teeth. “I’ll just tell him you were trying to get away. I had no choice. He’ll get over it.”

“By the way, who is your boss again?”

“Same as yours.” He slammed the door.

She stared at the closed door. Same as yours. Marv was his boss? That couldn’t be. Marv had always seemed so nice—a good boss. He was educated, made a good living and was well respected in the community. She’d worked for him for the past three years. There’d never been one sign of illegal activities. Or maybe she just hadn’t been paying attention. One more example of her not being a good judge of character.

Chryssie sat down on the couch. So much for her great escape. Her eyes filled with tears.

Would anyone but Gabriella even notice she’d disappeared? Would anyone even miss her? She’d been so focused on getting her nursing degree, she’d not made any friends. Even at the bar, she hid behind a wig and makeup to keep that life separate from her goals.

She’d told herself she didn’t have time to socialize. But was that really the truth? Or had she been too afraid to trust anyone after being abandoned by her mother. And then, her grandmother had died, leaving her alone once again. And Gabriella in foster care.

Only Gabriella cared about her, but she was so young. She’d forget her soon enough. There really was no one else in her life that would notice she was gone.

The pain of that truth doubled her over.

A wall of emotions threatened to overcome. She’d been so focused on becoming someone, that she had no one. She hadn’t taken time for friendships or relationships. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She’d never felt more alone in her life.

Zack. The thought came to her from nowhere. Zack would have helped. He might miss her when she was gone. All those times she’d rebuffed his offers of friendship and he’d still been sweet to her. He’d invited her to church so often. Oh, how she wished she’d gone.

The door opened.

“How’s my girl been?” Marv smiled as if he were truly glad to see her.

“She’s a pain.” The goon behind him gave an evil grin. “Next time, have someone else be the babysitter. If you hadn’t got here soon I was going to shoot her.”

“Nobody’s going to shoot anybody,” Marv said. He turned to her. “I know you’re probably upset and angry, but trust me, everything will work out. This is fixable.”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. Sometimes, it’s not always easy or pleasant.” His demeanor had changed into something cold and hard. She didn’t know this man.

“Yeah, I’ll remember that.” Her eyes filled with tears at his frightening transformation. Sorry Gabriella. I wanted to give you a good life. Chryssie wouldn’t become a butterfly, after all.

“Let’s get this over with,” Marv said.

No. She wouldn’t let them kill her. With that thought, Chryssie jumped up and charged at the men.

“What the—”

She screamed and slapped at Marv.

Arms grabbed her and pulled her away. “See, I told you she was a pain. Let me shoot her, boss.”

Marv’s eyes flashed black with anger. “So I see. Well, she’s a spitfire so I wouldn’t expect anything less from her. I didn’t think she’d go easy into the good night.”

She cowered.

“Not so brave now, are you?” The goon laughed.

Marv very deliberately raised his arm and slapped her.

Stars swam in front of her eyes. Warm blood trickled from her mouth and down her chin. Chryssie kicked at him, but he moved away before her foot could connect.

“Calm down, Chryssie. You’re making this so much more difficult than it needs to be.”

“Fine.”

The goon squeezed her arms together.

“Stop hurting me.”

“That’s enough, Stan. No reason to be a brute.”

Stan’s grasp loosened a bit, easing her pain.

“I’m really sorry about what you saw. But my cousin’s a bit of a hot head. He let his temper get the best of him. Now, it’s up to me to fix the situation.”

It definitely sounded as if Marv was the man in charge. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t see anything.”

“I won’t argue with you. The question is, do you want to fix it?” His gaze met hers.

She forced herself to stare back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He slapped her again. “The time for lying is over, Chryssie. We won’t to be able to work this out if you don’t stop lying. Are you ready to listen?”

She nodded. Since she had no other choice.

“Chryssie, I like you. Really I do. You haven’t had it easy and yet you’ve worked your way through college. I respect that and I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t have you telling people about what you saw my idiot cousin do.”

“I won’t. I promise. If you let me go, I’ll find a job far away from here and leave. You’ll never have to see me again.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Thanks to Roman, the police know you’re involved so you can’t just run away. You’ll have to turn yourself in, confess, and face the consequences.”

“But I didn’t do anything. I have nothing to confess.”

“See, this is what I mean. Stop thinking about you and look at the bigger picture. All you have to do is tell them that the man attacked you when you left the bar. That you had no choice but to shoot him.”

He was kidding, right? Marv couldn’t really believe she’d confess to murder. “Then I’ll go to jail.”

“That’s possible, but it’s also possible they’ll believe you. And if they do, chances are good that you won’t even be charged. He was a known thug so it’s quite believable that it happened just the way I described.”

“But it didn’t.”

“But if it did, it would be justifiable. It’d be self-defense. And even if you have to do some jail time, it won’t be much.”

“I won’t do it.”

“I don’t want to hurt you. If you listen to me, then life can get back to normal—for you and for me.” He leaned close and whispered in her ear. “Besides you need to think about your sister.” His sinister tone and expression terrified her. In that moment she knew he would hurt Gabriella.

“I’ll do what you want.”

Marv stared into her eyes.

She looked away.

“Chryssie, Chryssie, Chryssie. Your words say yes, but your eyes say no. I don’t think I can trust you.”

“You can trust me. I promise.”

“In spite of all you’ve been through, you’re still an idealist. You believe in right and wrong, and that’s dangerous. Too dangerous for me to take a chance.” He pointed at Stan. “Go get the new guy. He’s upstairs.”

Stan walked out of the room.

“Marv. I’ll do what you want. I promise.”

“Probably not. So I’m resorting to plan B. I wanted you to be reasonable. But…so be it.”

Stan walked back in.

Marv looked past Stan. “You ready to prove that you have what it takes to be a part of this wonderful business organization?”

A mumbled yes followed. The other man walked around Stan.

Zack—Good Samaritan. Zack—Christian. Zack—the guy she thought was her friend. Of course, she’d thought that about Marv, too. Lies. All lies. But she’d really thought Zack was sincere all those times he’d tried to talk with her about God and Jesus and all that love junk.

His gaze met hers.

“Liar.” She spat out the word.

“OK, Zack. You take care of our Glitter problem and then you’re in. I’m leaving.”

Zack’s eyes widened. “Glitter? Are you telling me this is Glitter?”

“That’s what I’m telling you. Glitter likes to play dress up at the bar.”

“I see that. What do you want me to do with her?”

“Kill her.”

“Yeah, I know that, but what should I do after that?”

“Stan will help you get rid of the body. Make sure they never find her.”

“I’m not a body,” Chryssie screamed. “How can you do this to me, Zack? I thought you cared about me.”

Zack smiled—a lion’s snarl just before pouncing.

The other goon squeezed her arms once again. Pain shot up to her shoulders

Zack stepped forward. He lifted the gun and aimed it at her.

This was it. Her life would be over before she could soar above the ugly stuff. Maybe her sister would make it. Please, God, let Gabriella have a good life.

“Stop, Zack,” Marv’s voice commanded.

“You don’t want me to shoot her?”

“Not now—maybe later. But I needed you to prove that you would.” He turned back to Chryssie. “Just kidding. Everybody out. I need to talk with her—alone.”

“Not a good idea. Just kill her. She’s trouble, I’m telling you.” Stan glared.

Marv turned to Stan. “Did someone make you the boss while I wasn’t looking?”

“I’m just saying. She’s trouble. Kill her now before you regret it.”

“Let me worry about that. Now out.”

The men filed out of the room.

Marv smiled. “You know what? I actually believe you’d do anything for your sister.”