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We are a few hours from our destination when the unexpected happens, barreling out of the darkness toward us. It looks identical to a bank truck. One of the big armored ones. Its headlights are off, but it’s coming right at us! I can hear Blake and Travis swearing and Faye crying out over the pounding of my pulse in my ears. A scream is trapped in my throat as the blinding lights turn on, illuminating everything around me as the juggernaut slams into the side of our pickup, tires screaming against the asphalt.
The engine of the big pickup roars as Travis tries to maneuver us out of the path of the pushing truck. It’s no use! It’s so much bigger and heavier, that in spite of his efforts, we are being bulldozed closer and closer to the embankment just off the side of the highway.
Everything happens so fast that my mind barely has time to process it, before, suddenly, we are teetering right on the edge. I can feel that we are about to go over the edge. One or maybe even two tires are suspended in the air, but by some miracle, we don’t tip. The loud whining of the engine is the only thing I can hear.
I start to catch my breath, to say something when the armored truck backs away. It’s over!
My relief is short-lived as the headlights rush toward us a second time, slamming into us again. Whatever miracle kept us from going over the edge is snatched away, and we go tumbling over.
“Fuck!” It’s Blake's voice. I don’t hear anything but Faye's cries mixing with the sound of breaking glass and metal scraping over rock as the truck shudders to a stop.
The seat belt is tight around my hips and chest as I rest against the door beneath me. Faye is dangling from hers above me. In the dim glow of the dash lights, I see her pale, tear-streaked face. Her eyes are wide and frantic. I’m sure that I look the same to her.
She calls out to Travis, asking if he is okay, and finally, I hear him respond that he is. I think I’m ok too. I’m going to be sore in the morning, but for now, I’m grateful to be alive. Just then the baby moves, and I release a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding at how normal it feels. Everything is going to be ok. We just have to figure out how to get out of here.
I’m stuck in my seatbelt, but Travis is saying something about coming back here and helping us out. I’m still having trouble hearing past the rushing in my ears. I can see him in the lights from the dash as he starts working himself into a position to climb between the seats. Blake hangs limp in his seatbelt, a dark trickle of what must be blood, making a path down the side of his face.
Suddenly there is a noise above me, and Faye screams as a hand reaches through the broken window above us, grasping her arm. Another hand holding a knife joins the first, cutting her loose, and she is gone. Pulled through the window and into the darkness above. Travis is screaming and scrambling to follow her up and out the window when something crashes into his head, knocking him back into the front of the truck. I can't tell if he is unconscious or just stunned, but it doesn't matter. The end result is the same. She is gone, and before I hav
e a chance to process what is happening, a dark figure lowers in beside me, and I am being cut loose and drug out as well.
I'm shoved, stumbling, into the back of the idling truck that is backed up to the edge and waiting. Faye catches me against her before I fall down. I’m dizzy with fear and the shock of what just happened. In the distance behind me, I hear Travis shouting for Faye. She lets me go, throwing herself against the closing door with all her strength, screaming his name. Digging deep, I join her, but even with my help, we are no match for the man who is on the other side, pushing back and locking us in.
The door clicks shut, and we stand there, breath heaving in and out, stunned by what just happened. We were just kidnapped. But why? And by who?
Chapter Nine
Ana
I’m not entirely sure how long we have been in the back of this truck. It seems to be the theme today. All that I know is that I’m sore from the collision. My little bean has been kicking my bladder for what seems like forever. As happy as I am that being in a car crash hasn’t seemed to do any damage to the baby, I need a bathroom. Badly.
“Faye, I really need to pee,” I whisper. I can see her nod in the eerie green light cast by the glowstick one of the men tossed in just before they slammed the heavy door, our resistance not slowing them at all.
She stands up on unsteady legs, rocking with the motion of the vehicle, and begins pounding on the wall separating us from the cab. There is no way to tell if they can hear her yelling at the top of her lungs that we need a bathroom, or they will be mopping up pee. I’d laugh if the situation weren’t so serious. She continues her tirade until her voice starts to fade, and she collapses next to me in defeat. They didn’t even slow down. Maybe this box is soundproof, and they couldn’t hear her. Maybe they did and just don’t care. I’m sadly resigning myself to the probability that I will need to relieve myself in the corner furthest from where we are sitting, when the truck veers off the road suddenly, tossing us against each other, before bumping over what must be a gravel road of some kind. We are stopping!
When the heavy door swings open, Faye and I stand and warily approach it. Any small hope that I had, that we might use this as an opportunity to escape, is crushed when I see the desolate turnout that we have pulled into. There is one of those disgusting vault toilet things against the vast darkness of the desert, but nothing else. No houses nearby, no lights except to the stars and sliver of moon in the sky. And the saddest thing, no other people… anywhere. Not even cars going by.
Where the hell are we? The answer is simple. We are in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, with nowhere to even think about running too. Reconciling myself to the reality that we are not being presented an opportunity for escape; but grateful to have facilities to use, no matter how disgusting they might be, Faye and I trudge across the dusty parking lot at gunpoint.
It’s not until we are being pushed back into the rear of the truck that Faye digs in her heels and spits out vehemently, “You know who she is don’t you?”
I can see what she is trying to do and my heart leaps with the possibility that maybe being Xavier’s wife might earn us some respect. Why didn’t I think of that sooner? My burgeoning hope plummets again when the burly man opens the door back up a little bit and answers through the gap.
“Yeah, I know who she is. Her royal highness, Analise Cerelli. You’re the one who we haven’t figured out yet.”
Oh shit! This cannot be good. Them knowing who I am means that I was the one that they were after. Which means that this is not what we thought it was. We both thought it had to be Faye they were after since we know that there were people looking for her. Faye stares unbelievingly at me for a long moment of stunned silence before blustering loudly,
“Mrs. Cerelli is pregnant, in case you failed to notice, and I’m sure that her husband will not be happy to have her returned to him damaged.”
Things get even worse when the man responds with a genuine laugh of amusement. “Not returning her to Xavier.” He says shortly, closing the door. I stand in stunned silence, but Faye doesn’t give up.
“Wait, please.” She calls out, “At least give her something to drink. For the baby.” The door closes with a click that echoes around us. Defeated she turns away from the door and returns to sit on the floor. I can hear that she is crying, and I reach blindly through my own tears for her hand as I gingerly lower myself down beside her.
The sound of the door opening again takes us both by surprise and the second man, the one who must be the driver, opens the door, and tosses in a bottle of water. He looks at us huddled in the dark for a long minute while my brain scrambles for some plan, some way to escape before he nods once and closes it again, locking us back in. I’m not sure what that was about, but I’m grateful for the small kindness as Faye hands me the cold bottle. We both take a small sip, not knowing how long we will have to make it last. I just hope that they are taking us to Vegas. I know we have to be getting close, and just knowing that I will be near Xavier allows me to believe that everything will be okay. That I will be okay. Somehow.
Xavier
The shrill ringing of my phone wakes me, and I reach for it in the dark without looking at the caller ID. Doesn’t matter who it is. At this hour, it won’t be anything good.
