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But just before she reached her phone, someone grabbed her from behind and shoved a cloth over her mouth and nose. After that, everything had gone black. The only thing that made sense is the man must have caught up to her and drugged her. As the vehicle jolted over something in the road, Rita bounced and came down hard.Ouch. She reached up to touch her head and found her wrists taped together. Her ankles had suffered similar treatment, and there seemed to be some sort of rope fastened between them, keeping her from moving too far. She tried to call out, but the gag made her tongue feel like an old wool sock, and she couldn’t manage more than a murmur.
Taking a couple of tentative breaths, Rita concluded that she was in a moving vehicle—possibly some sort of cargo van. Going where, she didn’t know, but she wasn’t going to panic. She knew that Jared would find her.Casey better be okay, she thought.At least she took a chunk out of thatman.
A couple of tight curves, and the terrain felt different. She was pretty sure they had been on the freeway before, but now they seemed to have switched to surface streets.
Finally, the van stopped, and the driver’s door popped open. Rita heard the sound of footsteps walking away. They returned moments later, and she heard the back door unlatch as someone opened it and climbed inside, shutting the door behind him. “I know that you’re awake. Cooperate and things will go less painfully for you.” As the assailant reached for Rita, she braced to kick him as soon as she could, but pressure on her shin brought tears to her eyes. “I know a lot of different ways to inflict pain like you’ve never felt before. Cooperate and avoid it. Understand? Nod your head.” Nodding, Rita felt hands reach for the tape around her ankles. As her legs were cut free, additional pressure to the shin had her rethinking any further attempts at escape. Her assailant made quick work of the tape on her wrists and pulled her blindfold off. Rita blinked in the gloom of the van as large hands reached down to pull her to a sitting position. “The effects of the sedative are wearing off, and you should be okay shortly.” As he tugged her gag free, he pressed a bottle of water into her hands. “Drink slowly. It will help.”
As Rita took the bottle, she looked around. She was in a nondescript cargo van. A couple more sips from the bottle, and the back door was opened, and her assailant stepped out. The sudden bright sunlight made her eyes water. After the darkness inside the van, her eyes struggled to adjust.
The man reached inside and scooped her up. He set her down on the ground, steadying her as her legs tried to buckle. When she was able, Rita looked around, realizing that she was in a parking lot. Surprised at the public location, she turned to her abductor, who smiled at her behind mirrored glasses. He was still holding her up and placing pressure on her side that had her gasping for breath. “Behave now,” he said casually as he scanned the parking lot. Seemingly satisfied that everything was going according to plan, he held her tightly to his side as he shut the van and led her toward a marina. He pulled a key card from his back pocket and escorted her through a gate and down a short ramp. They were soon on a dock and weaving down different gangplanks. As they turned one more time, Rita spotted a yacht with the ominous name,There, Always. Grinding to a halt, she stared, finally realizing just what she was up against.I’m dead, she thought.He’s going to kill me.
“Come, now. He’s waiting.” As her assailant walked her toward the yacht, she trembled.
“Please,” she whispered. “There’s still time to turn away. I won’t tell anyone. I promise, but please, don’t bring me to him.”
The man tightened his grip on her, but otherwise he showed no reaction to her words as he brought her to the yacht. Opening the gate to the gangway, he waited for her to walk up ahead of him, but Rita refused to move. She opened her mouth to plead again, but he reached for her, twisting her arm painfully until she threw her hands up in surrender. Frightened but resigned, she turned and walked slowly up the gangway, followed closely by the one man who could have stopped this. As they reached the deck, he put a hand on her back to guide her into the cabin. They walked inside, and she stopped short as Tuck swiveled around in the captain’s chair.
She hadn’t been in the same room with her husband in two years. When she’d left, he’d been spiraling down another debt drain. She looked around at the opulent yacht. “How did you—?”
“—afford all of this?” Tuck smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. “My latest lady is a lawyer who comes from old family money. She’s devoted to me and an excellent fuck.”
Rita flinched, and he laughed. “What’s the matter, honey? You wanted me to move on, right? Well, I moved on to an heiress who doesn’t mind spoiling me for a change.” He stood, and Rita tried to back away, but her assailant grabbed one of her wrists and pulled it behind her. “Put her over there,” Tuck said as he motioned to an identical captain’s chair. “And make sure she can’t move.”
He pushed Rita down into the chair and secured her with rope. “Might as well gag her now,” Tuck said as he watched them with manic eyes. Something was wrong.He has to be on something, she thought.Or maybe he’s had some kind of mental break.Tuck had always been cruel, but there was something unhinged about him now. Like he’d snapped. “I’m in no mood to hear her talk.” As her assailant finished securing her to the chair, he knotted a rag, which he started to secure around her head. “Not like that.” Tuck rushed over to them. He grabbed the rag and shoved it in her mouth, making her choke, before he secured it with duct tape.
“That will tear her skin,” said her assailant as he watched Tuck check his knot work and tighten the bonds.
Tuck gave him an unimpressed look. “Do you really think I’m worried about that?” he asked in a flat tone. “Oh, and what about the dog?” he asked as he continued to fiddle with the ropes.
“I left the dog in the backyard.”
Turning quickly, rage exploded on Tuck’s face. “What do you mean, you left the dog?”
“I told you before,” her assailant said calmly, “I don’t harm animals. The dog was left in the yard.”
Tuck was truly pissed for about ten seconds, and then he, quite literally, shook his reaction off. “Fine, fine. I guess I can’t have everything,” he said as he waved his hand dismissively at Rita’s assailant. “Payment has been made. You’re done here. You may go.” Giving the ropes around Rita’s wrists and ankles one last tug, Tuck stood up. Rita’s hands were already changing color as pins and needles set in.
“The ropes are too tight,” the man commented as he headed to the door.
“Once again, that is not your concern. Get out.Now,” Tuck said as he headed out the cabin door to begin preparations to leave. Giving Rita one last look, the assailant walked out and headed down the gangway.
Rita wanted to scream in frustration. She kept silently pleading with her assailant to see how crazy Tuck was and to send help. Intellectually, she knew this was a financial transaction. Even though the man was obviously a mercenary and had no trouble with performing abductions, the fact that he refused to harm animals had her hoping that he had at least some humanity left—enough to be concerned by the mounting evidence that she was in serious danger of losing her life.
She choked on a sob and hoped that Jared got back to the house and figured out that something was wrong. If her assailant had left Casey outside like he’d said, then Jared would know that something was up. Casey couldn’t stand being outside by herself and would scratch and claw her way to Rita. The only time Rita had tried leaving her out in the yard, it had resulted in an expensive vet bill during which they had to pull wood shards from Casey’s paws. Since then, Rita always made sure to leave Casey in the house so she could wait by the door.
She could hear Tuck humming that tune from their wedding, and her skin began to crawl. “You know, honey,” he said conversationally as he prepared for their departure, “I think I went a little around the bend after you left.” He circled the counter so that he could stand in front of her. “You were mine…and you just left, like we hadn’t made vows to one another. It really spun me out.” He stared at her with his too-wide eyes for a moment, and then he lashed out, slapping her with an open palm across her face. She could feel the cut on the inside of her mouth, which quickly soaked into the cloth gag. Her stomach revolted, and she gagged at the taste of pennies filling her mouth. Tuck cupped her cheek; it was a mockery of the same gesture that Jared liked so much. “You’re going to be very sorry that you left me,” he told her. “I’ll make sure of it.”
15
As Jared and Drake neared Long Beach, Drake’s phone beeped. He checked the messages and swore under his breath. “Bad news—security reports that Tucker’s yacht has left the harbor.”
Jared slammed his hand down on the steering wheel. “Damn it, how far are we?”
“At least thirty minutes.” Accelerating, Jared began weaving in and out of traffic. “Slow it down,” Drake ordered. “I don’t have jurisdiction here—I can’t protect you if we get pulled over. Especially since we’ve no proof of an abduction.”
Jared mostly ignored him, but he did his best to not drive recklessly. Instead, he concentrated on eating up as many miles as quickly as possible. “It’s been two years,” he said, thinking out loud. “Why come after her now?”
Pulling out his tablet, Drake pulled up all of the information that he had been able to compile on John Tucker on such short notice. “He’s got a checkered employment history. Tends to get fired from most of his jobs after just a couple of months,” Drake said as he scanned the pages. “Oh.”
