AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mallory’s head hurt. She lay on the uncomfortable floor of something and tried not to throw up. As she slowly cleared a small hole in the fog that filled her head, she realized she was in a car, her car. It was difficult to think, painful in fact, but she willed herself to listen.
Her mind slowly focused. All she could remember was she had walked outside the pharmacy intent on getting away quickly when she saw Garrett’s truck in his regular waiting spot. Hmm, he didn’t get the memo, I guess. Oh, well, she had to get out of there before the robber discovered the only pharmacist on duty left. Garrett would have to keep up because she didn’t have time for pleasantries today.
She told Bluetooth to dial 911 and pulled out into traffic with the plan to stop a safe distance away and wait for the police. She was glad she had already activated her Keep Safe Program code and mentally verified the phone was still in her front pocket because of the weight pushing on her thigh. Cold steel made contact with her head. She had a flashback to the first time that had happened.
“Climb in, Mallory.” The words that signaled her nightmare experience were seared into her memory.
“Pull over,” said the voice she was sure she’d heard before. There was a quality that she recognized.
“911, what is your emergency?” asked the dispatch worker over Bluetooth.
“I said pull over.” Her head jerked back hard. “Disconnect the call.” Which she did with trembling hands.
Mallory hoped the woman wouldn’t realize that the car’s wireless device wasn’t self-contained. It would need a phone to initiate the call through to the emergency dispatch. She pulled over, and as soon as she had put the car in park, the woman demanded she go to the backseat. At least she wasn’t in the trunk again.
“Hurry up, I don’t have all day.”
Then the woman laughed in a manner that made Mallory’s belly turn cold. It was more of a cackle, a maniacal sound. The woman was unbalanced. She was talking as though someone was with her. Her precise way of wiping every place she touched, her movements meticulous and subdued, belied the violence she was engaged in.
Mallory hesitated as she stood in the space that created a “V” inside the opened back door. Evidently, that was the wrong thing to do. Blinding pain stabbed through her head and pierced her eyes. She grappled with the urge to just go to sleep, just close her eyes, and the pain would disappear, she told herself. The pain had overcome her, and Mallory did as her body demanded. She allowed the pain to drag her into unconsciousness.
Now, as her thinking came online again, Mallory realized her head was hot and swollen, throbbing in time with her pounding heart. She never could shake the information that Romaine had never married and did not have a wife or common-law wife. If she’d heard a voice or saw someone she thought had something to do with this shit fest, she would have pursued her theory. She would have gone towards danger because she was determined to end this and live her life.
But now, she didn’t feel so brave. Mallory felt physically ill, and she wanted Monroe. That thought reminded her of the phone in her pocket. They should have located her by now, and Mallory knew Garrett wasn’t behind her when she’d stopped on the side of the road because he would have stopped the woman from forcing her in the backseat. He wouldn’t have let the kidnapper clobber Mallory unless he was hurt and unable to follow them. Let him still be alive, she prayed.
Mallory wanted to touch the throbbing, tender spot hit with what was likely the butt of a cold, steel pistol, but she didn’t dare alert the other woman of her consciousness. The woman was mumbling to herself, and Mallory listened. It was hard to discern what she was saying, but she heard enough to make her blood run cold.
“I’m smart enough to do this. She’s the reason you’re in jail. No, I won’t. She has to pay. I heard you won’t ever come home to me, and she has to pay even if you wanted her more than me.” Then she screamed, “Stop!” and pounded the steering wheel.
The woman was utterly mad. That would either make this easier or harder. Mallery remained still and tried to feel the phone in her front pocket. Yes, it was there. She could only pray that the fall hadn’t broken it, and it was still transmitting, or at least it still had power left.
Monroe would be manic with worry, and his fear for her safety might push him to do something foolish. Her anxiety rose, concerned for Monroe and his judgment. But once the vehicle turned onto a road that sounded as though it were little more than a gravel and dirt trail, Mallory became dead still, her brain running over scenarios and means of escape. Was the woman working on her own, or were there others? Listening but trying to move very little, Mallory was miserable and terrified. All she wanted was Monroe’s arms wrapped around her, telling her it was all a bad dream.
***
Garrett was arguing with the ambulance and two officers when the group arrived. Mark pulled up right at that instant, and Garrett gestured for him to come closer. Jac and the others headed in Garrett’s direction. Sharlee tapped into Jac’s Bluetooth speaker in his ear and Kaden’s laptop. Carter shoved the SUV into park and threw open his own door. The sight of four menacing men and two more coming from two different directions was enough for the younger cop to partially draw his gun from the holster.
“Stay where you are,” ordered the police officer.
“Put that away. These are my teammates. My business associates.” The cop did re-holster his weapon, but he kept his hand on the handle.
“What the hell happened to you?” asked Mark, who ignored the cautious police officer.
“Dammit. I’m going to be all right. They already gave me a GABA, something antagonizer to mitigate the effects.”
The EMT interjected. “GABA receptor antagonist. It will, as Mr. Sullivan said, mitigate the effects, but it won’t take away some of the side effects like a headache.”
“I’ll have a fucking headache for a while, but I will, whether I sit in the hospital waiting until they officially tell me I’m going to have a headache, or I can sit here and wait for my client. Why the hell are all of you here?”
“She isn’t there,” said Mark as he approached. “Look, her car is gone.”
“No, she’s inside, and her car is right… hell! Where did she go? What’s happened to her?”
Jac answered as his group approached. “There’s a robbery going on inside. Mallory got out before he came in or simultaneously, but she activated her Keep Safe program, and we’ve seen that something happened just as she was pulling out into traffic. The camera’s range ended there. I’m sure whoever has her thought they were out of range already. Now, let them fix you up while you give me your sitrep.”
Monroe pushed in between the men. “We need to track Mallory, not sit here rehashing what has already happened. We can do that after I have Mal back safely.”
“We are still triangulating and have no idea until we get a read on her. We have no choice but to wait, Monroe, but as soon as we know, we will be on it.” Kaden said. Monroe paced beside Garrett’s SUV.
