Part 5
The van came to a stop about an hour later. The two men got out of the front seat and opened the back doors. As they pulled me out, I looked around trying to see if there was anything familiar. Unfortunately, where we were looked exactly like where we had been. Minus the big house.
Logan grabbed my arm and dragged me toward a small cabin. The other two stripped down and took off into the woods. No doubt patrolling the area for anything suspicious.
He unlocked the door and shoved me inside. Luckily a chair was there to break my fall.
“Careful,” he chuckled. “It’d be a shame to hit your head again.” He took his ringing phone out of his pocket and smiled. “Looks like I didn’t hit him hard enough. Guess I should answer it, huh? He’s probably worried sick about you.” He accepted the call and put it on speaker. Adam’s voice was frantic and angry. “Whoa! Slow down, man. Where’s the fire?”
“She’s gone!” Adam growled. “They took her. I need you back here now.”
Logan grinned. “Who took her? How the hell did they get past you?” I had to hand it to him, he could act. The sincerity sounded genuine. “How’d they get past your dad?”
“Distraction,” Adam answered. “One of them must have walked in the back while Steven was here and hid somewhere in the house.” I heard Paul’s voice in the background but couldn’t make out what he said. “Bear and Sean are on their way back here now. The quicker you can get here the better. We need to move fast.”
The smile on Logan’s face disappeared. “You’re right. You do need to move fast.” He seemed to zone out for a minute and then ran his fingertips up my calf. I folded into a near fetal position. At that moment I became painfully aware of the fact that I was still wearing Adam’s robe. “Consider this your ransom call.”
The line fell silent. The smile returned to Logan’s face as he knelt down next to me. He put a finger over his lips, gesturing me to stay quiet then yanked the gag out of my mouth.
“Don’t give him a dime, Adam.” I yelled.
“Jenna!” Adam yelled back.
I tasted the blood before I felt the blow. “I thought I told you to stay quiet.” Logan growled, stuffing the gag back in place. “Open your mouth again and you’ll wish you hadn’t.”
“I’ll find you, Jenna,” Adam said. “Till then, give him hell.” The anger I heard in his voice now made the tone he’d taken with Steven seem polite. “I’d ask why, but I’m sure I already know. You’ve always been a greedy son of a bitch, but I never thought you’d sink this low. You’ll get no money from me. Consider your life over.”
The line went dead. Logan stood up and threw his phone into the wall, shattering it. I braced myself when he lifted his hand, expecting another hit, but he walked outside instead. I heard rustling and then he was on the phone again. This time with Steven.
While he was outside, I started working on getting my wrists free. I was sure Steven would be willing to pay whatever price Logan wanted to get his hands on me. If not for Trey, for me daring to leave his son. Neither was a scenario I was willing to endure.
I wasn’t crazy about the prospect of Ben winning the bidding war either. Now that I knew what he’d been doing all these years, I didn’t want to have anything to do with him. If I could get back to Adam I might have a chance at a life.
When I heard silence again, I stopped. Luckily he was on the phone again in seconds. I was sure this call was to Ben. At that point, I decided to hell with the human way out and willed myself into a shift. As soon as the bindings fell to the floor, I walked toward the open door.
Logan’s back was to me. I sniffed the air, trying to find the scents of his co-conspirators. Any direction they had gone was one I wanted to avoid. With north and south off limits, I decided to go west. I darted over the threshold and into the woods. Not once did chance a glance behind me.
The further I ran, the thicker the brush became. Not necessarily a bad thing should I need to hide. A definite downside should I need speed on my side. Not knowing where I’d been taken didn’t help any either. After running for what felt like hours, I stopped to listen to my surroundings.
As far as I could tell, I hadn’t been followed, but I wasn’t naïve enough to think my escape had gone unnoticed. The sooner I could get my bearings and figure out my next course of action, the better off I’d be.
I closed my eyes and kicked my ears into overdrive. Once I peeled away the many layers early morning held, two possibilities presented themselves. Water on one side of me. Road on the other. Both carried their own risks.
Howls in the distance forced me to make a hasty decision. I bolted toward the water. If luck was on my side, I might be able to find a house along the water and call for help. But, call who? I didn’t have my phone and the only numbers I knew belonged to the people I wanted to avoid most of all.
Sidetracked by my thoughts, I narrowly missed being plowed over by another wolf. Thankfully the tree behind me took the hit. His smell gave him away as one of the ones helping Logan. While he tried to recover his senses, I turned to run back the way I came. The only thought in my head now was getting away from him.
Before I knew it, he was on my tail again. I picked up the pace, my heart pounding in my ears. I could feel the sweat building up under my fur. My only option now was the hope that the road would be a busy one.
Another wolf burst through the brush, sideswiping my right haunch. The impact knocked me off balance, but only for a moment. Determination and desperation pushed me to push harder.
Almost out of breath, I dodged trees and leapt over huge piles of debris. I could hear the faint roar of a diesel. Almost there, but I could feel them gaining on me. I ran faster.
Another howl broke through the night. This one was more dominant, angrier. And it was close. I glanced behind me. Three wolves were there now. One no doubt, was Logan. Panic forced me forward and through the tree line, right into the path of the diesel I’d heard earlier.
My body hit the truck with a dull thud. I heard the brakes lock up as body skidded across the pavement. No longer able to hold the shift and racked with pain, animal gave way to human. I looked toward the direction of the woods, terrified they’d rush in and drag me back through the brush. To my relief they stood still, waiting and watching.
A man ran to my side, his phone already to his ear and a rifle slung over his shoulder. A woman laid a blanket over me and then took my hand. By then, my whole body was shaking and my vision was beginning to blur. Pain like I’ve never felt before stabbed through every inch of my body.
“He’s got the ambulance coming, honey,” she whispered. Her gaze shifted to the three wolves standing in the shadows. “Don’t worry, if they want you, they’ll have to go through us first.”
Logan grabbed my arm and dragged me toward a small cabin. The other two stripped down and took off into the woods. No doubt patrolling the area for anything suspicious.
He unlocked the door and shoved me inside. Luckily a chair was there to break my fall.
“Careful,” he chuckled. “It’d be a shame to hit your head again.” He took his ringing phone out of his pocket and smiled. “Looks like I didn’t hit him hard enough. Guess I should answer it, huh? He’s probably worried sick about you.” He accepted the call and put it on speaker. Adam’s voice was frantic and angry. “Whoa! Slow down, man. Where’s the fire?”
“She’s gone!” Adam growled. “They took her. I need you back here now.”
Logan grinned. “Who took her? How the hell did they get past you?” I had to hand it to him, he could act. The sincerity sounded genuine. “How’d they get past your dad?”
“Distraction,” Adam answered. “One of them must have walked in the back while Steven was here and hid somewhere in the house.” I heard Paul’s voice in the background but couldn’t make out what he said. “Bear and Sean are on their way back here now. The quicker you can get here the better. We need to move fast.”
The smile on Logan’s face disappeared. “You’re right. You do need to move fast.” He seemed to zone out for a minute and then ran his fingertips up my calf. I folded into a near fetal position. At that moment I became painfully aware of the fact that I was still wearing Adam’s robe. “Consider this your ransom call.”
The line fell silent. The smile returned to Logan’s face as he knelt down next to me. He put a finger over his lips, gesturing me to stay quiet then yanked the gag out of my mouth.
“Don’t give him a dime, Adam.” I yelled.
“Jenna!” Adam yelled back.
I tasted the blood before I felt the blow. “I thought I told you to stay quiet.” Logan growled, stuffing the gag back in place. “Open your mouth again and you’ll wish you hadn’t.”
“I’ll find you, Jenna,” Adam said. “Till then, give him hell.” The anger I heard in his voice now made the tone he’d taken with Steven seem polite. “I’d ask why, but I’m sure I already know. You’ve always been a greedy son of a bitch, but I never thought you’d sink this low. You’ll get no money from me. Consider your life over.”
The line went dead. Logan stood up and threw his phone into the wall, shattering it. I braced myself when he lifted his hand, expecting another hit, but he walked outside instead. I heard rustling and then he was on the phone again. This time with Steven.
While he was outside, I started working on getting my wrists free. I was sure Steven would be willing to pay whatever price Logan wanted to get his hands on me. If not for Trey, for me daring to leave his son. Neither was a scenario I was willing to endure.
I wasn’t crazy about the prospect of Ben winning the bidding war either. Now that I knew what he’d been doing all these years, I didn’t want to have anything to do with him. If I could get back to Adam I might have a chance at a life.
When I heard silence again, I stopped. Luckily he was on the phone again in seconds. I was sure this call was to Ben. At that point, I decided to hell with the human way out and willed myself into a shift. As soon as the bindings fell to the floor, I walked toward the open door.
Logan’s back was to me. I sniffed the air, trying to find the scents of his co-conspirators. Any direction they had gone was one I wanted to avoid. With north and south off limits, I decided to go west. I darted over the threshold and into the woods. Not once did chance a glance behind me.
The further I ran, the thicker the brush became. Not necessarily a bad thing should I need to hide. A definite downside should I need speed on my side. Not knowing where I’d been taken didn’t help any either. After running for what felt like hours, I stopped to listen to my surroundings.
As far as I could tell, I hadn’t been followed, but I wasn’t naïve enough to think my escape had gone unnoticed. The sooner I could get my bearings and figure out my next course of action, the better off I’d be.
I closed my eyes and kicked my ears into overdrive. Once I peeled away the many layers early morning held, two possibilities presented themselves. Water on one side of me. Road on the other. Both carried their own risks.
Howls in the distance forced me to make a hasty decision. I bolted toward the water. If luck was on my side, I might be able to find a house along the water and call for help. But, call who? I didn’t have my phone and the only numbers I knew belonged to the people I wanted to avoid most of all.
Sidetracked by my thoughts, I narrowly missed being plowed over by another wolf. Thankfully the tree behind me took the hit. His smell gave him away as one of the ones helping Logan. While he tried to recover his senses, I turned to run back the way I came. The only thought in my head now was getting away from him.
Before I knew it, he was on my tail again. I picked up the pace, my heart pounding in my ears. I could feel the sweat building up under my fur. My only option now was the hope that the road would be a busy one.
Another wolf burst through the brush, sideswiping my right haunch. The impact knocked me off balance, but only for a moment. Determination and desperation pushed me to push harder.
Almost out of breath, I dodged trees and leapt over huge piles of debris. I could hear the faint roar of a diesel. Almost there, but I could feel them gaining on me. I ran faster.
Another howl broke through the night. This one was more dominant, angrier. And it was close. I glanced behind me. Three wolves were there now. One no doubt, was Logan. Panic forced me forward and through the tree line, right into the path of the diesel I’d heard earlier.
My body hit the truck with a dull thud. I heard the brakes lock up as body skidded across the pavement. No longer able to hold the shift and racked with pain, animal gave way to human. I looked toward the direction of the woods, terrified they’d rush in and drag me back through the brush. To my relief they stood still, waiting and watching.
A man ran to my side, his phone already to his ear and a rifle slung over his shoulder. A woman laid a blanket over me and then took my hand. By then, my whole body was shaking and my vision was beginning to blur. Pain like I’ve never felt before stabbed through every inch of my body.
“He’s got the ambulance coming, honey,” she whispered. Her gaze shifted to the three wolves standing in the shadows. “Don’t worry, if they want you, they’ll have to go through us first.”
Dawn Kirby lives in West TX with Jamie, her husband of 17 years and their three wonderful children Tristan, Aishlynn and Shelby. She's the author of SECRETS, DECEIT and TRIBULATIONS. All three part of the paranormal romance Serenity Series published by Twisted Core Press. Her work is also featured in several 7DS Books anthologies such as SEVEN DEADLY SINS, A MAN’S PROMISE, LINGER, among several others. Another short, DATE NIGHT was published in 13 Tales of the Paranormal by Firefly and Wisp. To find out more about Dawn's work please visit www.dawnmkirby.com.
Places to find Dawn Kirby
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I would love to hear your thoughts. :) HAPPY READING !!!!