General Davies must have known that was the best he was going to get. With a sharp nod, he stepped back. “We’ll have eyes on that vehicle the whole time, let you know if it moves.”
Kong jumped aboard, joining the rest of his team, and within moments, the helicopter lifted off the ground.
Katherine’s captor pulled something out of his pocket she couldn’t quite make out until he clicked it on and shined the bright light in her face, making her wince. “Gotta make sure your daddy can see you clearly. Let’s get cozy.”
He slung his arm around her so the flashlight was shining up at her face and he extended his other arm so his phone got both of them in frame.
Crouched as he was beside her, his weight balanced on the balls of his feet, his balance had to be precarious and he hadn’t tied her up. This might be her only chance. Before she could second guess herself, she slammed her elbow into him as hard as she could, but she hadn’t thought about her own seated position, and how long it would take to get up off the floor even with the surge of adrenaline. Her dress was snagged and she was yanked back all too quickly. Frustrated tears filled her eyes.
The psycho laughed at her as he pushed her flat on the floor and sat on her stomach while his hand on her chest pinned her down. “I like you,” he said, smiling down at her. “You’re funny.”His expression turned deadly serious. “But I will break both your legs if you try that again. Understand?”
Hardly able to breathe with his weight crushing her, she nodded.
With a grin, he squeezed one of her boobs hard. “Honk.”
It was instinct to swat his hand away but the action only made him smile wider. “A fighter. Good. I like the fighters. They last longer.”
He finally removed his weight and Katherine sucked in a hard breath and then started coughing as she curled into a fetal position.
“Now let’s do this.” He picked up the flashlight and the phone he’d dropped, then yanked her into a seated position and sat down next to her, slinging his arm over her shoulders again. He gave her a little squeeze, almost as if he was trying to give her a reassuring hug.Fucking psycho.
“Don’t you worry. I’ll do all the talking. All you have to do is sit there and look pretty.”
Katherine saw their faces close together on the screen, illuminated by the flashlight’s bright beam. The tear tracks marking her swollen face coupled with her bedraggled hair, and hopeless expression were in direct opposition to her captor’s psychotic look of glee as he pressed the record button with his thumb.
“August, you old dog! Guess who I met today!” He leaned his head against hers, trying to look all cutesy as he grinned and Katherine jerked her head away, receiving a hard warning squeeze for her trouble. “We’re having a great time getting to know each other.” He angled the phone closer to get a better look at her puffy, mottled cheek and the blood staining her mouth. “Just look at how much fun we’ve already had and we’ve only just begun.”
Moving the phone back so they were both in the frame again, she saw his expression morph into an angry snarl. “Now listen up, you piece of shit. I want a meeting. Face to face. We’re going to discuss a few…issues. You left me to rot. So unless you call me in the next hour to set up that meeting, I’ll leave your daughter’s corpse to rot where no one will ever find her. Clock’s ticking, asshole.”
He touched the button with his thumb to end the recording just as the sound of a helicopter overhead could be heard.
Her corpse. Katherine’s heart felt like it was beating so fast it was going to burst as fear washed over her in a cold, clammy wave. She had one hour.
“That went well,” he said as he stood and moved away from her, the boards under his feet creaking with every step. Maybe she’d get lucky and he’d fall through the floor.
The helicopter grew louder and he looked up at the roof as if he was trying to look for it through the holes. “Good thing we finished when we did or we might have had to start over. Damn,that’s loud. Must be flying low. Probably one of the military bases around here. This state has a shit ton.” He shook his head. “Now I’ll just send this off to your dear old dad.” He looked her way. “Then we wait.”
Whistling again, his eyes were on his phone as he tapped away on the screen and Katherine’s eyes went to the rickety-looking door as she licked her dry lips and cringed at the metallic taste of blood. She couldn’t count on luck or her dad. She’d never been able to count on her dad. She only had herself.
She’d need to make a run for it.
Her first thought was the car outside, but she had no idea if he’d left the keys in it. Maybe if she could make it to those trees she’d seen, she might be able to hide. She had to try.
Quietly, carefully, she adjusted her position as if she were simply attempting to find a more comfortable spot. She’d learned from her earlier mistake. If she was going to run, she needed to get her feet under her first.
The door exploded inward with a loud crash, the wood splintering, and Katherine screamed, covering her head with her arms as her captor shouted and drew his gun. A shot rang out and she squeezed her eyes closed, crunching herself into a tight ball as more shots were fired.
A body suddenly fell over her and she almost screamed again until she heard a voice say, “I’ve got you, love. Keep your head down.”
A beautiful, impossible voice. It had to be all the noise messing with her ears, making her hear what she wanted to hear.
When the gunfire stopped and that painfully familiar voice asked, “Are you all right?” she didn’t dare open her eyes and spoil the illusion. She wanted it to be Kong so badly it hurt.
“Katherine? Love? Please talk to me. It’s over now. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
She felt a big hand tentatively touch her shoulder and while her heart might break again when she saw the face of her rescuer, she couldn’t keep her eyes closed forever. Slowly, she cracked them open just a smidgeon. Her mind had to be playing tricks on her. He was slightly blurry as she viewed him through her lashes, but he looked like Kong. Her heart raced this time with hope – as impossible as it was – and with a deep breath for courage, she fully opened her eyes.
“Kong?” How? How was this possible?
