Hunting Human - Amanda E. Alvarez [37]
“No!” She forced her feet up against the bumper of the car, shoving away from the trunk with all of her remaining strength. The second her feet left the bumper, arms snatched her legs, forcing her into the trunk.
The last thing she saw, before the trunk came down, plunging her into darkness, was Braden’s cold, unflinching gaze.
Chapter Ten
Breathe.
Don’t panic.
Beth struggled against the oppressive darkness. The sharp slam of the trunk still rang in her ears and, as the engine fired and the car moved out of the driveway, the past rushed up, clawed into her mind and pulled her under.
Two Years Ago…
Liz jerked awake as the van made a sharp right turn, the momentum rolling her on top of her bound hands. She bit her lip against the pain and tried to quietly adjust her body to take the pressure off her arms. She’d worked desperately to slip her wrists out of the zip ties the men had used to bind her hands behind her back. Hours later, she was still bound, the skin around her wrists raw and sticky with blood. Every time the van bounced, her weight shifted back on her arms and pain radiated from her wrists up through her shoulders.
Liz rolled onto her stomach, taking the pressure off her arms as the van continued to bounce. She tried to gain her bearings. Dim light filtered into the back of the van; dawn was approaching. What time had they been grabbed? Two in the morning, a little later? That meant they’d been traveling three or four hours at least, possibly more. God only knew where they were being taken. Not into civilization, Liz guessed. If the way the van bounced and pitched was any indication, the smooth blacktop of the highway was far behind them. Did that mean they were closer to their destination? Closer to death?
Liz fought against the panic clawing up her throat.
Stay calm.
You can’t afford to panic.
If she and Rachel were going to have any chance at survival, she had to keep a cool head. Keeping Rachel from falling apart would be challenge enough. More light filtered into the back of the van, the darkness receding into gray, revealing the outline of Rachel. She had her cheek pushed against the floor of the van, some of her long blond hair spilling over her shoulder and around her face. Between the alcohol and the terror, it hadn’t taken long for Rachel to sob herself into an exhausted sleep, abandoning Liz to deal with the harsh reality of their situation. Hopefully, Rachel would sleep through a little more of the van’s rough bouncing; the longer she slept off the alcohol and remained unaware, the better.
Liz jumped, every muscle in her body tensing. The hiss and crackle of a radio filled the van, and a deep voice fired off a barrage of what sounded like Russian. The driver picked up the radio and responded. Their kidnappers hadn’t said much in the last several hours but none of it had been in English. Frustration ate at Liz’s nerves. She knew they were in trouble. Still, she’d rather know what they faced, get the panic out of the way and move on to figuring out how to deal with the situation.
“Lizzy?” Rachel’s voice cut through her thoughts.
“Shh,” Liz whispered. “It’s okay.”
Rachel blinked slowly, glancing around the van. She found Liz’s face in the darkness, fresh tears welling in her swollen eyes. Her breathing hitched.
“Oh God,” Rachel sobbed, struggling against the ties on her wrists.
Liz moved, aching to reach for Rachel, frustrated as her wrists pulled against the ties. Instead, she scooted across the space between them and pushed her forehead against Rachel’s.
“Rachel… Rachel, look at me.”
Rachel kept her eyes pressed firmly shut but stopped struggling.
Good enough.
“It’s okay. We’re okay. Try to stay calm.”
“Calm?” Rachel stuttered with hysteria. “Calm? I can’t, Lizzy. We’re, oh God, we’re…” She trailed off, words strangled by a fresh wave of sobs.
“In trouble?” Liz reached for all the levity she possessed. The humor she pushed into the words snapped Rachel’s eyes open.
“Well, yeah,” she said incredulously.
“Like