Swimsuit - James Patterson [39]
“Thanks, Andrew,” said Barbara. “That’s a nice offer. If you let us take you out to dinner, we’ll talk about it.”
Chapter 49
BARBARA WOKE UP in the dark, feeling sheer, naked terror.
Her arms were tied behind her back and they ached. Her legs were roped together at her knees and ankles. She was crammed into a fetal position against the corner of a shallow compartment that was moving!
Was she blind? Or was it just too dark to see? Dear God, what was happening? She screamed, “Levon!”
Behind her back, something stirred.
“Barb? Baby? Are you okay?”
“Oh, honey, thank God, thank God you’re here. Are you all right?”
“I’m tied up. Shit. What is this?”
“I think we’re in the trunk of a car.”
“Christ! A trunk! It’s Hogan. Hogan did this.”
Muffled music came through the backseat to where the couple lay trussed like hens in a crate.
Barbara said, “I’m going crazy. I don’t understand any of this. What does he want?”
Levon kicked at the trunk’s lid. “Hey! Let us out. Hey!” His kick didn’t budge the lid, didn’t make a dent. But now Barbara’s eyes were growing accustomed to the dark.
“Levon, look! See that? The trunk release.”
The two turned painfully by inches, scraping cheeks and elbows against the carpeting, Barb working off her shoes, pulling at the release lever with her toes. The lever moved, but there was no resistance, no release of the lock.
“Oh, God, please,” Barbara wailed, her asthma kicking in, her voice trailing into a wheeze, then a burst of coughs.
“The cables are cut,” said Levon. “The backseat. We can kick through the backseat.”
“And then what? We’re tied up!” Barb gasped.
Still they tried, the two of them kicking without full use of their legs, getting nowhere.
“It’s latched, goddammit,” said Levon.
Barb was fighting to take one breath and then another, trying to stop herself from going into a full-blown gag attack. Why had Hogan taken them? Why? What was he going to do with them? What was to be gained from kidnapping them?
Levon said, “I read somewhere, you kick out the taillights and you can stick a hand out, wave until someone notices. Even if we just bust the lights, maybe a cop will pull the car over. Do it, Barb. Try.”
Barb kicked, and plastic shattered. “Now you!” she shouted.
As Levon broke through the taillight on his side of the trunk, Barbara turned so that her face was near the shards and wires.
She actually could see blacktop streaming below the tires. If the car stopped, she’d scream. They weren’t helpless, not anymore. They were still alive and dammit, they would fight!
“What’s that sound? A cell phone?” Levon asked. “In the trunk with us?”
Barb saw the glowing faceplate of a phone by her feet. “We’re getting out of here, honey. Hogan made a big mistake.”
She struggled to position her hands as the first ring became the second, thumbing the buttons blindly behind her back, hitting the Send key, turning on the phone.
Levon yelled, “Hello! Hello! Who’s there?”
“Mr. McDaniels, it’s me. Marco. From the Wailea Princess.”
“Marco! Thank God. You’ve got to find us. We’ve been kidnapped.”
“I’m sorry. I know you’re uncomfortable back there. I’ll explain everything momentarily.”
The phone went dead.
The car slowed to a stop.
Chapter 50
HENRI FELT BLOOD charging through his veins. He was tense in the best possible way, adrenalized, mentally rehearsed, ready for the next scene to play itself out.
He checked the area again, glancing up to the road, then taking in the 180 degrees of shoreline. Satisfied that the area was deserted, he hauled his duffel bag out of the backseat, tossed it under a tangle of brush before returning to the car.
Walking around the all-wheel-drive sedan, he stooped beside each tire, reducing the air pressure from eighty to twenty pounds, slapping the trunk when he passed it, then opening the front door on the passenger side. He reached into the glove box, tossed the rental agreement to the floor, and removed his ten-inch buck knife. It felt like