Page 4 of Zar

Chapter Two

Callie awoke with the knowledge that they were stopped. The SUV’s engine wasn’t running. Shit, she couldn’t believe she’d passed out. She touched her forehead but didn’t feel anything more than a slight sting. Okay, no blood. That was good. Memories flooded her brain and she winced. Yeah, great escape attempt. She could’ve gotten them both killed by an oncoming car. Or worse, killed someone else. In her defense, she’d never been kidnapped before. She was freaking winging it here! Add to the fact that she hadn’t slept in who knows how long. She’d gone without lunch and dinner. So, yeah, she’d hit her head so hard she’d blacked out. Her body had finally said enough already and surrendered. It was only a first try. She’d have another chance, surely.

She sat up straighter in the seat and looked towards the driver’s side of the car. Flare wasn’t there. She was alone in the SUV. She glanced around to get a location or some sense of where they were. Damn, the sun was coming up. God, how long was she out? Had he drugged her? She noticed gas pumps, but she didn’t recognize the area. There were no stores or houses, only fields. The gas station seemed to be the only sign of civilization for miles. Well out of the city limits. They must have been driving for hours. She looked out the passenger window and saw mountains and a sign that stated that rental cabins were ten miles away. A billboard welcoming them to the Great Smoky Mountains caught her attention. Fuck, they really had been driving all night.

Movement caught her eye and she saw Flare coming out of the small rundown carry-out. He carried a bag in one hand and had his cell phone at his ear with the other. Their gazes connected and Callie’s heartbeat slammed into overdrive. This was her second chance. She doubted she’d get a third.

Callie unhooked her seatbelt and climbed over the center console and tried the driver’s side door. It opened. She shoved it hard and scrambled to the ground, then took off at a run towards the back of the SUV and away from Flare. She had no real destination. Her brain just kept shouting: RUN! RUN!

She managed to reach the edge of the lot. Her black heels hit the field and she nearly sank into the muddy earth, but panic rode her hard. The crisp morning air caused shivers to race up and down her spine. It was early April in Tennessee and spring hadn’t shown her beautiful face as of yet. The sound of feet pounding the earth behind her terrified her into pushing her body to its limit. Her legs ate up the ground as fast as she could go, but it wasn’t enough. One powerful arm clamped around her waist and jerked her to a stop. Callie fell forward in the mud, screaming and kicking in her panic. Large, muscular arms picked her up and held her in the air.

“Stop!” Flare’s easy, gentle voice was now a harsh command and the change terrified her. She stilled long enough to trick him into setting her back on her feet, then Callie began clawing at his hand with her nails. Damn it! The man was made of steel and he wasn’t budging. She turned and kicked out with her foot, connecting with his shin. He cursed and grasped her around her waist and picked her up. He held her off the ground as if she weighed no more than a child.

“Let me go, damn you!” she screamed, balling her hands into fists and attempted to punch him, but he was holding her with his arms outstretched and she couldn’t reach any part of his body other than his arm. She hit his forearms over and over, but he only stood there staring at her as if she’d lost her mind.

“Stop before you’re injured,” he ordered, his voice edged with steel. What little kindness he’d possessed earlier had vanished.

“Screw you!” she yelled as he carefully placed her back on her feet. He quickly clamped one hand over both her wrists when she attempted to flee.

“I did not want to do this, but you leave me no choice, Ms. Wilson,” he ground out as he pulled a shiny gold object out of his pocket. It looked like an expensive, rope necklace. It was about an inch wide and a little more than a half a foot long. He slapped it over her wrists and the chain folded around both her arms as if on its own. It clamped tight against her skin, but not uncomfortably so. She tried to pry her hands apart, but the chain wouldn’t budge. Yeah, she wasn’t getting the thing off until Flare removed it. He’d handcuffed her, but not with any type of restraint she’d ever seen. Who in the hell was this guy?

Flare released her wrists, then took hold of her upper arm and began dragging her back to the vehicle. “You will come with me and you will not attempt this again.” He shook his head as if chastising a child. “You could’ve been seriously injured.”

That pissed her off. “What part of kidnapping did you not understand?”

“I am tired of this conversation. I have clearly stated that you are not kidnapped. You will be returned to your home as soon the meeting with my king has concluded.”

King? Whoa. What the fuck? “You never said anything about a king,” she replied.

Flare suddenly stopped walking, which meant she had to stop walking or be jerked to a halt like a damn dog. “That is, I meant to say my boss.”

Yeah, that was a big fat lie. He’d slipped when he’d called the man his king. She wasn’t supposed to know that. “Nope, you said king and that’s exactly what you meant. Start talking, Flare, or I’m going to make the rest of this trip really miserable.”

He glanced her way, an eyebrow arched. “I think you have accomplished that goal already.”

She snorted. “Oh, it can be so much worse. Trust me on this.” He didn’t reply so she went for broke. “Let me explain something to you, Flare. When a woman sets her mind to making a man’s life a living hell, she can be extremely creative. Every mile with me will seem like pure torture.”

He sighed but stayed silent until they reached the vehicle. He opened her door and waited for her to enter. She didn’t budge an inch. She glared at him. He glared back. A few seconds went by when he finally relented. “Fine. I’ll explain if you get in and promise not to escape for the rest of the trip. Deal?”

She smiled. “Now was that so hard?” She didn’t have the use of her hands since they were bound and Flare had to help her in. He buckled her belt, then slammed her door and jogged around to her side.

He picked up the bag he’d tossed onto the center console and pulled out a bottle of water and a bag of nuts. “I could remove the restraint. Can you be trusted?”

Callie knew when she’d been beaten. She wasn’t getting away from Flare until he allowed it. She held up her wrists and said, “I won’t try to escape again.”

He nodded and pressed a palm over the gold. It warmed to his touch, then suddenly the restraint fell open. He took it and shoved it back into his pocket. She still wanted to know what the hell that thing was, but more than that she wanted to know about this so-called king. “So, talk,” she ordered, as she picked up the bottle of water and popped the top. She took a long drink, then closed it and set it in the cup holder before grabbing the bag of nuts. Her stomach rumbled. God, she really was starving.

“Rybacia Zar, he is our king. He is the one who has requested an audience with you.”

So, they were foreign because she’d never heard the term before. “Rybacia, what does that mean?”

He seemed to debate whether to tell her, in the end he answered, “It’s a term that means royal.”

Callie digested that bit of information, before asking, “Okay, so that tells me that you have your own country. Or at the very least you are part of a tribe or clan that requires you to have a king. Where are you from and what is your king doing in the States?”

He shook his head. “We are not a tribe or clan. The best way I can explain it to you is that we are part of a society of people that is separate from yours. We govern ourselves. Our king is law.”

What the hell was she smoking? Surely this was some sort of freaky drug trip she was on. Unfortunately, she hadn’t taken drugs since college. Even then it’d been by doctor’s orders. The Ritalin prescribed to her was to help with her attention deficit. Only that wasn’t really why her father had insisted she take it. No, it was because it gave her better focus. Her grades had improved and being at the top of her class had been the most important thing to her father. Screw her health. That hadn’t been important. The only thing he’d cared about was his reputation and having a daughter who was only mediocre? Yeah, not okay with the almighty Quinn.

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