Page 37 of Trapped

His words pinballed in my head as the door slammed shut behind me and the blades of the helicopter rotated above us.I straightened at the harrowing noises, aware of what they were based on the limited information I’d been able to ascertain yet still perturbed by what was going on.Eli was with me, and I was thankful, but I was still there ostensibly on my own; a vulnerable woman with no special skills or experiences to help drag her out of the enormous hole that seemed to have opened up in her life.

Exhaling as far as the blasted hood allowed, I followed the timeline of how it had all happened.One moment, I’d been on a vaguely interesting hike with my friend and her irritating other half, making small talk with the handsome tour guide he’d hired, and the next, the rest of my group had disappeared, leaving me alone with Eli.Anxiety still simmered at Chelle’s fate, and despite everything, I wished she’d come with us to stay safe in the cabin, but given what had recently transpired, perhaps she’d had the right idea.Eli could have been right.She could have made it back to base in search of James’ body.She’d be upset and in need of comfort, but at least she wasn’t being abducted in a helicopter.

Ifshe’s alive…

I swallowed at the demoralizing thought.I hoped to anything holy that Chelle was okay, but as the chopper left the ground, I was starkly conscious that I should have been more worried about myself.Either Chelle was okay or she’d already passed.My fate was far less certain.

“Seems like a job well done.”The male voice was only just audible over the noise of the helicopter.“Plus, we picked ourselves up some pussy on route.”

Appalled at his inference, I tucked my legs into my chest and curled myself into as small a ball as I could, but my hands still clung to the damp cloth I believed belonged to Eli’s trousers.The fabric was wrapped around what felt like a strong calf, and so far, the owner, who was sitting in the direction Eli’s voice had come from, hadn’t made any crude remarks about the attention.

“Seems like your pussy’s into some other cock!”Another moron cackled at his apparent humor.

“Yeah, well, she won’t have no choice,” the first one retorted.“The boss will be keeping that cock busy once we arrive.”

My pulse sped up at his sinister tone.He hadn’t said so explicitly, but his words suggested Eli and I were in for dubious times once the helicopter set down.

That was when the thought occurred to me.My hands, although cuffed, were in front of me.That empowered me with a certain level of latitude that wouldn’t be available if the fools had bound me behind my back.Allowing my fingertips to graze over Eli’s cold and clammy skin, a tiny shoot of hope bloomed in my chest.If there was a moment when the goons working for Hawkins were distracted, I could whip the hood up and over my head.That wouldn’t free me, but it would mean I could see again.Perhaps I’d get lucky and the chopper would land somewhere dry.That would mean my lack of footwear would be less of an issue, but either way, if the opportunity arose, I’d need to be ready to take it and run.

But what about Eli?

I turned my head toward the place I imagined him to be, picturing him in my mind’s eye.He’d taken a nasty assault, even before they’d snatched my sight away, but somehow, I couldn’t imagine him cowering in pain.That just wasn’t the man I’d got to know.Whatever they’d put him through in the time since I’d seen him, he’d still spoken up for me, and that was reassuring.Eli hadn’t run for the hills at the first possible chance and left me to fend for myself.He still cared.

Even though I was a prisoner to the wild and unpredictable men surrounding me, and I suspected they had something ominous in mind, the fact that Eli was there for me meant something.

It means everything.

The smile beneath my hood grew.I knew it was wrong to be excited by a man who’d played my captor as much as he’d played my savior, but damn me, I couldn’t help it.Amongst the angst and constant push and pull of our struggled power dynamic, there was something deeper, something that stirred the remnants of my soul and helped me to believe there was a chance for something more meaningful in my life.I hadn’t experienced that for a long time, and looking back, I wasn’t even sure that my useless ex, Ray, had come close to inspiring that sentiment.

“Arrival in T-minus ten minutes, gents.”

Startling at the radio transmission, I straightened against the hard surface.Ten minutes until we landed.Ten minutes before the chopper touched down and the next installment of that chapter unfolded before me.I should have still been terrified, and on some level, I was.Our assailants had at least two guns among them, and they’d already demonstrated a willingness to throw their fists around, but I didn’t discount the mushrooming sense of anticipation building in me, either.The men in black ski masks might have been well and truly in control as things stood, but no one knew how the next half an hour was going to play out, including our perpetrators.

Withdrawing my hands and bringing them closer to my body, I realized my breathing had slowed.Amidst the tumbling chaos of the situation, I’d clawed at a semblance of solace and found a sliver of possibility.

If Eli hadn’t given up, then neither would I.If he could withstand a beating, then I could handle what came next.I owed it to myself to try.

“Settle in, baby.”One of the bastards ruffled my hair, provoking me to recoil out of instinct.“This is where things get exciting.”

Tensing at his analogy, I didn’t resist the smirk he couldn’t see painting my lips.Whatever came next, I vowed to ensure his prophecy came true.

Chapter Fifteen

The Incarcerated Man

Paul Baron

Stretching my neck, I let out a long breath.Who knew how long I’d been locked in the shitty little room and tied to a chair, but to me, each passing minute seemed like an hour, the protracted potency just another measure of how much I’d fucked up.

All the years I’d worked in the same unit as Hawkins, presiding over him and giving orders to the spineless son-of-a-bitch, and I’d never seen the enemy right under my nose.Sure, I hadn’t adored the guy, and after the case I’d brought against him, I definitely didn’t trust him, but I’d never had any idea how low the bastard would go.It hadn’t been until the imbecile had snatched me away at the crack of dawn that I’d realized his true nature, the recognition far graver than anything I’d anticipated.

Hawkins was the worst kind of asshole—the treacherous, slimy variety who was prepared to sell out his colleagues.For all I knew, he was also selling state secrets to the highest bidder, although who that buyer was still wasn’t clear to me.

“Nothing’s clear.”

Kicking out at the gloom ahead of me, I stared around my cell for the thousandth time.There was literally nothing to see in the enclosed, shadowy space, but I looked anyway, just in case I’d missed something important.The walls stretching up high around me on all sides were my only company, aside from the reek of stale urine that seemed to have taken permanent residence at the back of my throat.Of all the interrogation locations I’d simulated for my commanders in the past, it was surely one of the most miserable.

Not that anyone had tried to interrogate me.That was the weirdest part.Bundled into a van in the small hours, I’d had little interaction with my captors.I only knew Hawkins was the worm responsible for my predicament because he’d introduced himself.Grimacing at the memory of the event, my head lowered.

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