Page 2 of Tempting Triton
I manage to get my feet under me, dirt and stones sticking to my exposed skin as I jump up, eyes still on the creepy man amongst the trees. Still, he does not move an inch. A sliver of doubt crawls into my mind. Am I imagining him? Have I had a mental breakdown, and now I’m hallucinating? I decide it doesn’t matter. If I’m going to hallucinate, I may as well do it from the comfort of the couch in front of the fireplace. My ankle burns when I put pressure on it, and I bite down a yelp as I turn and get ready to sprint. Instead, I collide with a hard chest. The air whooshes out of me on impact, and firm arms encircle me, pinning my arms to my body, effectively trapping me. He smells like olive trees with a hint of ocean, but when I lookup at his face, his features blur like my eyes can’t focus properly. I blink rapidly, trying to clear my vision.
“Gotcha.” The dark timbre of his voice tickles my ear.
“No!” I gasp, wriggling in his grip.
A shadow envelops me from behind, a sharp sting at my neck.
Then, nothing.
2
Elena
The sounds of heavy breathing and the creaking of metal surround me as I come to, my neck aching from my chin having dropped to my chest while I was unconscious. I crack my neck with a groan and drag my eyes open. My mouth feels like it’s full of cotton balls, and a pounding headache throbs behind my eyes. Wherever I am, it’s mostly dark, with only a few tiny holes dotted in the walls of my prison, letting thin streams of light illuminate tiny dust particles floating in the air, and the fact that I am not alone. The shadows of other bodies line the walls, either slumped over with their backs to the wall like me, or completely on their side as if they tipped over at some point.
Oh, god. I shudder, emotions barreling through me as our predicament sinks in. Why me? Why us? What were those men doing out at the cabin? Was this planned? Were they following me?Maybe they think they can ransom me? I guess I’d be well-known in the swimming community, but to anyone else, I’m no one. I’m not some high-ranking celebrity that would fetch a kidnapper a small fortune. Thoughts run through my head a mile a minute, my brain trying to make sense of an unfathomable situation. Brett is going to be so worried. Or maybe he’ll think I’ve run off after our argument. What if he doesn’t look for me? What if he does think I’ve run off? I gasp on a sob. Fear that I’ll never see him again mingles with regret over how our last conversation ended.
My arms are sore and stiff, secured behind me with what feels like a plastic zip tie, biting into my wrists. I wriggle against my restraints, hissing as they rub at my sensitive skin. I whimper, sniffling as a steady stream of tears tracks down my face. I can’t help the wracking sobs that overtake me.
Someone else is coming around, by the sound of them groaning and throwing up. I gag a little at the sour tang that filters through the air toward me.
“Hello?” a feminine voice croaks out of the darkness,bouncing off the steel walls. “Where are we?”
My spine stiffens. “Shh, they might hear you!” I whisper-yell at the woman. The last thing we want is our captors coming and checking on us.
“Who? Who are they? Where are we?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know!” A sob breaks free again, try as I might to hold it back. I’m absolutely terrified.
“Hang on.” The woman grunts, and then I hear a shuffling noise as she tries to move. I hear her yelp and the sound of a thump in the dark before she’s suddenly lying in front of me, whimpering.
“Are you okay?” I sniff.
“Peachy.” She coughs, winded. “Sorry. We’re all in this together,” she whisper-sings before bursting into laughter, and I think she might be a bit loopy, but it breaks me out of my panic. I snort, which makes her laugh even harder. The ridiculousness of it all makes me laugh along with her until her laughter turns to sobs. We simmer down, the silence sobering us.
“I’m scared,” I whisper.
The woman looks at me from the floor. “What’s your name?”
“Elena, you?” I sniff, snot tickling my nose as ittries to escape.
“Morgan.”
“I’d say nice to meet you, but I’d rather I hadn’t.” My voice cracks.
Morgan hums in agreement. She hasn’t made any move to get up from where she lies, the thin streams of light cast over her, and I can see she has dark ginger hair that’s long and thick with a slight wave to it. She wears a cardigan over her dress, the pink fluff looking so warm and inviting in contrast to my barely-there running attire.
The wall at my back is startlingly cold against the sliver of bare skin around my middle, and I wish I had slipped a tee on over my sports bra when I decided to go for a run this afternoon. Or was it yesterday? I don’t know how long I’ve been out, but given the sunlight doing its best to filter in, I can only assume it’s not the same day anymore. I groan. Brett won’t even know to look for me for another couple of days when I don’t show up for training on Monday. By then, I’ll be who knows where. If I’m even still alive.
“So, what’s your story?” Morgan asks.
I cock a brow at her. Are we swapping kidnapping stories?
“I was out running. I’m an athlete, a swimmer. I’ve got a comp coming up, so I beefed up my training. They got me on a secluded part of the trail.” I shudder at the memory of the two faceless men in the trees.
“Well, that’s not as bad as mine. I walked right up to them. I thought they were tourists and didn’t want them to get towed.” Morgan rolls her eyes.
Considering she came over here to comfort me when we’ve both been kidnapped, it doesn’t seem too outlandish. She seems like the type of person who tries her best to help everyone.
