Page 14 of Taken By Raider Kings
The kidnapper used his free hand to open up the top of the bakery box.“See anything good?”He sounded concerned.Morning light was kind, running over the shadow of stubble, the thin nose, dark eyes a lot of women probably liked.His hair was a soft mess except for the wiriness of the white streak.One stubborn wave fell over his forehead, and he actually grinned down at her like he was having a grand old time.
Sourness filled in her throat.He’d kidnapped her, and had the effrontery to smile, to put his arm over her shoulder like he owned her?
“I’m not hungry,” she managed through the stone in her throat.“But thanks.”She stared at the old man, her eyes burning, her lips trembling.Look at me.Please see me.Please help me.
“Dieting?Never did anyone any good, honey.First three letters ofdietare a warning, that’s what they are.”He wasn’t looking at her; he was filling the coffee cups from a pump thermos, frowning slightly and probably judging each cup by the number of squeezes needed instead of by sight.She tried leaning away from Zach’s arm, but it was useless.Her feet were almost fully insensate, blocks of raw meat.“My wife used to say that.Cream and sugar?”
“Only in one.”Zach peered into the bakery box, pulling her with him.“And I think we’ll take two of these apple fritters.They look nice.”
“You go ahead now.That’ll be three dollars for the coffee, young man.You just take those fritters as a gift from me.”
“Why, thank you.”He sounded so normal, so nice, as if he hadn’t kidnapped a woman and killed?—
Oh, my God.He killed that thing, didn’t he?“Upir,”he said.Her head hurt justthinkingabout it, spikes of glassy migraine through her temples.
Nobody would miss her for another twenty-four hours at least, and by then, who knew how far away they would have taken her?Her ferns would die, she wouldn’t be at work Monday morning, and good old Battle-Ax Margo the office manager would have a conniption.Nobody knew she’d gone out with Lucy, and Luce was between boyfriends.
What was happening right now?Were the police trying to find her?Trying to find Lucy’s car keys?
If I hadn’t divorced Marc someone would be missing me right now—but if I hadn’t run away in the first place I wouldn’t have been out last night.The urge to scream rose in her chest, was strangled.
Zach moved again.She flinched, swaying, but he was handing her two monstrous apple fritters wrapped in a napkin, tucking them atop the clothes clutched to her chest.“Here.Hold these, sweetie.Why don’t you head on back to the car, and I’ll bring your coffee?”
The old man chuckled.She realized he was not merely shortsighted; he wasn’t interested in anything out of the ordinary.“My wife was like that.Bit of a bear in the morning without her coffee, God bless her.”
“Go on, now.”Zach-the-kidnapper gave her a meaningful look, and when Sophie snapped a glance over her shoulder she saw the two other men at the van’s open side door, watching intently.They all had those weird pale stripes in their hair, like a dye job gone wrong.Maybe it was a gang sign?
Yeah, like the badass Lady Clairols.Come on, Sophie.Think of something!
There was nobody else around, and what could the old man do?
Absolutely nothing.She was just as helpless now as she’d been last night.
“Fine.”She backed up as Zach’s heavy arm fell to his side.If she stepped on anything sharp now she would bleed, too numb to care.Each step was another jab of freezing pain up her legs.Even her toes felt clumsy.
The younger boy, sitting with his legs dangling just outside the door, eyed her intently as she edged unwillingly closer.He was a male copy of Julia, but instead of looking spoiled and unfinished he possessed a perpetually worried grin and a hunch to his shoulders, painfully uncertain.
“You okay?”he asked softly, tilting his striped head.His big dark-brown eyes were red-rimmed but seemed kind, and his nose slightly chapped from crying.
The other one, bigger and broad-shouldered but not so tall as Zach, had oddly piercing blue eyes.He regarded her warily, hunching inside a tattered leather jacket.One arm bent, wrist raised to his mouth, and his strong white teeth worried at his coat-cuff.
No, I’m not okay.How could I be anything like okay?But some instinct made her free a hand from the clothes, holding out the fritters despite the way her stomach growled for something, anything.“Here.These are for you.”
“Hey, thanks!”The younger one grabbed a pastry, took a huge wolfish bite, and grinned without any uncertainty at all.The blue-eyed one accepted the remainder slowly, but at least he stopped snacking on his sleeve.“I’m Brenn.This is Eric.He’s our cousin-brother.Gee, aren’t your feet cold?Come on up.”The boy moved aside, and Sophie mechanically climbed into the van.
At least it got her off the concrete.
They both peered at her, the one in the leather jacket nibbling at his fritter now.
“These are really good,” Brenn continued.“Are you really a shaman?”
“She’s a found shaman, not even triggered.She wouldn’t know, not yet.”The blue-eyed one—Eric—eyed her speculatively.“This means we can settle down somewhere.”
“You think?It’d be nice.We haven’t settled anywhere since the farm…” Maddeningly, Brenn stopped, and gave a shy smile.A sad puppy gaze glimmered at her; what kind of life did he have, that he considered snatching off the street normal?“It’s nice to meet you.You’re going to take care of us?”
It was too absurd to even guess at an answer.“You kidnapped me.”She sounded flat and unhelpful even to herself.“I’m supposed to take care of you?”
“We’re Carcajou.”Eric shrugged, shoulders clearly packed with muscle under the jacket.“Makes no sense to you now, but it will.And Zach’s?—”
