I don't blame him. I was trying to fight but it’s clear I’m no match for him. I blink my eyes as I try to clear the dizziness that is pushing down on me. My head rolls to the side, and though I can hear him talking, I can’t make out what he’s saying. I squint and see that he’s on the phone and I wonder if I should try and attack him again. I might catch him off guard this time, but we have to be on the highway by now so who knows how fast we’re going. It would be a sure death if I tried now. I’ll have to wait for another moment. He’ll have to stop at some point, or at least slow down.
My phone! Where did I put my phone? I roll over onto my stomach and scan the floor of the van with blurry eyes. I know I held it in a death grip before I was tossed into the back of the van. It has to be here somewhere. I let out a small gasp when I see it in the corner. I don’t move, not wanting to give myself away. I look back to see he’s still on the phone. Slowly, I shift and reach my hand out to grab it before I slide it under me.
Now if I can only work a phone without looking at it. I shift again and move it to my lap while I unlock it. I quickly pull up Vaughn’s number and hit call before I shove it into my bra. But before I can say anything, I let out a scream when I feel the van swerve and jerk to the side. I fly across the back of it and hit the hard metal wall before landing on the ground again. I cry out, my shoulder throbbing since it took the brunt of the hit. This is bad. Stars dance in my eyes again but this time my vision goes black. The back door of the van flies open, and it startles me.
He’s coming for the phone. I try and go for it first but my arm is heavy when I try to lift it. It falls back to the ground, and I look up to see the back door is open. The man isn't there and it takes me a moment but I will myself to sit up. The phone falls out of my shirt and hits the metal of the van with a loud thunk. When I pick it up I see the screen is black and when I push the button nothing happens. Damn it. I don’t know if I got through to Vaughn or not.
I glance back up at the open door and I’m wondering where the hell the guy went. I crawl toward the doors to peek out and I don’t recognize any of this. When did we get off the highway? Did I lose time when I hit my head? I try to stop thinking because all the questions aren’t helping my massive headache.
I pause when I see the driver sitting in a plastic white lawn chair with his legs kicked out while he’s watching TV. I look past him to the warehouse we’re inside and wonder how long I was out for. His gaze slides over toward me then back to the TV like I’m not even here.
I sit on the edge of the van with my feet touching the ground. When I try to stand, my vision blurs and I have to sit down again before I faceplant on the floor. I wonder if he jerked the van on purpose with the intention of knocking me around.
“Concussion,” he says lazily, not bothering to look my way.
I rub the back of my head and I’m happy when I don’t feel any blood. I’m going to have a bump for sure, but it doesn’t matter if I don’t live. I think he’s right though. I might have a concussion or I might be losing my mind because this was weird.
“Where am I?” I ask. I stand again, and this time I don’t feel so dizzy.
“Doesn’t matter. If you run I’ll knock you out.”
My stomach turns at the thought of being knocked out again. I have no idea of what’s going on but I’m pretty sure I lost a few minutes in the van because all the pieces aren’t coming together.
“You’re not going to kill me?”
“Worth more alive.” He shrugs. “If you’re good at it, never do it for free.”
“And you’re good at killing?” This time when he flicks that lazy gaze my way he smirks and a chill goes down my spine.
The look in his eyes is cold, letting me know he isn’t just good at it, he enjoys it. I swallow, thinking maybe I should just sit back down for now.
My phone drops and hits the concrete and I stare down at the cracked screen as it comes to life. I gasp and go for it just as I hear the guy move. Not bothering to look his way, I snatch it up and take off on a dead run, trying to call Vaughn at the same time. The phone almost slips from my hold as I hit the call button. I look up to see I’m almost to a wall but don’t see any doors. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, I was only trying to make the call.
I scream when his body collides with mine and he tackles me to the ground. The phone goes flying out of my hand and I scramble to get away. His hand wraps around my ankle and pulls me to him as I scream.
“Cool it,” he shouts, coming over me, and I keep on screaming, kicking and punching him.
The oxygen leaves my lungs and my scream is silenced when his hand wraps around my throat. I freeze under his hold when black spots form in my vision and my eyes meet his dark gaze. I pull on his arm but it doesn’t move and I feel like I’m going to pass out.
Panic takes over as I pull harder, but his body pushes into mine, and I swear he’s turned on right now. Adrenaline rushes through me and I jerk hard, bringing my knee up and getting him right in the crotch. He groans and his hold loosens from around my neck. I gasp for air as he rolls off me and I roll in the opposite direction and on top of my phone. I still think I’m going to pass out or vomit but I’m not sure which.
“If you run I’ll shoot you,” he says, and his words are pained.
I’m not going to run. I don’t have the strength and I’m not even sure I could stand right now. My hand wraps around the phone and with all that I have left inside me there’s one last thing I can do. That I need to do.
“Vaughn?” I say his name as I bring my phone to my ear. I think I hear him say mine but maybe I’m dreaming it. “I love you,” I whisper before I pass out.
Chapter Thirteen
Vaughn
I’m standing on the edge of the bridge waiting for the sun to set. The past few hours have been the longest and worst of my life, and I’m praying that soon enough this will all be over and I’ll have Berkley back in my arms.
Berkley.
That phone call with her screaming and then telling me she loves me before the line went dead almost killed me. I don’t have any reassurance that she’s still alive, but I’m clinging to hope. Hope that she would fight to stay alive long enough to get back to me. That my will is strong enough for the both of us.
I hear the sound of faint laughter and see a couple on a date a good distance away. They’ve got a picnic blanket spread out and are drinking wine. My mind changes the image to Berkley and me together, and I wonder what her face would look like in the sunset. If her hair would glow like it did when I watched her walk on the beach. Would she smile at me like she did when she woke up in my arms?
The couple is too far away to hear anything if I called out to them, and on the other side I see a group of people playing soccer. This isn’t a secluded park by any measure and I have no doubt Guzik did this by design. If there are a lot of witnesses then the chance things go badly is slim. There are also easy ways for him to disappear into a crowd if it does.
The automatic lights come on around the park as the sun sets. I can see the couple is packing up their basket and then I catch movement out of the corner of my eye.