Robert finally spoke up. “All right, you two, I think there are kids at home watching. That’s enough.”
As they pulled apart, Abby found herself smiling. Genuinely smiling. The thought hit her like a truck: She loved this man. Unable to decide whether that made her terrified or happy, she settled on a little bit of both.
They looked out into the audience to smile and wave as Robert announced they were taking a quick commercial break and would be right back. Abby kissed Eric again for the cameras as they were cutting the live feed. As she pulled away, she spotted him. Sitting in the audience on the far right corner of the stage was the man she had spoken with last night. Seated directly behind him was the blond-haired man from her nightmares. Her husband.
29
HE WAS WEARING thick-framed glasses, and it appeared he had been growing out a beard for a couple of weeks, but it was definitely him. It was not that clever a disguise. She wondered how Robert’s security team hadn’t spotted him. Then, she recalled his usual security team was just a few guys. He didn’t have much to worry about on the remote island. The small army he had brought in the past day was likely made up of her husband’s people. Her husband. She didn’t even know his name.
She took a deep breath as the red light on the camera indicated they were about to go live again. Once again, Robert started with Eric. He was such a big hit with the ladies, it didn’t really matter what he said, as long as he smiled with that bright, charismatic, Texas grin when he was done.
Abby reached down with her right hand and placed it on her thigh, where her knife was. She was comforted to know it was there. She was overwhelmed, trying to think through the situation. The man had been clear: They wouldn’t hurt her, but they would hurt Eric if she didn’t go quietly.
Looking around the edges of the crowd, she counted at least a dozen men in dark suits with earpieces in, just like the man she had spoken with last night. She had to assume they were all working for her husband. Who knew how many more might be out of her sight?
Abby decided she could not go through with trying to escape. She was in love with Eric, and she would be damned if he was going to be hurt or killed if she could help it. She had to go alone and willingly. She was sure once they were away from the island and Eric was out of danger, she could figure out an escape plan. If she couldn’t, at least she could take comfort in knowing he was safe.
They stood as Robert announced them as the winners of “Trial Island”, and the first to ever escape. The audience went crazy as streamers and confetti rained on them. They kissed as the lights and music pulsed around them. Abby never wanted the kiss to end. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. She was savoring their kiss and soaking in the moment. It very well may have been the last time she would ever feel his lips.
As they pulled away, the lights went dark. The live feed was over, but it seemed more like the power had gone out. All the lights were off, even the ones back at the house. Only the dim glow of the tiki torches all around penetrated the darkness. There was confusion on either side of the stage, as well as from the cameramen in front, as the crew frantically inspected their equipment.
Without saying a word, Abby took the opportunity to scoot down and off the right side of the stage, while Robert and Eric tried to find out what had happened. She felt the security man take her by the elbow as soon as her feet hit the ground. He led her farther to the right and behind a long row of tall hedges. They were made to separate the garden, where they had just been filming from the beach area below. Once on the other side, they took a left toward the small boatyard. Thirty seconds after she had broken off their kiss, she was completely out of sight. She had a feeling she knew where they were going.
The moment they were out of view, she was grabbed from behind and lifted off the ground. She found her small frame being carried like a football under the arm of an impressively large man. He kept a massive hand clamped over her mouth. She was a small woman, but it was still remarkable how fast he could run while carrying her extra weight. There were two other men running behind them.
Over the din of the confused crowd, she could hear one voice perfectly clear: It was Eric, yelling out for her.
* * *
“Where did she go?” Eric looked at Robert, who appeared equally confused.
“I don’t know. She was just here.”
Eric yelled out again, “Abby!”
Robert went to ask someone offstage if they’d seen where she went. Eric was busy scanning the crowd, trying to find her. He had a feeling in his gut something was wrong. Less than two minutes ago, she had been standing right next to him. Had someone grabbed her with him standing right there? “Damn it!” he yelled, kicking a pile of confetti on the ground.
That was when he saw her chair. There were a couple of bright, yellow-and-red pieces of confetti on the chair where Abby had been sitting. Right in the middle was a small piece of white paper, looking completely out of place. He walked over and picked it up. Turning it over in his hands, he unfolded it and read the message. “Son-of-a-bitch.” He glared toward the right corner of the stage. She wasn’t there, but she could not have gotten far.
He jumped off the stage and asked some of the crew if they’d seen where she went. None of them had any idea, but all of them wanted a picture with him. He shoved two men out of the way who would not take a polite, “Not right now,” for an answer.
Climbing back up onto the stage, he looked around some more. The row of tall shrubbery on the right side of the stage ran for a hundred yards, maybe more, in a perfectly straight line across the property, going toward the boatyard. On the other side of the tall shrubbery, he saw the head of an even taller man. The man was at about the halfway mark, moving very quickly toward the boat docks. “Gotcha.”
Eric jumped off the stage again and ran to the break in the hedge, where two security men stopped him. He explained Abby was in trouble. They shook their heads and said everything was under control.
“No, you don’t understand; just let me...”
The men looked at each other. One turned to Eric and said, “Come with us, Sir.” One of the men took Eric by the arm, but he shook him off.
“No thanks,” he said.
“Sir, come with us.” Each man grabbed an arm to bring him to the other side of the hedge.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Eric demanded, trying to shake them off. He looked back, but he was too far from the crowd for anyone to have noticed. He was about to call out to Robert, but he froze when felt something hard and made of metal press into his ribcage.
“That’s what I thought,” one of the men said. “Walk with us.”
Eric did as he was told. Once they were on the other side and out of sight, Eric felt the high voltage of a Taser under his arm, and he dropped to the ground.
* * *
The big man was strong, but his left arm was growing tired. He stopped but kept his hand over her mouth. “Tape her mouth shut, so I can carry her on my shoulder.” He turned as one of the men took out a roll of silver tape.
As he turned, Abby saw two other security men a couple hundred feet away. They were near the opening of the hedge they had gone through a few minutes ago. They were carrying a third man between them. The man they were carrying obviously could not walk on his own. She quickly recognized Eric and became furious. If they were going to hurt him anyway, she was not about to go down without a fight.
The giant man was still holding her under his arm. Though he was tired, he was still much stronger than she was. She wriggled, trying to get her arms out, but he just tightened his grip. His big, sweaty palm covering her face gave her all the inspiration she needed. She worked her mouth open and bit down as hard as she could, sinking her teeth into the meat of his hand. He screamed and dropped her.
The other men were both shocked. One rushed toward her from several feet away to pin her to the ground before she could stand up. He realized his mistake too late as he saw a flash of
steel a split-second before her knife cleaved his right ear from the side of his head. He clutched the side of his skull in agony and dropped to his knees. Standing and spinning, she swiftly brought the butt of her knife down behind his left ear, knocking him to the ground, unconscious.
The giant had recovered from his initial shock and backhanded Abby. His fist felt like a sledgehammer, and she left her feet, flailing backwards onto the ground. She landed on her back, where she lay still, seemingly unconscious herself. He quickly stepped over to take advantage of her position and disarm her. When he got close enough, she opened her eyes and drove her blade into the soft tendons behind his left ankle. Screaming in anguish, he dropped to the ground like a three-hundred-pound sack of potatoes.
Springing up, she heard the cock of a gun. Raising her eyes, she came face-to-face with the man from her nightmares. Her husband stood just a few feet away with a very large gun pointed directly at her chest. She had a feeling if he wanted to pull the trigger, he would not hesitate. Looking into his eyes, she remembered something: She was tied up, naked, and sobbing. He was laughing and putting his pants back on.
His voice snapped her back to reality. “Recognize me, do you? I thought you weren’t supposed to remember me? I must have left an impression.”
Smiling, he slowly walked toward her, never moving the gun. The giant lay writhing at her feet; the other man was motionless where she had left him. The third security man stood next to her husband with his gun out, pointing it at her.
Bryce stopped when his gun came firmly against her breast, his finger still against the trigger. Abby didn’t flinch, even though he pressed so hard that it hurt. Reaching down with his other hand, he grasped the handle of the knife. She held on tightly. Bryce hissed through his teeth, “Let go, or Eric does not see the sunrise.”
He tossed the knife to the side with a chuckle. Grabbing the back of her head, he kissed her. It was hard and wet. When she fought against him, he dug the gun into her chest harder and made his hand behind her head into a fist, slowly tearing the hair from her scalp. Finally, she stopped fighting. Using the fistful of hair, he yanked her face away from his and spat on her.
“You’re feistier than you were last time I saw you. I like that.” His face contorted into a disgusting sneer.
She was sickened this man was her husband. How had she become a person who would wind up with a man like this?
“You and I are walking to the dock now, quickly.” Just then, four other security men came running up to them. He instructed two of them to follow him, and the others to clean up the mess before anyone else came along.
He pushed Abby in front of him and commanded her to walk. She reluctantly did as she was told, trying to figure a way out. There was no one else within eyesight in front of her. She looked over her shoulder; not at Bryce, but past him, searching for Eric.
“Don’t worry about him,” he said. “He won’t be joining us.”
“Where are we going?”
“Oh, I’m thinking about taking one of these boats and going for a little vacation on one of these beautiful islands.”
“That sounds nice,” she practically purred. She looked in his eyes, trying to be coy.
“I’m thinking about a little vacation. You, my dear, are going to go for a little swim once we’re a couple of miles out.”
Just a few feet from the docks, Abby pretended to trip over something and did a little hop-step. Spinning back toward Bryce, she swung her fist, catching nothing but air. He ducked, popped up, and clubbed her in the temple with the butt of his gun. Not hard enough to knock her out, but he was sure she was seeing stars. One of his men caught her before she could fall to the ground.
He grabbed her by the face, squeezing her cheeks together painfully hard. He was so close to her that she could smell the hate on his breath, even if she couldn’t focus her eyes on him. He was insane. She had no idea what to expect from him and could see why she had instructed herself to run at all costs. He was a nightmare. There was no doubt in her mind he fully intended to murder her out on the water.
He whispered with a rage-fueled intensity, “Straighten up, turn around, and walk. Try anything like that again, and I’ll shoot you. I won’t kill you just yet, but you won’t have the option to fight back. Eric will be dead, and we will be ten miles out before anyone is the wiser.” He let go of her face, and then gave her a hard slap for good measure.
Abby turned and staggered onto the dock. Overcome by defenselessness and anger, her head was spinning. She was barely able to stand up on her own, much less walk. She stopped in front of the first boat. She was about to turn and ask if it was the right one, when Bryce violently shoved her from behind. Leaving her feet, she collapsed onto the deck of the boat. When she landed, her dress came up over her hips. She pulled it down as she lay there, trying not to cry.
Bryce laughed as he jumped down onto the deck. “That is more like it. That’s the Abby I know and love. Just a sad little slut, aren’t you?” He lifted up her dress and repeatedly smacked her hard on the ass, while she tried to bat his hand away. “I took you in. I gave you a good life, and this is how you repay me? You took off without a word, and I had no idea where you were, until you showed up on national television. Running around on some island with another man, to make it worse.”
She sat up at the mention of Eric. “He’s twice the man you are.”
He grabbed her by the arm and lifted her off the deck, so her back was to him. He jammed his gun into her ribs and bent her over a bench. “That memory of yours, it’s not doing so well, is it? Don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll remind you one last time just how much of a man I really am.”
He turned to the two security men who were still standing on the dock and told them to head back. He could take care of this himself. He instructed them to make sure there were no loose ends. One of them turned to walk away; the other hesitated.
“Mr. Haydenson, I’ve seen her on the show. She can take care of herself. Are you sure you want to be alone with her? Maybe at least one of us should come with you.”
Bryce nodded his head and motioned for him to come onto the boat. “That’s a good idea... Ted, is it?”
“Greg, Sir.”
“Greg. Good idea, Greg.” He clapped Greg on the shoulder and turned to Abby. “Don’t you think that’s a good idea?” Turning back to the unsuspecting young man, Bryce kneed him in the stomach, then slammed his fist into the back of his head when he was doubled over, knocking him to the ground. He grabbed him by the collar, lifting him off the ground, only to pound his face until it was so bloodied and mangled that it was barely recognizable.
“Stand up, Greg,” Bryce commanded. When Greg stood, Bryce punched him one more time in the face, sending him backwards, over the side of the boat and into the water. He looked at the other man, who was still standing on the dock. “Questions?”
“No, Sir.”
“Take care of this.” He looked at Abby, who was sitting on the deck, horrified. “Sorry you had to see that, sweetie. People need to know their place. You used to know your place. I don’t know what the hell happened.” He paused. “Weren’t you happy? Of course you weren’t. Whores are never happy.” He reached into his pocket, taking out a pair of shiny, steel handcuffs. He threw them at her, hitting her in the head. “Here, put these on.”
30
ERIC OPENED HIS EYES. It was dark, and he was confined and disoriented. He couldn’t figure out exactly where he was or how long he had been there, but it only seemed like a few minutes ago when he was talking to those security men. He tried to sit up but smacked his head on something hard and made of metal. He let out a muffled yelp and went to grab his head. That was when he felt a pain under his arm and realized his wrists were bound together with duct tape, and his mouth was covered.
Shit. He remembered now.
He could hear voices just a few feet away. One of them sounded like Robert. He couldn’t figure out who the others were. One of them raised his voice. Then,
they all did. Suddenly, there were two thuds directly above him, on the metal. Seconds later, the lid of the trunk popped open, and Robert looked down, smiling at him.
* * *
Bryce found the key to the ignition and started up the boat. It was a big one. Abby didn’t know much about boats, but when he turned the ignition and the engines roared to life, it was clear this was a boat built for speed. It was a long boat, and Bryce was having trouble maneuvering it away from the dock.
“Eric!” Abby screamed out without thinking as she saw him run onto the dock.
Bryce turned and fired his gun. Abby lunged at him, hitting him with her bound hands. He smacked her on the side of the head, and she dropped to the deck on her backside. As Eric and Robert dove to the ground, Bryce hit the throttle, and the boat awkwardly lurched forward.
Eric stood and raced down the dock as the boat sped up and pulled away. He dug deeper, pumping his legs to their limit. His calves and thighs burned. His feet were barely able to keep up with their own speed, and he was worried he would trip over himself with each stride. The boat would have to slow down for just a moment to turn the corner out toward the ocean when it reached the end of the dock. Pushing his body to its breaking point, he flew down the dock to get there in time.
Just as the boat turned the corner, Eric launched himself into the air. Arms and legs flailing, he landed with a crash on the deck, just as Bryce gunned the engines to launch the boat toward the open sea. Bryce turned around, hearing the commotion, just in time to see Eric coming up behind him. Eric was off-balance and threw a punch that Bryce ducked before landing a right jab into Eric’s ribcage.
To Abby’s surprise, Eric fell down and landed in front of her. Winded, he didn’t get up right away. Bryce tossed a length of rope toward her and pulled out his gun. The other end of the rope was still lashed to the boat. “Tie him up. You can watch him go for a swim before you join him.”
Escape, the Complete Trilogy Page 22
