The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn

by Liz Johnson

  Where was this going? “What did you have in mind, sir?”

  The guard held up what looked like a silver car key.

  “It’s simple enough, really. I want you to make her disappear. For good.”

  The silver car key in Myles’s pocket poked his leg as he stretched out on the back floor of Kenzie’s car. He ran a hand over his new jeans, supplied by Whitestall, and tipped his head, angling for a view out of the enormous windows in the bus barn. Late afternoon, he guessed.

  It would probably be at least a couple more hours before she would leave for the day. Whitestall had told him that she usually didn’t leave until it was dark.

  That meant he had some time to make plans and think through this crazy turn of events.

  He’d never even considered that this would be a possibility of the job. That he’d be forced to kidnap his mission. To be honest, he hadn’t even been convinced she was truly in danger. But he knew better now. Someone wanted her dead.

  Number one rule of protection: Don’t let your assignment die.

  As soon as they made it out of the prison, he could take care of that.

  Rule number two: Find out who wants your charge dead, and why.

  Certainly Whitestall wasn’t the man in charge, but Myles at least had a good place to start. That guard could and would point him in the right direction.

  While he was investigating, he needed to stash Ms. Thorn in a safe location. There was an FBI safe house less than a hundred and fifty miles away. That would work. Get her there, touch base later with his supervisor. Then the really exciting stuff started—following the clues from Whitestall to the perpetrators. Who knew where that trail might lead?

  He loved the unknown about this job.

  Normally, at this point in a case he’d be running scenarios, figuring out angles, making plans. Yet, for some reason, his mind kept wandering back to his last interaction with Ms. Thorn.

  He really had meant to compliment her on the lesson the day before. She was an excellent teacher and had a great rapport with the inmates. She provided easily understood instructions and taught with so much passion that it seemed possible she could teach the entire prison.

  But he just hadn’t been able to keep that smirk off his face. The force of habit was too strong. He’d used it all his life to keep the people around him at a distance. And it came in especially handy in prison. It was much easier to be guarded by other men when he kept himself emotionally removed from the situation.

  As soon as Kenzie had seen his sneer, he recognized the fire in her eyes and flare of her nostrils that told him she was spitting mad. And his immediate reaction was to soothe her. But by grasping her hands, he hadn’t soothed her, he’d crossed the line. He knew it. She knew it.

  So why had she stepped closer to him?

  He wanted the chance to look into her eyes today. To see if she was still mad, or had forgiven him that insolent smirk. He was strangely surprised that her opinion of him really did matter. Her funny little smile—well, that was just an added bonus.

  Kenzie Thorn was a spunky woman. A very attractive spunky woman.

  But for the moment, she was just a job. And completing his assignment for the bureau was more important than seeing her smile or smelling her citrus scent.

  Besides, as soon as she got into the car tonight, any affinity they shared would be demolished. When she crawled behind the wheel after her final class, he was going to have to threaten her life. At least make her believe that she was in danger.

  Wrapping his hand firmly around the tiny blade that Whitestall had given him, he tried not to focus on the fear he knew he was going to cause.

  No matter what, it was better him than someone who might like scaring Kenzie, who might really hurt her.

  Suddenly the truth of that slammed into him, almost stealing his breath. God, thank You for putting me here and not someone who would be willing to hurt her. Please keep her calm as we make our way toward the safe house tonight, and give her understanding when I can finally tell her about this assignment. I ask for wisdom as I investigate the people behind this plot against Kenzie. Lord, I pray, too, for her family, who will be frightened beyond belief. Please guide me, Lord, on my mission to protect her.

  He mouthed an “amen,” not daring to say it aloud, just in case Whitestall or someone else had bugged the car. He couldn’t take any chances that they would catch on to him before he had Kenzie tucked away in the safe house.

  They’d make it out of the prison. And he’d find the people behind this plot. He’d make sure that she never had to worry about them again.

  Kenzie sighed as she collected the last of her papers to be graded the next day, particularly tired after an extra late night of grading. Myles had never showed up for class. Immediately, her mind jumped to the sight of the yellowish bruise around his eye when he’d first entered her class the previous day. Could he have been beaten up? Was he seriously injured?

  Suddenly breathing heavily, she shoved the papers haphazardly into her desk drawer and headed toward the infirmary. The evening nurse, Jayne, was always kind and would tell her if Myles was in there. But how could she ask about him without seeming too interested?

  “Please don’t let him be hurt,” she whispered toward the ceiling. “If You see fit, please keep him safe and healthy.”

  Kenzie slid to a stop at the window where the middle-aged nurse should have been. But no one was there. There was no point in waiting around for Jayne or someone else to show up. It could be hours.

  Turning around dejectedly, she trotted toward the security checkpoint. Having learned to navigate security efficiently, she quickly flashed her ID tag and bustled out the door, toward her car. Shivering as a sturdy breeze cooled off the evening air, she picked up her speed.

  The night fell on her, closing around her. The ominous spotlights illuminating the prison yard did little to make her feel safe. Shadows in the bus barn spooked her as she flung open her car door, threw in her purse and jumped behind the wheel. The ignition turned over and the engine purred to life as she shoved the lock down.

  Putting a hand over her heart, she felt the solid thuds as it raced. She took a deep breath trying to calm her jitters. She was almost never frightened inside the prison complex. What would cause her to be so scared tonight?

  Deep breath in. Hold it. Let it out.

  She pulled in front of the gate and waited for the guard reading the magazine to wave her through. He barely looked up long enough to punch the button that made the gate squeak loudly, then grind slowly open.

  She waved back at him, but even in the glow of the light from the guard station, she felt shrouded in darkness. Out on the road on her way back into Evergreen, the darkness didn’t abate. In fact, it started to close in even tighter around her. Her hands shook as they clung to the wheel and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, as though someone was breathing right behind her. But she pushed on to make it the few miles into town, back to her condo.

  Finally she could stand her shaking hands and ragged breathing no longer. Kenzie swerved to the shoulder and slammed the car into Park.

  “God, I just…” Her voice trailed off, and she could not form words to pray. “I’m just being silly,” she chided herself aloud. “God, I know that You’re in control. I don’t know why I’m acting like a jitterbug tonight—”

  Suddenly a hand clamped over her mouth, cutting off her words and her breath.

  THREE

  Kenzie tried to scream, but the calloused hand covering her mouth effectively cut off all sound and stole almost all of her breath. She struggled to rip the fingers from her face, but another arm snaked around her middle, pinning her to the driver’s seat, her arms at her sides.

  She could not think, could not focus. She could only react, fighting with all her might against the corded arms wrapped around her.

  Futilely, she tried to bite the fingers at her mouth, but only managed to nibble on a knuckle. Tossing her head from side to side, s
he tried to free herself, but the arms were immovable.

  After what seemed an hour but was likely closer to five minutes, she was too tired to fight anymore. Sliding back against the seat, she tried another tactic. She would reason with the man sitting behind her. Craning her neck to look at him through the rearview mirror, she could barely make out the outline of rumpled hair and broad shoulders. But it was too dark for her to see any of his features.

  He sat quietly, just holding her to the seat, seemingly unsure of what he wanted to do next. Finally, he whispered in her ear, “Are you done struggling?”

  Her eyes flew open at his voice. She knew that voice. It was the same voice that made her stomach drop to her toes and sent shivers up and down her back.

  Gasping, she garbled something unintelligible into his hand. She had trusted him, and now he was going to—well, she wasn’t sure what he was going to do. But it wasn’t going to be good, that was for sure.

  “Shh. Calm down,” he whispered into her ear. His voice was deep and soothing, and his restraints were just tight enough to hold her in place. He didn’t hurt her as long as she sat still.

  She made another wild attempt to free herself, trying to grab for the door handle or honk the horn. His arm around her waist suddenly squeezed, stealing all of her breath and robbing her of all her strength. He must have felt the whoosh of air expel from her lungs through her nose, because he relaxed his grip over her mouth.

  Almost limp in his arms, Kenzie felt defeated. “What do you want?” she wheezed between his fingers.

  “I want you to turn the car around and start driving. I want you to take me farther from the prison and to freedom. I’ll tell you where to go.”

  Kenzie’s mind worked as fast as it could under the strained circumstances. She had to get back to the prison or to a lighted, busy area. Here he was free to do with her as he pleased. It probably meant death. Or worse.

  “You know who my grandfather is, don’t you? If you kidnap me, there’ll be no pardon. He’ll hunt you down and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. Please think about this.” She was very proud that she kept her voice from shaking with emotion and fear as she spoke.

  Suddenly the arm around her middle moved and was quickly replaced by the point of a knife in her side.

  “Just do what I say, Kenzie.” He had never called her by her first name before, and it sparked a fire back into her.

  “No. You don’t want to do this. This can only end poorly for you. Think about what you’re doing!”

  “No arguments. Just do it. Now.” His voice a growl, she knew he meant what he said.

  Obeying his command, she pulled her car back onto the two-lane road, heading away from Evergreen.

  A couple hundred yards away from the turnoff for the prison, she let her foot off the accelerator, hoping to swing the car down the short road to the front gate. Even if they crashed, it would be better than being alone with Myles outside the prison walls. Alone, where he could do whatever he wanted.

  “Don’t even think about slowing down,” he commanded. He stuck the knife farther into her side, and she winced.

  She yanked the wheel to the right, toward the prison road, but suddenly he was practically beside her, his long arm holding the steering wheel steady. In her frazzled state she was no match for his strength.

  The lights of the prison appeared and vanished in just a moment. Protected by trees lining the road, the prison was no longer visible, and Kenzie was alone on a long stretch of road, likely leading to her death.

  After all, her life was worth nothing to him now.

  He despised doing this. And he hated himself for having to be in this position.

  His missions usually didn’t end up like this, but it still had to be done. He wasn’t about to delude himself into thinking that he had a choice about kidnapping the governor’s granddaughter. He had to do this to protect her.

  And even worse, he was under strict instructions from his supervisor not to reveal his true identity under any circumstances. According to Nate, if Kenzie leaked his identity to anyone else, the entire operation would be blown. The only two people in the world who knew Myles’s purpose inside the prison were him and Nate. If word got out that he was investigating the trouble Kenzie was in—before all the culprits had revealed themselves—his investigation would crumble, and Nate would know exactly who spilled the beans.

  Now that he’d had to kidnap her, he had no choice but to get her to a safe house. There he’d tell her who he was and what he knew of the situation. Until then, he couldn’t be sure that Whitestall hadn’t bugged the car. After all, he’d supplied the car key, so he’d had access to it. And what if they were stopped somewhere? Even if the kidnapping failed, he could still use the situation to smoke out the people plotting Kenzie’s murder—as long as his cover remained intact. Telling her the truth right now was a risk Myles just couldn’t take.

  It was torture, scaring Kenzie like this. Over and over in his mind, he reminded himself that it would end soon. They just had to make one quick stop before the safe house so Myles could get in touch with Guard Whitestall. And the safest place Myles knew was a bit off the beaten path—well worth the seventy-five-mile trip out of the way.

  But with every visible tremble and shudder of Kenzie’s tiny form, he hated himself just a little bit more. How had it gotten to this? Who would want to harm her?

  She inhaled, then let out a halted screech as her ribs came back in contact with the point of the knife. He pulled back on the blade. From his vantage point, squatting on the floor behind the driver’s seat, he could see her shoulders tense again.

  How was he ever going to win back her trust? That thought surprised him. Why did it suddenly matter that she trust him at all?

  God, am I completely botching this? I just want to protect Kenzie, and instead, I’ve made her terrified and am taking her as far from civilization as I can. Show me how to solve this situation. Show me what You want, because I don’t know what I’m doing here. I believe that You have a plan. Make it clear to me. I’m begging here. I’m always lost without You.

  “Myles, what are you going to do with me?”

  Kenzie’s terse words ripped him from his silent conversation with God.

  Calm her down. Soothe her fears. Speak softly.

  With all the best intentions, Myles sighed. “Don’t worry about it. Just keep your eyes on the road.” Not exactly what he’d wanted to say, but it would have to do for now. He knew the truth. He couldn’t do this assignment well while worrying about her feelings. He’d botch the job more than ever if he let his emotions seep in. Still, he could be more kind. “I’m sorry.” This time his words were soft and reassuring.

  “It would help if I knew what I was looking for,” she said.

  “You’re looking for the white and yellow lines. Try to stay between them.”

  He could see her profile in the darkness, and she opened her mouth to speak, then quickly shut it.

  He took pity on her, suddenly contrite for his sarcasm, “I’ll tell you when we get closer.” She nodded, but kept her lips clamped closed. And not for the first time, he took several seconds to appreciate her simple beauty and sharp personality. Someday she would make some man very lucky.

  Not him, of course. He had a job to do. One that made having anyone waiting at home very difficult. Marriage and a family were years away.

  Right now there was only the job. Only protecting Kenzie.

  The car hit a major bump in the road, and the knife jammed into her side, snagging the silky material of her sweater.

  “Would you mind moving that? I’m not going anywhere. I won’t be jumping out of this car at sixty miles an hour.” Her voice waivered slightly, not in fear, but like she was trying desperately not to let her anger get the better of her. She was used to giving commands. It must be killing her to be so out of control.

  “As you wish.” He chuckled, pocketing the little blade and thinking of that line used in his favorite chi
ldhood movie. “But don’t make me regret it.”

  Somehow, Myles didn’t think that it would matter if he had the seven-inch Bowie knife that Guard Whitestall had initially told him to take. Kenzie’s response would be the same—fighting anger along with trepidation. She was a spicy spitfire if ever there was one.

  No complaints, just steely determination to make it through this.

  She didn’t know it yet, but she would make it through this. He would make sure of that. He never failed to do his job.

  First, Myles needed to figure out why he had been told to escape, to kidnap Kenzie and then to kill her. Whitestall had to have the answers. He would be Myles’s first phone call when they arrived at their destination.

  A green sign along the road read: REDMOND 73 MILES.

  “Do you see that grove of trees up ahead?”

  “Yes.”

  “Turn onto that gravel road right after them.” He couldn’t see the road yet, but he knew it would be there, the way it had been since his childhood.

  Kenzie made a smooth turn onto the bumpy road, slowing down to accommodate the shifting gravel.

  After a few minutes he said, “Make a right at that fence post.”

  Again Kenzie followed orders, but something in her demeanor changed. She was suddenly more alert, looking frantically about the tree-lined lane. Was she trying to memorize the route or look for an escape? Probably both. Too bad she would not find anything to help her in either pursuit. These gravel roads were as unremarkable as ever.

  In the foothills of the Cascades, they were already hours from the nearest town or any help for her. She’d be much safer just staying with him.

  Every second on the road took them farther and farther away from Evergreen. The tiny Oregon town had been her home for two years because of its proximity to the prison. The drive was barely ten minutes from her rented condo to the front gate of the prison, but now she drove in the opposite direction. When Mac and Nana started looking for her, they would start in Evergreen. They’d never think to look for her here.