They looked out into the audience to smile and wave as Robert announced that 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, that is when 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 could not have spotted him. Then she recalled that his usual security team was just a few guys. He did not have much to worry about on this remote island. The small army that he had brought in the past day was likely made up of her husband’s people. Her husband. She did not 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 did not really matter much what he said, as long as he smiled 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. Her mind was overwhelmed trying to think through the situation. The man had been clear: they would not hurt her, but they would hurt Eric if she did not 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 on her account if she could help it. She had to go alone, and go willingly. She was sure that once they were away from the island, and Eric was out of danger, she could figure out an escape plan. If she could not, at least she could take comfort 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 down 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 be the last time she felt 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 of the lights were off, even 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 happened. She felt the security man take her by the elbow as soon as her feet hit the ground. He led her further 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 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 off stage if they saw where she went. Eric was busy scanning the crowd, trying to find her. He had a feeling in his gut that something was wrong. Less than two minutes ago she was standing right next to him. Did someone grab her with him standing right there? “Damn it!” He yelled, kicking a pile of confetti on the ground.
That is when he saw her chair. There were a couple of bright yellow and red pieces of confetti that had landed 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 was not there, but she could not have gotten far.
He jumped off the stage and asked some of the crew if they saw 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 that Abby was in trouble. They shook their heads no and said that 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 your 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 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 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 that 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 f
rom 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 that if he wanted to pull the trigger, he would not hesitate. Looking into his eyes, a memory flashed back. 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 motionless where she had left him. The third security man stood next to her husband, his gun out, pointing at her.
Bryce stopped when his gun came firmly against her breast, finger still against the trigger. Abby did not 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 hard. 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 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 spit 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 that 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 where they stood. He instructed two of them to follow him, and the others to clean up the mess before anyone 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 could not 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 that 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 this was it, 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 of the boat, “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 some island with another man to make it worse.”
She sat up at the mention of Eric. “He is 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 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 down 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 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 and 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 could not figure out exactly where he was or how long he had been there, but it only seemed like a few minutes ago he was talking to those security men. He tried to sit up, but smacked his head on something hard and 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 could not 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 car 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 did not know much about boats, but when he turned the ignition and t
he engines roared to life, it was clear that 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 worried that 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 did not 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.”
She knelt down next to Eric and stroked his hair. “Are you alright?”
He winked at her and jerked his head to the side. Her knife was lying on the deck just a few feet away. He had picked it up off the ground on his mad dash to catch them, and tossed it in front of him into the boat so he would not accidentally land on it and stab himself.
ESCAPE, A New Life Page 22
