by Sloan Storm
Just then, the gunman yelled at him, snapping me out of it.
“Open the fuckin’ trunk or so help me to fuck you’re dead, you piece of shit!”
I looked on in disbelief. None of this could be happening, should be happening. Insanity seemed like an understatement. Todd nodded his head, reached for the trunk and opened it. Stepping away, he raised his hands in the air again and pointed towards the back of the car.
“There it is, okay? Just take the case.”
The man shook his head. “Open it.”
Todd didn’t say a word, only shaking his head in response. Again, the gunman moved in his direction and jammed the pistol against the side of Todd’s head.
“If you don’t open it… she… dies.”
I die? Me!? Why do I have to die?
The thoughts came quickly to me. Todd closed his eyes for an instant while I fought my panic. He opened them again, only this time he stared right through me like I didn’t exist, muttering a sentence I’d never forget.
“Go ahead. I don’t care what you do to her.”
My knees wobbled. Lightheaded, I caught a glimpse of the engagement ring still on my finger while the callousness of my would-be-fiancé echoed in my ears.
It got worse. He didn’t stop. Not even close.
Pointing at me, he continued. “Go ahead and do it. She doesn’t mean anything to me.”
“You…!” I yelled, about to unleash hell on him.
But before I could say another word, the gunman pulled the hammer back on his pistol and pointed it at Todd.
“Have it your way, shithead. Enjoy seeing the whore in hell.”
Bang!
I staggered backwards, raising my hands towards my mouth and covering it. Todd’s head exploded. Blood sprayed in a wave across the roof of the Mercedes, a few drops of it splattering inches from my feet.
Holy shit! I shook. Quaked. Fuck!
What remained of Todd’s semi-headless torso disappeared behind the outline of the car with a sickening thump.
The man behind me groaned.
“What the fuck! That’s not what we were supposed to do! To get the bounty we had to bring his ass in with the case – alive. Now look, you…”
The other gunmen waved him off.
“That thieving shit was going to die one way or another. Don’t worry about the bounty. We’ll still get it. The only thing that matters is what’s in the case.”
I didn’t know whether to scream or cry. Standing there quivering in a mix of horror and disbelief, I tried to make sense of what they were saying to each other.
What the hell just happened? How could it be that the man who proposed to me would turn me over, put my fate in the hands of these men, these thugs?
For what exactly? For what was in that case?
The man who shot Todd pointed at my captor.
“Take that slut’s picture. Send it off. They’ll tell us what to do with her. Hurry up! We need to figure out what to do here.”
With that, the man who kept his gun on me circled around to my front. “Okay chica, smile big for the camera.”
I lifted my eyes towards him just long enough for him to snap the shot. He finished and admired his handiwork for a second, grunting with satisfaction.
“Damn. You fine.”
After he raised the phone to eye level, the man’s thumbs raced across the surface of it sending off a text to who knows where. Once finished, he slid the phone back in his pocket and took one giant step towards me. I flinched, trying to move away, but before I could he thrust his hand between my legs, cupping my pussy with a viselike grip.
“No matter what that rich fuck texts back telling us how to handle you, I know exactly what to do with this sweet culo.”
I didn’t even think. Rage overwhelmed me.
My fingers tightened, curling into a hard ball of knuckles. On instinct, I punched the shit out of him, using every bit of strength I had in my body.
Wincing, I groaned at the feel of the hard strike while the man staggered back. I took off. I hadn’t gotten more than a handful of steps when he yelled.
“Take another step and I’ll kill you, bitch!”
In every direction I looked there was nothing but open space, endless fucking terrain. Where the hell was I going to go?
From behind, I heard him walking towards me, his feet crunching on the dusty gravel. His presence closed in around me like a six-foot-tall scorpion.
“You do something like that again, and you won’t live to try it a third time.”
I swallowed hard, biting the inside of my mouth.
“Hey! Quit fucking around!” The other gunman yelled. “There’s plenty of time to fuck that whore later. Right now, we have a job to do. Now tie her slut ass up. We need to get the fucking case open.”
From behind, the man grabbed my arm and yanked on it, spinning me around to face him. There was no way I’d let him see me scared. Instead, I went along with him for now, remaining calm while he restrained me with layers of tape, wrapping them around my wrists in front of my body.
When he finished, he curled his fingers around my wrists, covering the tape binding my hands. He yanked hard and waited until I looked into his eyes before speaking. My gaze met the two soulless black beads behind the mask.
“Don’t run off again,” he snarled. “I’ll be back soon to take a piece of that sweet pussy. My cock sliding inside of you will be the last thing you remember.”
In a kind of sick romantic gesture, the psycho reached for my cheek.
Recoiling, I leaned away.
He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I promise you’ll enjoy it… Right up until the last second when I put a bullet in your skull. Now, sit down, and don’t say a goddamn thing.”
Once I had, he grabbed my purse and rummaged through it, pulling out my cell phone and tossing it to the man who killed Todd. He proceeded to destroy both Todd’s old phone and mine, smashing them to pieces.
Left alone, I watched the two of them discuss what they were going to do. It wasn’t long before their voices began to grow louder. They argued with each other about what to do next, about the case and about me.
“Can’t you get it open?” the man who had threatened me asked the other.
“Shut up! It’s not my fault.”
He paused and gestured towards me. “Her piece of shit boyfriend must have changed the combination.”
“So what the fuck?” the other man interrupted.
“It’s not our problem. It’s up to the boss to get it open. The only thing we’re here to do is get it. That’s it.”
The two of them walked around to the front of the Mercedes. The man who killed Todd slammed the shiny metallic case on top of the hood.
“That’s bullshit!” the man who taped me up protested. “The deal is that we can’t collect the full bounty without proving the contents of the case. We need to get it open and do it now. I sent that picture. They know our GPS coordinates. They know we’ve got the case. What the…”
Letting go of the handle on the case, the other man stepped away from the car and raised his pistol.
“Who said anything about ‘we’ being able to collect the bounty?”
I don’t think I blinked. I don’t think I took a breath. The guy who tied me up backed away, drawing his gun at the same time.
“Don’t do anything stupid. There’s plenty of money — enough to go around for both of us.”
In the setting sun, I watched a modern-day version of an Old West showdown. The two of them stood there, arms rigid, guns at the ready. For several seconds, nothing but silence followed and then, hellfire.
The sound of bullets leaving the chamber deafened me. Brightness blazed from both gun barrels. Their bodies wobbled back and forth until at last they struck the ground at the same time, riddled with bullets, lifeless and covered in blood.
I squirmed in place, yanking on my restraints, stunned.
Todd was dead. They were dead. I was all alone, somewhere be
tween Las Vegas and Reno with no phone, no clue and no hope. My eyes darted in every direction. I had to figure something out and fast. After managing to get up on my knees, I staggered to my feet when I heard the sound of a cell phone ringing.
Where was it coming from?
Squinting, I looked towards the dead men. The one who took my picture… Someone was calling his phone. My heart raced. I didn’t want to get anywhere near him, but at this point I really didn’t have a choice.
Scrambling over towards his body, I looked down at him just in time to hear the ringing stop. I knelt down next to him before trying to figure out where the cell phone was. Luckily, it started to ring once again.
I reached for it, sliding my hand inside of his pants pocket and pulling it out. Answering it was a different story. It took me a few seconds, but at last I slid it on and kept it between my hands, holding it against my ear.
“Hello? Who the hell is this?”
Nothing. I didn’t hear single sound on the other end of the phone. Whoever it was, they weren’t expecting me.
“Answer me! Who is this?”
I heard the sound of a person clear their throat. A man. “Where is the person who this phone belongs to?”
I was on my knees. The incessant, unrelenting sun of the high desert amplified my rage. “He’s dead! You still haven’t answered my question!”
The man didn’t respond right away. There was silence once again. “I see. Did you kill him?”
Curling the fingers of my free hand into a fist, I yelled in response. “No!”
“What about his associate? Is he…?”
“Dead!” I screamed, cutting him off. “What is going on! They killed my fiancé! I’m stranded. Who the hell are you?”
The line went dead.
I pulled the phone away from my ear, blinking in disbelief. After standing up, I dropped it from my hand. The phone clattered and bounced on the hot gravel at my feet.
The anger I felt talking to the mysterious man on the other end of the line changed into something else…
Fear. No, terror.
Someone’s employees are dead.
They know where I am. They know about the case. I glanced towards the Mercedes. I had a flat tire. What the hell was I going to do?
Should I grab the keys to the Rolls and try to make a run for it? Should I call the police?
No, no. Calling the police would be the worst thing I could do. I didn’t trust cops, especially not now — not after what happened with my dad.
Oh my God. Oh my God.
Reaching for the case I exhaled, shaky breath sputtering from my lungs. Slumping against the side of the Mercedes, I slid my back down it until my butt hit the ground. I looked down at the sickening blood spatters across the top of the case and pulled it between my legs.
Shit, I forgot. “Locked.” I muttered.
It took everything I had not to panic. I still had no idea what I was going to do, or how I would get out of this situation. That seemed to be the worst of my problems until a much more sinister realization popped into my head.
My gaze snapped to the case.
Who was coming for it and when?
While the sun continued to set, I struggled to free myself of the thick coating of tape around my wrists. After nearly an hour, I finally managed to get the last of it off me.
Once I did, I climbed inside of the Rolls, desperate to escape the intensity of the brutal orange ball of fire blazing in the sky. I didn’t know how much time I had left to figure out what I was going to do, but it wasn’t much.
Closing my eyes, I exhaled.
“Think, Tempest. Think.”
I opened my eyes again and looked out of the open car door towards the case. Whatever was in there, it was worth people dying over. I didn’t want anything else to do with it. Right then and there I decided I would take the car and drive back to Vegas. Once I got home, I’d figure out what to do next.
I’m not stupid. It was a terrible fucking plan. I knew it was, but what other choice did I have?
For all I knew, an army was on the way.
I had to get as far away from there as I could and do it as quickly as possible.
Getting out of the car, I walked towards the dead gunman, determined to find the key to the Rolls-Royce. While I did, I noticed Todd’s legs sticking out from behind the Mercedes. A sickening sweet feeling crept into the back of my throat, like I might puke.
Numbness set in – no it was shock. This was totally insane. How had I gone from a marriage proposal to mass murder in the span of a couple of hours?
Somehow, I managed to put one foot in front of the other until I arrived at the bodies of the dead men.
I stood there, trying to catch my breath.
Looking down at them I realized there was something I had to do. It wasn’t because I wanted to, but if for any reason my ass was on the line, I had to know what they looked like. And this was the only chance I would ever get.
Kneeling down, I removed the mask of the man who threatened to rape me. His face was unremarkable, just like him. It was pudgy and pockmarked with old acne scars, I shuddered when I thought of what it would have looked like hovering over me while he did his worst.
Next, I knelt over the body of the other man, at last finding the key to the car in the pocket of his pants. After pulling it out, I reached for the ski mask and removed it. Immediately I had a sensation there was something familiar about him. I didn’t know him, but I could’ve sworn I’d seen him before. Maybe he just had a familiar kind of face. I’d seen plenty of them during my time as a cocktail waitress. Even so, I couldn’t shake the feeling.
Anyway, I didn’t have time to waste trying to remember. Instead, I refocused my energy on getting the hell out of there.
Climbing into the front seat of the car, I started it. Before putting it in gear and driving off, I took one last look at the carnage I was leaving behind. None of it seemed real. Was there any way it could have?
Exhaling a deep breath, I put the car in gear and started to drive on the frontage road.
By then, the sun had almost set. Darkness wasn’t far behind. The last remnants of daylight reached like thin fingers across the nearby mountain ranges. I didn’t have time to look at them for long — Vegas was hours away. The adrenaline began to leave my body and the first waves of exhaustion set in on me.
I needed every bit of concentration I had. My life might still depend on it.
Not far in the distance, I saw one pair of headlights streaking along the highway. Only a few miles remained between me and the road home.
Whatever I left behind wasn’t my problem, at least for now. By the time the owners of the case arrived, I’d be long gone. Or at least that’s what I thought…
Out of nowhere, a blinding bright light filled the front seat of the car. On instinct, I slammed on the brakes and let go of the steering wheel, covering my eyes while I tried to get a view of the source of it.
Peering through the brightness, I noticed the shape of the helicopter landing directly ahead of me, blocking the road.
And the only way out.
Dust swirled everywhere, engulfing the car in a torrent of sand. It wasn’t long before the figure of a man cut through the haze, riveting my attention.
A tall, muscular silhouette moved with ominous purpose towards me. I swallowed hard, tightening my grip on the steering wheel when the unthinkable occurred to me.
If I have to run him over to save my life, that’s what I’m going to do.
But just then his face came into clear view. Our eyes met. His dark pupils glowed with intensity, almost commanding me to look at them.
His short cropped hair, buffeted about by the turbulence from the helicopter blades, framed his angular jaw and cast a haunting shadow across his handsome features.
Licking my lips, I swallowed hard and searched every square inch of my mouth for the slightest trace of moisture. There was none to be found. Even worse, my eyes betrayed me, tracing th
e lines of his custom-made suit. Every inch of it clung to his muscular torso.
My hesitation cost me.
In a flash, he walked around the side of the car towards the driver’s side door. I yelped, reaching for the lock and barely switching it before he yanked on the door handle.
With the car still running, I put it in reverse and stepped on the accelerator, trying to look behind me at the same time. It wasn’t long before I felt myself lose control. Within seconds, the car slid off the road and came to rest in a shallow ditch.
“Shit!”
Yelling, I reached for the handle and jumped out.
He was running straight for me.
I don’t want to die! What am I going to do?
There was no time to think, so I did the only thing that came to mind. I took off running, hoping against hope I’d escape. It wasn’t long, maybe a matter of seconds until I found myself swallowed in a powerful embrace.
And then, a damp cloth made its way around from behind me, covering my nose and mouth. Consciousness slipped away from me like the day slides into night. Before I lost awareness, the arms that grabbed me swept me off the ground and then pulled me into the hardest chest I’d ever felt.
“You’re safe with me now, Tempest. I’ve got you.”
Fuck. I pinched my eyes tight. A soft moan escaped from my lips.
My awareness returned at the price of a throbbing head to go along with it. The fog of unconsciousness started to lift, but even after opening my eyes everything remained dark. Blindfolded, I felt my hands bound again only this time with rope instead of tape. I almost said something, asked where I was and what the hell was going on, but before I could I heard voices nearby.
I recognized both of them immediately.
The first was the man I talked to on the phone. The second, even though I only heard it a single time - there was no way I’d forget it.
It’s like it imprinted on my soul.
It was the kind of voice that commanded respect and conveyed authority. A deep, throaty baritone traveled across the room and reached inside of me, sending vibrations across my body.
Still not with it, I struggled to stay focused for the first couple of minutes. They discussed what happened at the scene. The man with the baritone voice demanded to know if it was cleaned and secured after he’d gone.
