by Linda Verji
The door flew open behind her as if it’d been blown by a tornado. Then it slammed closed again. Jasmine closed her eyes tighter as she listened to the heavy footsteps come closer to her.
“Hey pretty lady.” It sounded like he was right behind her. Though her eyes were closed, she could tell when he knelt behind her and almost flinched when he set his hand on her upper arm. “You awake?”
She kept her eyes closed but relaxed her muscles so he wouldn’t realize that anything was amiss.
“That’s okay.” The man chuckled. “I don’t need you to be awake for this.”
He stood up. Moments later, the sound of a zipper sliding down echoed in the silent room. How Jasmine managed to keep still and not scream was a mystery. She heard something that sounded like the rustling of clothes falling to the floor. Minutes later, he moved to the bottom of the mattress. The mattress depressed under his weight as he knelt on it. Jasmine tensed as she got ready to get into action.
The man grabbed her feet and forcefully turned her to her back. He was so focused on unlocking the zip-tie binding her legs that he didn’t even notice that her hands weren’t tied. Jasmine waited until the zip-tie was off then she vaulted to sitting position.
“What the hell!” The man was so startled that she was awake that all he could do was arch backwards.
His shock gave Jasmine the time she needed to cock her elbow and punch his Adam’s apple with all the force she could manage. The man’s eyes widened. He made gurgling noises as if trying to scream then keeled right backwards.
It worked. It really worked.
Jasmine couldn’t believe that she’d knocked a guy out simply by punching his Adam’s apple. Still, there was no time for a victory dance. Now that she was free, she could get on her feet. However, when she tried to stand, pain swept through her legs. It felt like needles were pricking at her as the blood rushed to her now mobile limbs. Still, she ignored the pain and straightened to her full height.
She looked around the room again. The only way out was through that door. But Man Two was waiting outside it. She needed to get rid of him. How to do it… how to do it… An idea struck her. If she could get bring him into the room and catch him unawares maybe she could take him out like she’d done to Man One.
Okay… now, how do I get him in here? She spotted the metal pail in the corner of the room. That should work!
On bare feet, she limped to it and grabbed it. She limped to the door. After taking a deep breath, she swung the pail at the door. It hit the wood with a hard thump that echoed through the whole room.
“Pick!” Man Two called out. “Everything okay in there?”
But Pick couldn’t answer. He was still out cold thanks to Jasmine’s punch.
Jasmine swung the pail again and struck the wall. Thump!
“Pick!” Man Two shouted again. “What’s going on in there? Everything okay?”
The sound of footsteps coming closer to the door echoed. Jasmine moved behind the door to make sure he couldn’t see her when he came in. She held the pail high above her head, ready to strike.
“I told you not to hurt her,” Man Two continued as he opened the door. He walked into the room. “What the hell are you-”
Jasmine swung the pail towards his head. Hard. It met the back of the man’s skull with a resounding thwack. Clutching his head and groaning, he fell to his knees. Jasmine dropped the pail with a loud clang then made for the door. However, the man was still in front of it and not unconscious. When she tried to slip past him, he made a grab for her waist. Thankfully, he was in so much pain that with one punch to the side of his head, he let her go.
She rushed out of the bedroom and into the living room. The door out of the apartment was there. Right there. Thankfully, it wasn’t closed. Jasmine opened it but as she did so, she heard someone behind her yell out. “Hey. Hey. Stop.”
She didn’t stop.
She rushed out only to find herself in some kind of hall that connected several apartments. From the dirty walls, the general neglected condition of the place and the fact that none of the apartments had lights on despite it being night time, it was obvious that this building had been abandoned. Asking for help from the tenants was impossible.
The hall was open on one side and had looked out to the road. Jasmine took a second to see if she could jump over the rail. Nope! Too high up. Without knowing where she was going, she started running down the hall. Fortunately, the halls were lit so she didn’t have to worry about tripping on something. Seconds later, she saw stairs.
She started down the stairs but as she did, she heard the sound of running footsteps. Someone was coming after her. Probably Man Two. She needed to run faster. Down she went. One floor, the next floor… the steps behind her were getting closer now.
Run, Jasmine, run. If she could just get out of this complex before they got to her, then she’d be okay. Run.
She was rushing down the last flight of stairs when she saw him.
Him. August Wells.
She came to a screeching halt as shock shot through her and her already thumping pulse began to thunder. He was standing at the bottom of the stairs looking up with a frown. When he saw her, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses.
Then he smiled.
CHAPTER 27
The person chasing Jasmine was getting closer. She could hear his heavy footsteps stomping down the stairs. She wanted to race down but couldn’t. Not while August was still standing down there, smiling coldly up at her. It was almost as if he was waiting for her. Daring her to try to get past him. Well, what choice did she have? It was either up or down.
She took a deep breath then rushed down.
August was waiting for her. As soon as she started down the stairs, he rushed up too. He was too far to punch but close enough to kick. Jasmine shot her foot upwards aiming for his chin, but he deftly caught her leg. With a chuckle, he pulled her downwards.
If it wasn’t for her quick grab of the railing along the stairs, she would’ve fallen on her ass. Fear beating a steady rhythm inside her, she shoved her caught leg inwards towards his chest then out again. It was enough to force August to release her and stagger a step backwards.
Working only with her instincts, she threw her whole body forward. August wasn’t expecting that. His eyes widened even as his hands stretched to catch her. They both fell but at least she had his body to buffer her fall. August’s pained groan echoed in the stairway as the back of his body hit the stairs. They both rolled down the stairs.
August’s glasses rolled down the stairs too. So did a gun. His gun!
Once they were at the bottom of the stairs, Jasmine scrambled to her knees and tried to crawl towards the gun. However, before she could get to it, August grabbed her ankle. She looked back as she tried to free her leg from his grip. The look in his eyes was enough to send terror racing through her. He wasn’t smiling anymore. His whole face was a mask of anger and loathing. She kicked out with her free leg but he caught that too and yanked her towards him. He released one leg but before Jasmine could react, he slapped her.
Slap! The sound echoed loudly but all Jasmine heard was the ringing in her ears as pain shuttled through her face. Before she knew it, his hand was on her neck, squeezing. Still squeezing her neck, August reached forward and grabbed the gun. He shoved it into the back of his pants. He was rising now with his finger still squeezing her neck as he glared at her. Her breath was coming in painful gurgles even as she was forced to stand too.
Once they were both on their feet, she tried to kick out but missed his family jewels. Though her foot connected with his inner thigh, it didn’t seem to affect August. He turned her then started to walk her backwards up the stairs. Though his fingers were still around her throat, his grip was firm enough to stifle her breathing but not to kill her.
Just as they got to the next floor’s landing, the man who’d been behind Jasmine emerged panting.
“Sir?” His breath whooshed out sharply. Sounding shocked, h
e stammered, “I… uh… I didn’t know… uh…. You were coming… We didn’t mean to…”
“I’ll deal with you later,” August cut the man off but his eyes were on Jasmine. His eyes hardened even further as he took her in. “You’re just as much trouble as your boyfriend. Maybe I’ll kill you two tog-”
His words were cut off by the sudden rush of footsteps below them. Someone – no, several someones were coming up the stairs.
August and his minion reacted quickly. The minion immediately rushed back up the stairs. August, on the other hand, turned Jasmine, grabbed the back of her neck and shoved her out to the hallway. It looked like he was planning to hide in one of the abandoned apartments on that floor. But before he could drag her in there…
“Stop.” Lucas’s voice echoed in the hallway. “Stop or I’ll shoot.”
Jasmine immediately turned her head. When she saw Lucas standing at the end of the hall pointing his gun at her and August, relief like she’d never felt before rocketed through her. Beside and behind Lucas were several police officers including Shane, but all she saw was Lucas.
But August still had her. And he was clearly more tense. Like a wild animal that had realized that it was cornered.
“Stop or I’ll shoot,” Lucas repeated.
His hand still on the back of her throat, August turned. Suddenly, he brought her right in front of him. Both Jasmine and the cops were too surprised to react immediately, but it gave August time to pull out his gun.
“No, you stop!” he said coldly as he pressed the gun to Jasmine’s temple. His arm tightened around her upper body. “Or I’ll shoot.”
Jasmine could’ve sworn that despite the distance between them she felt Lucas fear. Still, it was nothing compared to the paralyzing terror that spread through her body, like icy liquid metal.
“Let her go, August.” Lucas sounded surprisingly calm even as he kept his gun trained on them. He took a step forward. “Let her go.”
“Don’t come closer,” August yelled out as he pressed the gun deeper into Jasmine’s temple.
“Put the gun down, August,” Shane chimed in. “You don’t need to do this. We can talk about this.”
“Talk about this?” August laughed. The grating sound rumbled against Jasmine’s back. He mocked, “Do you think I’m an idiot? You think I don’t know how this ends if I let her go? Get lost and I’ll let her go.”
“You know we won’t do that,” Lucas said.
August watched them for a moment then said, “Then I guess I have no choice.”
In the blink of an eye, he took the gun off Jasmine’s temple and turned it on the officers. Then he pulled the trigger.
None of them were expecting him to shoot at them and they instinctively ducked. It gave August the time he needed to shove Jasmine towards the railings before taking off.
The shove was forceful enough that it threw her off balance and she couldn’t stop herself from moving. She tried to grab the railing, but it was so slippery that her hands slid uselessly over it. Her body kept moving down. She was slipping over the railing now, falling. Her upper body was already over the railing and her lower body was following close behind.
It almost felt like it was happening in slow motion, yet she couldn’t seem to stop her fall. Her legs were going over the rails now, the metal biting into her thighs, her feet hovering above the ground. She was going down… going to fall.
This was how she was going to die?
Well… bye. She closed her eyes.
But she’d accepted her death too soon. Just as she started to dive downwards, she felt strong fingers grab her calves. She was being pulled back over the railings.
“I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” someone kept saying as strong arms came around her hips to pull her further back until she felt the ground beneath her feet. “I’ve got you.”
Surprised that she wasn’t dead yet, she turned to see who her savior was only to see Lucas.
“Jesus Christ!” He dragged out a deep breath and pulled her into his arms. “Are you okay?”
For a moment, Jasmine couldn’t even answer or respond to the embrace. She was too surprised that she was still alive. That he’d saved her.
He’d saved her.
Her arms came around his waist as relief pulsed through her. Even as she stood in Lucas’s strong embrace, she was aware that everyone else was gone. She could even hear their footsteps as they chased August down the hallway. Moments later, she heard gunshots. She flinched.
“It’s okay.” Lucas ran his hands up and down her back soothingly. “I’m here. I’m here.”
He was here, and she was finally safe. That was all that mattered. Jasmine closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest.
* * *
AN HOUR LATER, ambulances, squad cars and several LEOs milled outside the building where Jasmine had been held. A crowd had gathered around to watch her two kidnappers being hauled out in handcuffs and August being brought down on a stretcher. The man’s closed eyes, gray pallor and the blood staining the left side of his suit jacket made it look like he was dead. But he wasn’t. Shane had made sure of that when he’d shot him.
“You think he’ll talk when he comes around?” Shane asked Lucas.
“Doubt it,” Lucas said as he watched paramedics cart August into one of the ambulances. “He doesn’t seem like the talking-type.”
“You’re probably right.” Shane sighed. “Still, it wouldn’t hurt to try.”
“We should bring in Walcott though,” Lucas suggested. “With everything we’ve got on him, we should be able to get something out of him.”
“Not we…. I,” Shane immediately corrected. “I’ll bring him in and interrogate him. As for you-” Shane stepped behind Lucas, grabbed his shoulders then turned him to face the second ambulance. “You’re going home to take care of your lady.”
My lady. Lucas immediately turned his attention to her.
Jasmine was seated in the second ambulance, wrapped up in a blanket and drinking something hot. The only reason Lucas had left her side to make sure the criminals were all taken care of was because the paramedics had already examined her and found no injuries.
She wasn’t hurt. Thank God.
Lucas turned his gaze back his partner. “You sure you can handle Walcott on your own?”
“Yeah. And even if I can’t, you’re not the only detective in the force.” Shane shoved him towards Jasmine’s ambulance. “Go.”
“Thanks.” Lucas gave his partner a short salute before striding towards Jasmine.
The moment she saw him, her eyes lit up and she slid across the bench until she was by the door. Once he was in talking distance, she asked, “Are you done? Can we go home now?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. When she started to get out of the ambulance, he stepped forward to stop her. “Shouldn’t we get you to the hospital first?”
“What for?” She moved to the side so she could get out but Lucas blocked the path too. She frowned. “The paramedics said I was okay.”
“Still, you should-”
“No.” She set her arms on his shoulders. “I’m not going to the hospital. I’m going home.”
The determined look in her eyes left no doubt that he wasn’t going to change her mind. When she left her weight rest on him, he had no choice but to grab her waist and help her out of the ambulance. He was about to set her on the ground when he noticed that she was barefoot.
“You don’t have any shoes.” He looked up at her even as he kept her raised off the ground.
“Yes, I know.” Jasmine slapped his shoulder. “Put me down. I can walk to your car.”
“There’s broken glass and stones everywhere around here,” he said. Before she could say that that was okay, he slipped his arm beneath her thighs and lifted her completely into his arms.
“Luc!” Jasmine exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “You can’t carry me. Everyone is looking.”
“Then they can keep looking.” Lucas starte
d walking.
He only let her down briefly when they got to his car, but it was only so he could open the door for her. Once she was in the car, he circled it and took the driver’s seat. As he drove, Lucas had so much to say to her. He wanted to ask her if she was okay. He wanted to apologize for getting her involved in this mess with Michael Walcott. When he stole a glance at her and saw how dirty her dress and feet were, a lump built at the back of his throat and his heart started to ache. He wanted to apologize for not keeping a closer eye on her.
There was so much to say, yet he couldn’t say a word. The lump in his throat was too huge.
“You okay?” Jasmine asked as she watched him.
He was the one supposed to be asking her that. Was she okay? Yet he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. His lips refused to move. All he could do was nod and reach for her hand to reassure himself that she was okay.
Jasmine seemed to be reading his thoughts. Squeezing his hand, she softly said, “I’m okay.”
Yes, she seemed okay but there was every chance that she wouldn’t have been. Even now he could still remember the moment when August had held a gun to her head. Lucas’s heart had dropped to his stomach. He still couldn’t explain how he’d managed to keep his gun steady because it’d felt like every cell in his body was trembling in fear. And when August had tossed her over that railing… Christ!
Lucas breathed out roughly as his eyes wandered to Jasmine. She was still watching him. If he’d been even one second late, she wouldn’t have been here with him. She would be…
“I’m okay.” She smiled and squeezed his hand again. “I’m really okay.”
How could she smile after everything she’d been through? She should be crying, scolding him for not finding her sooner… not soothing him.
When they got to her building, Lucas got out of the car. Jasmine got out too but before she could start walking, he swooped downwards and lifted her in his arms.
“I can walk, Luc,” she protested.
He didn’t say anything and didn’t let her down. After everything she’d gone through tonight, protecting her feet from getting hurt was the least he could do. Another couple was waiting by the elevator when Lucas and Jasmine strode through the foyer. The couple gave them raised eyebrows then traded looks that seemed to say ‘are they trying to act like they’re more in love’. Embarrassed, Jasmine buried her face in Lucas’s shoulder. Lucas wasn’t embarrassed. They could think whatever they wanted. The only person who mattered to him right now was Jasmine.
