“Let her go,” Sandra said gently, but strong enough that she actually felt very proud of herself. All the lessons her grandfather had taught her over the years came into play. Stay calm, remain in control of your emotions, don’t show your fear. They all came rushing back to her in a flood of consciousness.“But I like having her this close to me,” Bachmeier said.His tongue slithered out of his mouth like a snake as he ran it slowly up the side of Sabrina’s face. The girl closed her eyes and whimpered softly, unable to move away as he tightened his grip on her throat.“What do you want?” Sandra asked with a sharp tone. “Where is Emma and William?”“Don’t worry about them, they won’t be interrupting us. I’ve taken care of them and soon I’ll take care of you. But first, we’re going to take a little ride. See that bag on the chair?” Sandra turned to where his eyes darted and looked at the dark blue very dirty backpack sitting on the chair William always sat in.“Inside you’ll find thre
Creighton turned onto the road that led to their home and saw the van driving toward him. Another of Sabrina’s deliveries, he thought. At least he knew all was well for now. What he needed to do was get them all on a plane and out of the area until that bastard was caught. He would put out a reward for his capture, a large reward, which would make anyone who saw him, even those who may be hiding him, eager to turn tail and call the police.As he pulled the car to a halt in front of his parents’ house, he saw Clark hurry to the porch, waving him in. Creighton jumped out of the car and ran up the stairs in one leap. He hurried into the kitchen to find his parents sitting at the table, a dirty old backpack sitting on the floor beside his father’s feet. Creighton frowned as he finally registered his father holding a bloody rag to his shoulder.“I’m alright son,” William said, his voice slightly weaker than he had hoped it would be.“What happened?” Creighton insisted, accepting the tearfu
Papa insisted his granddaughters know how to use a gun and how to protect themselves. She would go hunting with him every year, a rifle in one arm, a pistol in the holder on her hip. If anyone were to look at her, they’d see a young girl who resembled Annie Oakley, ready to tame America’s wild west. She knew how to shoot; she knew how to use a knife and she was good with both. Hitting the bull’s-eye nine out of ten times. She loved to go out behind her grandfather’s house and practice shooting into a bale of hay. She would do it for hours on end, spending round after round. She thought about that now, as she glanced out the side windows of the car she was tethered to. If only she had a gun or knife, they’d be free of this moron once and for all.Right now, what she had to do was give Creighton time to find them. But how was another subject. She turned her wrist to look at the watch and fought the smile that threatened her lips. She had to somehow find a way to make him understand she
“Get control of yourself,” Sandra snapped, wrapping her hands on the girl’s shoulders and shaking her slightly to gain her attention. “Did you recognize anything he was saying on the phone?”“Only that we are supposed to be meeting someone in France and that we are going to be ransomed off for fifteen million pounds.”“Stay alert,” she said with a tight clenching of her jaw. “I don’t know who was on the other end of that phone, but I’ll bet it wasn’t Creighton. Go use the toilet, we don’t have much time.” Sandra stepped into one of the two stalls and locked the door, sitting down on the porcelain object. She looked around her. There was the stall door she could write a note on, but that may take hours, if not days, before anyone was to see it and by then…she shook her head to dismiss the thought and reached for the toilet paper. She thought about writing a note of help on the tissue, but like all public restrooms, it was too flimsy. The sound of the toilet next to her flushed and sh
Bachmeier stopped at a gas station a few yards away from the restaurant and stepped out. He slid her card through the device on the pump and quickly shoved the hose into the gas tank as he began filling the car.“What are we going to do?” Sabrina asked in a shaky, fear filled tone.“You’re going to stay behind me as much as you can and let me take the lead,” Sandra answered, feeling much braver, certain the cook had written down the license number of the car. She looked out the side window beside Sabrina and frowned, seeing the man on his phone again.“What did you write on that paper towel?”“Just a message of help,” she whispered. It was now a waiting game and one she hoped they would win.Nightfall was far from being the cheerful experience he had anticipated. The house sitting outside the kitchen window was dark and quiet and filled with memories of laughter and happiness. His eyes hurt from all the tears he had shed. His throat was dry with fear and his head ached from thoughts
“Crey, Sandra made contact with Scotland Yard,” he said when Creighton placed the phone to his ear.“What…how…when?” The fear and the fatigue were gone in an instant as Creighton stood from his stool and paced to the sink, looking out at the single light left shining in the foyer of the home next door.“They stopped at a diner outside Folkestone. She paid with her private credit card - we’ve put a trace on it - and she managed to slip the waitress a note.”“What did it say?” Creighton was already gathering his coat from the back of the stool and looking for his keys as they spoke, being pulled back around the corner of the kitchen door by the cord that connected the phone to the receiver.“It said, we’re being kidnapped. Contact Andrew Ashford, Scotland Yard. Tell him to tell Crey I’ve got the watch. Does that make sense to you?”“God bless you Sandra,” he smiled, reaching for the phone on the counter. “She’s wearing the watch my company developed. A prototype. It’s a tracking devic
“You can’t come in here,” Sandra snapped as Morris took a step back. “This is a woman’s bathroom.”“Telling secrets, are we?” he said as he narrowed his eyes on the blonde, his hand reaching for the gun he had hidden in his jacket. Sandra saw Morris start to reach behind her back for the gun she saw hiding in the waistband of her pants. She had to think fast.“It’s impossible to communicate with her, even if I tried. She only speaks French and I don’t.” Morris turned to Sandra, catching onto her diversion. Sandra just hoped the woman wasn’t as ignorant to the language as she was.“Vous ne pouvez pas venir dans elle, ceci est le bathroom d'une femm,” Morris snapped, and Sandra saw him relax his hand instantly, removing it from his jacket. “Dehors!, sortez.”“Shut up,” Bachmeier snarled, taking a step toward her as though he intended to strike her.“No,” Sandra said suddenly, standing between them and holding her hand up to him. “Don’t you speak French?”“Why would I want to know that
“She said there were three officers with her and that you were armed,” Sabrina said in a whisper so low, Sandra had to strain to hear her. “Andrew and Creighton are on their way to France and they know about the watch. What’s with the watch?”“It’s one of your brother’s newest designs,” she smiled, glancing at the face that glowed yellow. “It’s a tracking device. He knows where we are and he’s following us.” Not a complete lie, she told herself, but it visibly made her sister-in-law seem less anxious.“Why didn’t you let her save us?” Sabrina asked as Sandra pulled her pants down and sat on the toilet.“We have to see who is on the other end of those phone calls or we’ll never be free of this.”“I’m really scared. What if he tries to shoot us, or…” her voice failed as she thought about the lustful ways, he had been looking at her.“He won’t do anything,” Sandra said, but she knew there really wasn’t a way to stop him if he had a mind to try. “He wants the money from Creighton, and he