His voice was low but threatening and Sandra decided it was probably a good idea to do as he said, but not before folding her arms across her chest like a sulking child.“Fine,” she said with as much venom and irritation as she could summons. “But I don’t think your partner would want to know you’re afraid of my husband.” “I told you I’m not afraid of anything, especially that farm boy.”“Prove it. Stop and let us out. You can go find Creighton for yourself. I’m sure the two of you can take him…or at least give it a good attempt.”“We’re not ready to take him on just yet,” the man snarled with a sickening grin. “His time will come soon enough.”“Whatever,” she said again. “It just seems like a waste of time to me. This whole scenario is like a late-night movie. You’re the muscles, he’s the brains and between the two of you, you may manage to shake things up a bit, but only until the cops find you.”“What do you know about any of this?” he asked in an angry tone. “He’s not the brains,
It was late night when the car pulled off the main road and into the parking stall of a small hotel, a short distance past a sign that read Beauvais. Sandra frowned. She had no idea where they were or why they were stopping, but the thought didn’t last long as Bachmeier checked his phone again, then climbed out of the car. He pulled the door open next to Sabrina so quickly, she nearly fell out, then grabbed her by the hair and stood her up.“Get out,” he told Sandra, who bent over momentarily and picked up something from the floor as she scooted across the seat. He shut the door to the car and walked around the side of the building. He reached up above the small light hanging over a door with a faded brass letter F and smiled as he took the key from the top of the jam and unlocked the dirty handle.“Inside,” he told them, shoving Sabrina in after Sandra, nearly causing them both to topple to the floor with the impact.“Where are we?” Sandra demanded as he shut the door and flipped on
Sandra slipped a reassuring arm around the younger woman’s shoulders and hugged her to her chest. She needed to convince her to remain calm and try to relax as much as possible. There were plenty of times they could have escaped. Bachmeier really wasn’t as keen of a kidnapper as he would like to think, but she was determined to find out who this other person was.“What happened to your parents?” she asked.“He caught Dad outside and they struggled by the back door,” Sabrina said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “He shot Dad, but I don’t think it was very bad. It just looked like he caught his shoulder.”“Thank God,” she whispered.“Please, Sandra, let’s get out of here. I’m really scared.”“I want to leave too, but we can’t,” she said in a hushed tone. “We need to stay with him for a while longer. Remember, I’m armed, I can take care of him if we need to.”“How is that possible when we’re handcuffed like common thieves?” Sandra smiled brightly, raising her arms up to show Sabrina th
“I swear to God, she’s not going to walk for a week when I get my hands on her,” Creighton growled as he paced the floor of his private jet. Sitting on one of the sofas was Inspector Morris, her partner Boden Tabor, a small stalky man in his mid-thirties with bright red hair and a mustache, and Andrew. They watched in stunned silence as Creighton walked back and forth, running his large hands through his messy hair. Morris and Tabor had joined with the two after veering off their tail, allowing a second team to take their place to avoid raising Bachmeier’s suspicions. She had relayed the information Sandra told her and how she refused to leave until she knew what was happening. The news, however, did not set well with her husband.“Monsieur Ashford,” Morris began, her tone calm, hoping to gain some sense of control in the room. “Your wife seems like a very intelligent woman. She picked up on an excuse immediately when that jerk interrupted us in the bathroom. Your sister said that sh
“I would be happy to if we were unfastened.” Sandra smiled to herself as he moaned a bit louder, then walked to her side and slipped the small key through the lock and tossed it to the bed next to her. She was surprised that he hadn’t realized they were fake cuffs, and it made her wonder again where he had picked them up at.“There, now shut the hell up.” He lay back on the bed and pulled the pillow over his head. Sandra stared at him in amazement. They could walk right out the door and he wouldn’t bother trying to stop them. He had a hangover that would likely stun an ox, but she still was not in the mood to escape. Not just yet.“We need to eat,” she said, perhaps not as loudly as she would have preferred, but the words caught his attention, nevertheless.“How the hell much does one person eat?” he growled, tossing the pillow aside.“We haven’t had any real food since yesterday afternoon,” she began. “What do you expect?”“I suppose silence from you is too much to ask for?”“Let u
“Go call your parents,” she told Sabrina quickly. “Tell them to let Creighton know we changed cars.”“But he’ll catch us.”“I’ll stand watch. Now hurry. I’ll start getting the things he wants.” Sabrina nodded, swallowing hard then went to the small payphone on the wall beside two video games. Sandra collected the juice for her and Sabrina and several bags of chips, crackers and chocolate before going to the cooler with the beer. There were single bottles, cans and cartons with glass or aluminum cans, she just didn’t know which one to get. Thinking about how the coffee affected him, she smiled and took a carton with a dozen twelve-ounce dark brown bottles and carried them to the counter. Sabrina joined her barely five seconds before Bachmeier stepped up behind them. She placed a package of gum on the counter when he narrowed his gaze to her, covering her absence from Sandra’s side.They paid for the items with Sandra’s card and carried them back to the car and once again climbed into
Tabor pulled the Suburban into the parking stall of the convenience store a little while later as Creighton and Andrew jumped out of the back, before he had a chance to put the vehicle in park. Morris was right beside them as they approached the cashier, flashing badges and speaking in French to him. The young man identified the pictures of Sandra and Sabrina and grimaced at the one of Bachmeier. He told them all that happened, and that Sabrina had used the phone. Creighton began pacing the floor while Morris went around the counter to check out the security cameras.Just a half hour earlier and they would have been able to catch up to them. Why was Sandra doing this? Why didn’t she leave when she had the chance? He was angry at her relentless insistence that she stay with him. He was angry that she was keeping Sabrina in the midst of this and he was angry at himself for allowing any of this to happen. He swore, when he got her back, he was locking her in the house and never letting h
Creighton sat in the back of the Suburban and watched his phone. The swirling green dial assured him Sandra was still in contact with him and somehow that made him feel better. He knew where they were and knew who was responsible for the murders at their farm. Now all he had to do was get her back in his arms and lock both her and Sabrina in a gilded cage.“We’ll be there, but probably not before them,” Andrew said, checking his own phone. “Just get us there. I have a score to settle with that son of a…”“As much as I agree with you, I can’t let you touch him,” Andrew interrupted. “It would cause problems with the courts. Just let us take care of him and you worry about keeping that wife of yours safe.” Creighton glared at his brother, but knew he was right. As much as he wanted to break Bachmeier’s neck, he wanted him to suffer in jail even more, along with his accomplice.“I have a blueprint of the clinic from Miriam’s contractor,” Andrew said with a smile. “With this, we’ll be ab