Chapter 6

Sitting in front of the camera, reading the crap they wanted her to read was surreal. As she was getting to the end, she thought about saying something, some clue where they were, or anything to give the outside world a real look into what was going on, but the second she read the last line, she was yanked from the chair and force-marched back to the room with the bright lights and three other women.

They shoved her so hard she stumbled and fell next to the younger brunette. The door was slammed behind her as she stared into the woman’s dark eyes. This woman had been in the operating room when she’d interviewed the doctor, but at the moment, she couldn’t think of her name.

“Sorry, I don’t remember your name.”

“It’s Elizabeth.”

“I’m Nichole.”

The blonde crawled over, her gaze switching from the door back to Nichole. “I’m Angie. What happened?”

“They had me read some statement.” Would telling these women that the people holding them planned on killing them if their friends weren’t released be bad or good? What would telling them that they could die soon accomplish? If the other women freaked out, it would only lead to detriment. They needed to keep their heads about them.

“Tell us what they had you say,” the third woman asked.

Nichole drew in a deep breath, hoping this didn’t push the women into despair. Their situation wasn’t good, but knowing the men who’d captured them planned on killing them was daunting. She worried that these men would kill them no matter what. Even if the prisoners were released from custody, that didn’t mean she and the medical workers would live. Could they really trust someone who took them captive?

Elizabeth squeezed her shoulder. “Yes, tell us.”

“They want prisoners being held in the US or maybe England released. If they aren’t released…”

Angie shook her head, anger filling her eyes. “Let me guess, they will kill us.”

Nichole nodded. “That’s what they said. We have four days.”

Angie’s face paled. “Shit.”

They were silent for a moment, her thinking about all the things she still wanted to do in life. Given time, she would reconnect with Jesse. If she got out of this, she would find his address and go see him. The email hadn’t been enough. She needed to show up on his doorstep and tell him she thought about him way too much for her to leave him alone. Maybe he had someone important in his life. If so, then she would walk away, but she wanted to at least find him and make sure he was okay—more than okay, happy.

In her job, she’d faced danger before, but never like this. The men holding them captive might not let them walk out of here. They could either be trafficked somewhere else or end up covered by six feet of dirt.

Elizabeth squeezed her arm again. “We aren’t dead yet. Maybe we can make a plan to escape.”

The woman she didn’t have a name for turned to her. “Did you see anything that could help us?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

“It’s Cara.”

“I’m Nichole. And I don’t know. Let me think. I wasn’t paying enough attention to see anything. They led me down a hallway to a room with a chair and a camera. No windows I could see out of, no doors open that I could get an idea where we are.”

Angie shook her head. “Shit. I hate being trapped here.”

A speaker crackled to life, making them jump. “No talking!”

Nichole glanced around, shielding her eyes. Eventually, she spied the speaker on the wall beside the door. They were watching them. What did that mean for her, for all of them? What would these jerks do?

Not wanting to antagonize their captors even more, she scooted so her back was against the wall before making eye contact with the other women. They would figure out a way to chat later.

Time seemed to stand still in the empty, brightly lit room. Her mind began to wander over past articles she’d worked on. There were things she would do differently, but she’d given her all in each investigation. Up until this incident, the scariest investigation had been the energy company. That investigation led to the dismantling of the company and changes in laws to prevent a repeat. Powerful people had lost everything. They’d blamed her for their downfall. Mad didn’t even begin to describe how they’d felt about her. She’d moved, hiding her name on the rental agreement with the help of the paper. For a while, she’d felt like she’d been skulking around instead of really living. The pressure was less now, but she imagined that some of those people still wanted to get her back.

But this experience took danger to a new level. These people were ruthless. They’d shot someone for not reading words off a piece of paper.

Danger followed investigative reporters, but she’d never felt as much physical danger as she did at this moment, sitting in this stupid room with the lights so bright it made her head hurt. She couldn’t even sleep because of the bright lights. Anger built, but she had no place for it to expel. Maybe she would work out and get stronger. What good would that do if they all ended up dead? She needed to focus and find a way out, but that seemed impossible sitting in this room with three other women. The lights were turned on so bright it almost burned her eyes. They were trapped, and escaping didn’t even seem possible.