Chapter 18

Chapter

Eighteen

Marci hurried into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She walked into her bathroom, turned on the fan, and hurried to use the toilet. Would she and Walker get a chance to be alone soon? Could she tell him she'd listen to his story, help him, wait for him if that's what he needed? She was grateful Abuelita was safe and now she wanted to focus on Walker.

Sliding open the bathroom door, she squeaked in surprise. So stunned she didn't even move or cry out.

Two men swooped into the small space, pinning her against the toilet. The larger one grabbed her face and clamped a piece of duct tape over her mouth before she could protest much more than a too-quiet yelp.

He and the smaller man pinned her between them. They dragged her awkwardly out of her bathroom and to the closest window. It was open, the screen gone.

The smaller guy eased through the large open window. He reached back for her and whispered, "Jonah, don't release her."

The larger guy, Jonah apparently, carefully handed her out, keeping a strong grip on her.

She struggled and flailed against them, but the larger guy was incredibly agile. He was out the window and had her pinned tight against his chest, his hand over her mouth, before she could do more than kick at the smaller guy.

They scurried her away from her cottage and into the thick trees. The ocean was just beyond the trees, a mangrove forest where they could easily hide a boat. The night felt too quiet, too still, too terrifying. Cold sweat pricked at her neck and her heart tried to launch itself out of her chest.

What were they going to do to her? Did Walker and Easton even know she'd disappeared? She'd turned the alarms off when she entered the cottage, and there were no cameras in her bedroom. Would Walker or some of Aiden's people come before these men stole her away or killed her?

She panted for air against the large hand, her heart racing.

"That worked well," the smaller guy said, his voice heavily accented.

They dragged her through the trees. She could see the water and a section of mangroves that stretched to a small beach as they reached the end of the small forest she'd loved to play in as a child. It wasn't a safe spot tonight, horrifying and full of evil.

"Stop here." The smaller guy turned to her, pulling out a pistol and aiming it at her chest. "I am Wilhelm Frederick."

Her eyes widened and her stomach flipped over. She couldn't catch a breath or say anything back.

"When we got word you were coming home from the hospital tonight, we docked the yacht offshore, rowed into the mangroves, and used the passcodes your grandmother told us under the effect of sodium thiopental when we first captured her. We hid under your bed covered in blankets." He smiled. "Pretending we released Grandma and having our men ‘rescue' her in a fishing boat worked perfectly to draw you out. I knew the other woman was a decoy."

He circled the pistol as if trying to decide to shoot her chest, neck, or head. She shuddered and prayed like she had never prayed in her life. It was one thing to write suspenseful scenes into her books. It was quite another to live the danger. She only wanted to live in the real world if Walker was with her, protecting her and loving her. Would she ever see him again? Tell him she loved him?

"Now then. I would like to be back to my yacht before the guards discover you to be missing. Because you paid the five million dollars, I will not injure you to avenge my father as I had planned. All you have to do is inform me who the spy is, and I will generously allow you to live."

She had no clue who any spy was, and she very much doubted he'd let her go regardless, but an idea came to her. She prayed for help and nodded to Wilhelm Frederick, the son of one of the most evil dictators to ever terrorize the planet.

Her entire body trembled. Her heart hammered painfully against her chest. If they removed the duct tape and she yelled in this thick copse of trees, would anyone even hear her?

"Ready now. You say the name and we will tie you up and leave you here." Wilhelm's eyes flashed, evil oozing from him. "Remove the tape so she can say the name, then cover her mouth."

Jonah yanked the tape off. It stung and she cried out. He covered her mouth with his hand again. She yelled to be heard past his hand, "Jonah is the spy."

Wilhelm's eyes widened. "What?"

"I am not the spy," Jonah protested.

Wilhelm was eyeing him with distrust. Would the terrorist believe her?

"I swear to you I am not the spy," Jonah said more vehemently. "No!"

Jonah's grip loosened around her chest. He raised one hand as he claimed his innocence. Marci brought the heel of her tennis shoe up into Jonah's crotch. The impact was hard, and he squawked in protest. He released her and bowed forward.

She darted away from him, running through the trees and screaming, "Help!" at the top of her lungs.

Bullets thwacked into tree branches and shredded leaves all around her. She dodged behind the trunk of a tree. Gasping for air, she looked around and prayed for help. The lights from her cottage and the mansion filtered through the foliage, but she wasn't close enough to safety. Could she keep moving or would Wilhelm get a clear shot?

Under the sound of gunfire and the destruction caused by it, she bent low and crept backward away from the men, keeping the large tree in front of her. If she couldn't see them, hopefully they couldn't see her.

The shots stopped. It was eerily quiet. She froze.

"Come out, Marci. I vow I will not kill you," Wilhelm said. "We will tie you up and go away."

No way was she coming out or trusting him. Her heart raced out of control, and she tried to hide her gasps for air and step softly. Her foot came down on a twig. The sound of the crack was as loud as a pistol shot.

"There," Wilhelm said.

Pistol shots filled the air.

Marci screamed, hit the ground and scrabbled on hands and knees underneath and behind the relative safety of a pine tree.

More shots rang out, and more and more. She put her head down and prayed desperately. Cold sweat pricked at her skin. Her breaths came in heaving gulps as she bowed to the damp ground but prayed to her Father above.

This was the end. She hadn't even told Walker she loved him.

Branches and leaves and pinecones sprayed everywhere. She heard loud thuds of something hitting the ground. Had they shot so many bullets they'd taken large branches off the tree?

Sudden silence filled the air. The only sounds were her loud breathing, a breeze through the tree, and the ocean lapping against the mangrove forest.

She didn't dare move. Had Walker and Easton or the other guards found her or were Wilhelm and Jonah waiting for her to make a move so they could start shooting again?

A large form materialized through the trees in front of her. Marci screamed and then bit her lip. She scrabbled backwards, running into the scratchy limbs of the pine tree. She was going to die.

"Marci."

The voice. His voice. He'd come for her.

"Walker!" she cried out. His handsome face appeared above her. "Get down! They have guns." She grabbed frantically at the hem of his shirt and tried to haul him to the ground.

Walker crouched down and touched her face. "It's okay, Marci. It's over. Easton, Nick, Autumn, and I got them. It was easy to pick them off as they were focused on trying to shoot you."

"Oh, Walker." She launched herself at him, almost knocking him over.

Walker scooped her off the ground, straightened, and held her tight against his chest. He was so strong and brave. Her mountain. Her rock.

"You're all right? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm okay. You're okay?"

"I'm fine, now that you're safe." He held her as if she were a priceless artifact.

"Oh, Walker. Thank you." Then she arched up and kissed him. The dark night exploded with fireworks. She was safe. She was in Walker's arms. Everything would be okay now.