Kinsley woke up with a massive headache. She blinked a few times, testing her vision. Everything seemed fine. Fine as it could be when Zaram Akakhel had just taken her captive and planned on killing her.
Piece by little piece.
"Awake, I see." Zaram walked around her in a circle. "You'll come to find that this place is very cozy. It will be a great place to spend your last days. The Marshal should be joining us soon I presume."
Kinsley said nothing. All she did was look around. She was in a cabin. Good sized. The cabin looked like it was sitting on a cliff. The view was gorgeous, which meant the road to get to it must have been treacherous.
"Would you like some food or water?" Zaram asked.
Kinsley whipped around and faced Zaram, her lips pressing into a thin line. She inwardly grimaced, as the fast movement was awful for her headache.
Zaram laughed, "I'll treat you well for now. The real fun doesn't begin until the Marshal gets here."
If only there was a way she could contact Reed and tell him to not come. Kinsley could hold off Zaram on her own for now, she could maybe even injure him so that she could escape.
As if reading her thoughts, Zaram shook his head, "And don't try anything. I have leverage."
"Like what?" She snapped.
Zaram smirked, pulled out a small photo album and handed it to Kinsley. She flipped through the pages, nausea churning with each picture. There was a picture of every single one of the children who were at Cole Wagner's house that day. Saige, Lesley, Alena, Aeden, Faith, Zavier and Spencer.
"I can and will kill them if you step out of line." Zaram growled.
~~~~~
Reed paced the hallway in the hotel, praying. Olivia Murray had arrived and done a full check of the crime scene as a favor for Reed. She had said it looked like Kinsley had put up a fight, but ended up losing.
Cole and Kaden had put a BOLO for the white van that had pulled out of the parking lot but so far no one had said anything. They were back at the office, trying to locate Zaram with the resources the office provided.
Reed had been praying constantly. He didn't understand how God could take Hannah and Camille from him, then tear Kinsley away before he could explore any idea of a relationship.
His phone buzzed and Reed checked it, hoping Cole had any information for him. His heart dropped to the floor when he saw that it was a message from Kinsley.
I have her. You know who
I am. You want to save her?
Yes.
The reply came back almost instantly.
5743 Mountain Road. All
you need to do is somehow
get here and you will be
able to save her. Come
alone or she dies.
Reed tried to reply, but Zaram had blocked his number. At least he knew where Kinsley was. He needed a way to let Cole and Kaden know where he was without tipping Zaram off. Reed knew that Zaram was capable of tracking his phone, so he couldn't send the address to Cole or Kaden.
"Hey man, are you doing alright?" Asher walked over to him, hands in the front pockets of his jeans.
Reed shrugged. He was better now that he knew Kinsley was alive. But he was worried sick for her. "To be completely honest, I'm not sure. I think I'm going to use the restroom." Reed gave a weak smile, "Check on me if I don't come out in ten minutes."
Asher raised a brow, but nodded.
Reed disappeared down the hall, spent two minutes in the bathroom, then slipped out of the hotel and into his car, unnoticed.
He was going to get Kinsley and save her, whether Zaram liked it or not. He just hoped Asher, Cole, and Kaden found them in time. Otherwise saving both him and Kinsley was going to be harder than it looked.
~~~~~
Kinsley wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she was pretty sure it was at least three hours. Maybe more.
Zaram had left her alone and gone into one of the rooms down the hall. Kinsley refused anything from him, even water. She didn't know if he would drug her or something. She needed to be alert so that she could take him down when the opportunity arose.
If the opportunity arose.
Her headache had turned into a full-blown migraine. Kinsley prayed it would disappear soon, she wanted to be fully alert for everything. The migraine was slowing her down. It hurt to even open her eyes, and the pain was pounding all over her head.
She moved to lay on the floor, flat on her back. Kinsley closed her eyes, but tried to keep her awareness level on high.
The door to the cabin creaked open and cold, snowy air blew in. Kinsley sat up abruptly and her head complained wildly at the action. She held her hand to her temple to stop the herself from seeing stars.
She almost passed out when she saw who stood in the doorway. "Reed?" She whispered.
He nodded but held a finger to his lips as he closed the door quietly. Once the door was shut and the gun in his waistband was securely hidden, Reed ran over to Kinsley. He dropped his arms on her shoulders. "Are you okay? Has he hurt you? Where is he?"
Kinsley blinked and tried to stop the hurricane of pain inside her head from knocking her out. "I'm fine except for a horrible migraine, he hasn't touched me yet, and he's-"
"Right here."
Kinsley and Reed snapped their heads upward. Zaram towered above them with a sly smile. Reed moved in front of Kinsley and glared at Zaram. "You are going to pay for this."
Zaram strode around the couch and sat down on the recliner as if there wasn't a care in the world. "Pay for what exactly? You won't be alive to testify, and I'll be long gone before they find your bodies. Or what's left of them."
Kinsley's eyes widened. Reed's hand found hers and squeezed it tight. It didn't help.
Zaram watched them for a few seconds longer and then stood up. "Well, we better get on with things. I don't have all day."
Kinsley's blood boiled. This man was sick and twisted. Reed practically vibrated with hatred.
"Oh and Reed, would you do me a favor and set your gun on the floor? We wouldn't want any casualties before the fun begins."
Reed stood and pulled Kinsley with him. "Sorry, can't do that."
In an instant, Zaram had his gun pulled and aimed at Kinsley. "What was that?"
Reed glared at Zaram. "Put the gun down."
Zaram's lips turned up. "I knew this would happen. You'll do anything for her."
Kinsley closed her eyes. This headache was going to cause major problems in their escape plan. Why did Reed have to be so chivalrous?
Zaram's gun fired.