The Rescue

Chapter Three

She felt a sudden hand on her shoulder and she screamed through her gag. 

 

The man, Sinan, was untying her. She didn’t understand. It had only been an hour since he called Poyraz to make his demands. It was still daylight and she couldn’t hear anyone in the vicinity. Had he given up so easily? Had Ayten paid him?

 

“C’mon. We’re moving.” he said in a gruff voice.

 

The thought of him taking her to a secondary location frightened her, but it could also provide her the opportunity to escape, 

 

As if he could read her thoughts, he pulled aside his jacket to reach for a pocket knife to cut the ropes from her ankles and she saw the shine of a gun at his hip. After he rose from cutting her free he looked down on her menacingly and said, “Don’t get any ideas.”

 

She grit her teeth and stared down as she stood, refusing to let him see her fear. He roughly grabbed her arm and proceeded to rearrange her bonds so that her hands were tied in front of her rather than behind. She had told him before he called Poyraz, “ You won’t win. ” And she was going to fulfill that promise. 

 

He tugged her by the arm to the door and shoved her out. She suspected he was concerned about his call being traced and so wanted to move to a different location. The little abandoned building was on the outskirts of the village, so he was probably also worried about someone hearing her or seeing them. 

 

They walked down a dirt road for a minute before he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed. She prepared herself for another call to Poyraz, but instead the man said a quick, “It’s done.” and hung up.

 

So he hadn’t been working alone. Her fear grew. Sinan was the one who caused Poyraz’s car crash and had threatened Ayten, but it seemed he wasn’t even the biggest player in this game.

 

His tight grip on her arm distracted her thoughts.

 

“Let’s go.” he grumbled as he pulled her toward the woods that surrounded the town.

 

He probably thought he could hide in there, no people around to spot them, no one to hear her scream. But she felt a strange sense of belonging when she stepped in the forest, like the trees extended their branches out to protect her. She at least knew these woods better than Sinan did, but no one knew them as well as Poyraz did. And that gave her the spark of hope she needed to carry on.