GOLD RIVER (Book 1)

Chapter 4

An hour later, at a private airstrip in the middle of a lush countryside, the two men forced Kate and her daughter aboard a Gulf Stream jet at gunpoint—the plane bound for God knows where. Her thoughts swirled around in her head. Her mind kept trying to convince herself that none of this was real. But she knew that wasn't true. She took a nervous breath through her nose, exhaled through her mouth.

She gripped the plush armrests. In the seat next to her, she looked at her daughter's wavy brown hair, her reddened, watery eyes. Then her gaze shifted to the man who kidnapped them and his creepy sidekick with the jet-black hair slithering over the collar of his low riding turtleneck shirt.

"My apology for failing to introduce myself," the man with the raspy voice said, adjusting his bright yellow tie under his vest. His jacket was folded over the back of the seat in front of him. "But we were pressed for time. I'm—"

"You didn't have to kill her."

"Excuse me?"

"My daughter's nanny. She was a good person. She had a family, a husband, children." Hot tears burned Kate's eyes and flowed down her cheeks. "And you just killed her like her life was nothing. Like you have the right to murder people."

"Sorry, but that was collateral damage, Ms. Lockhart. Besides, I didn't kill her, Crow did. Take your frustration out on him, but I'll warn you, he doesn't play nice."

If her daughter wasn't sitting next to her, she would've been tempted to launch herself at her captor. See how well he took her nails raked across his face; his head beat to a pulp with her bare hands. Even more to her dismay, his fiendish ghoul of a partner hadn't spoken one word in her presence. Not a single syllable. Not a grunt or a sigh. Nothing.

"What kind of bloody name is Crow?"

No response from Crow himself. He sat there, staring with his dark, disturbing eyes. A faint smile creased his lips, a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth.

As much as she detested the man in the tailored suit, she couldn't bear to look at Crow any longer. "So, what's your name? You were about to tell me."

"Everyone calls me, Benson."

"Do you kill them if they call you something else?"

"No. Crow does that for me."

She glanced at Benson's partner.

"I'm joking. You can call me what you want, but I prefer Benson."

"Where are you taking us?"

"Two stops, in Miami and Mexico City to refuel, and then on to Ecuador."

"Why on God's green Earth would we go there?"

"A recent discovery."

"What kind of discovery?"

Benson raised a hand. "Slow down, Ms. Lockhart. We have a long flight, and I need a few winks."

"Of all the people in England to nab, why us?"

He wrinkled his forehead and sighed wearily. "Because of your expertise in ancient history... and because you used to work with Tom Logan."

Her heart beat faster, more intense with the mention of that name. "What does any of this have to do with him?"

"When we land in Ecuador, you'll be told all you need to know. Until then, sit back and relax. I think your anxiety is making your daughter nervous."

Kate wanted to lash out with a few words of profanity but held her tongue, anger simmering on the inside. Her daughter had no business hearing what she was about to call that Benson character.