The Assignment

Chapter 19

I struggled for what seemed like hours as the dark haired man dragged me to the Cadillac. I jerked and kicked and tried desperately to apply what I remembered of my uncle's self-defense training, but it was no use. The second man who had chased us through the neighborhood hopped out of the SUV to assist his partner while Cadillac Man sat behind the wheel, waiting. I screamed for help, hoping, praying that a real police officer would hear me, but one of my captors quickly slapped a calloused hand over my mouth to muffle me.

With one man grabbing my flailing legs, and the other keeping a firm hold on my arms and torso, they hurled me into the back of the Cadillac and the dark haired man made quick work of wrapping masking tape around my ankles and over my mouth. He proceeded to tape my already cuffed wrists, too. I continued wriggling with all my might until he slammed the trunk shut. But I wasn't about to admit defeat. I had to find a way out of there.

I surveyed the inside of the vehicle. The carpet was filthy, which didn't surprise me a bit. Beside me sat a pile of rope, a bag of cable ties, three rolls of masking tape, and an empty water bottle.

Cadillac Man floored the accelerator, tires squealing as we drove away. I was tossed back and forth in the trunk with every fast turn the vehicle made. The water bottle was jolted up and hit my arm when we ran over a curb. I was thankful it was empty, or that might not have felt too good.

I could hear the men talking as we drove, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. They'd fixed a separating wall inside the vehicle, a barrier between the trunk and the rest of the Escalade. I couldn't see them either, but I wondered if they could see me. The separator resembled the blackened window in the police station interrogation room.

I rolled onto my back, scooting up against the separator. The glass-like material was cold and I shivered. I tried to keep my cool and continued scanning my surroundings. I was surprised they'd had yet to ditch this vehicle. The bullet holes and dents were so obvious. Cadillac Man was pretty damn brazen to push his luck like that. The police were probably looking for the Escalade after viewing the security footage from Marty's Car Mart – that is, unless they'd had time to alter that tape, too, the same way they'd apparently doctored the footage from Ron's shooting range. If they were capable of doing all that, it made me cringe at the thought of what else they might be able to get away with.

I stayed lying down against the barrier, not wanting them to see me, if they could. I was humiliated enough already and this was the closest thing I had to hiding in a dark hole for the time being. The windows were so heavily tinted; I could only see through the bullet holes.

Finally, the Cadillac rolled to a stop. I could hear muffled laughter and the doors slamming when the men filed out of the vehicle. I held my position, trying to stay as far back as I could. I expected the dark haired man to lift the hatch any second and snatch me up again. Although my ankles were bound, I fully intended to fling my legs every which way. With any luck, I might kick one of them in the balls.

I strained to listen, trying to guess when they would come for me, but I couldn't hear their voices anymore. What was going on? I could hear traffic. Lots of traffic. And some sort of clicking sound like the clap that gas pumps make when they finish fueling.

I sat up, awkwardly scooting on my knees toward the back window. Peeking out through one of the bullet holes, I could see that we'd stopped at a gas station. There didn't appear to be any of my captors around, though. They must've left the Cadillac to fuel up while they went inside the convenience store.

I was alone. Now was my chance to do something – anything – to get free!

My eyes darted around the trunk again but there was nothing that could unbind my limbs. Then I took another look at the bullet riddled window. There was a hole that had cracked the glass just right, leaving a sharp, pointy opening. It was a long shot, given the short amount of time I had to escape before they returned, but it was worth a try.