Chapter Twenty Two

Darkness wrapped its arms around her like a cold, soaked blanket.

Fear gripped her, cold sweat trickled down her face and neck, sticking the thin bedclothes to her chest. Annie had forgotten that was all she wore: a flimsy black top and a silky pajama bottom. Even her feet were bare, despite how she hated sleeping with socks covering her feet, she wished she’d put them on. Annie felt exposed.

She must have dozed off during the ride to wherever the kidnappers were taking her. She blinked rapidly to clear the sleep from her eyes and waited for a few seconds to let her pupils adjust to the blackness.

Since being thrown into the back of the van, Annie had no inkling of the time passed. It could have been hours. Days. Weeks? She breathed hard, each heavy, desperate breath piercing the silence, rasping in her ears mixing with her pounding heart.

Don’t be ridiculous. No way in hell all that time had gone by. Be calm.

She felt disoriented and sore; her bruised body ached from head to toe. Her mouth felt as though a handful of cotton balls were stuffed inside, any sudden movement, it felt like her head would explode.

Annie knew she had to find another position to feel comfortable. Her back pressed to the hard metal of vehicle and her ass ached from sitting so long on the hard floor of the van. Her legs had long fallen asleep probably the same time Reon did.

Annie ran her hands over her son’s back and when she felt the steady movement of his breathing, a veil of relief fell over her, comforting her so she couldn’t complain.

As her eyes became accustomed to the darkness, she tried to make out her surroundings. There was nothing she could see; it was too dark. Sighing, Annie felt her way around, but the vehicle chose the same time to slip into a pothole.

The severity of it caused her backside to lift off the floor only plopped back down hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs. Annie’s hands flailed out, grabbing for something to hold on to. Her elbow came into contact with what felt like a cardboard box jarring her funny bone. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Reon whimpered and moved in her arms; she laid a small kiss on his velvety soft cheek, willing heart rate to calm down. She held him closer and breathed in his powdery baby scent.

With nothing else to do, she closed her eyes. If only she could find a weapon. That was her last thought until...

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“Mama?”

The soft sound of Reon’s baby voice sounded far away. I’m here baby. She tried to say, but her mouth didn’t utter the words.

“Mama?” Reon’s voice trembled. His little fingers roaming everywhere: tugging on her top. Reaching for her face.

Why couldn’t she answer her baby? Her energy had completely depleted. Annie had no strength remaining. Her mind cried out for her to stay alert. That she couldn’t give up. Reon needed her.

The piercing sound of Reon’s wail was the ideal bucket of ice water to jerk her from her sluggish embrace.

“I’m here baby. I’m sorry; mommy’s here. Please don’t cry.” She murmured snuggling him closer.

When she got Reon to settle down, she realized something wasn’t right. The van had stopped moving. Annie scrubbed at her eyes as her heart leaped into her throat. She wondered what happened. A squeak left her mouth when she heard a door slammed and footsteps pounded away.

Eyes wide, breath stalled and arms secured around her son, she braced herself for when the door came flying open. She waited but the door never budge.

She swallowed nervously. The ponding of her heart slowed a little, but she didn’t let her guard down. Annie cocked her head to the side when she heard voices.

Should she call out for help?

Suddenly, a sharp light shot into the van. Annie had to shield her face from the glare. Her eyes watered. She kept Reon’s face pressed to her chest. He protested but she held him steady.

A hand latched onto her leg and jerked her forward. Her head snapped back from the assault but she bit her tongue from crying out. Annie winced when she felt something hard shoved into her side.

“Make any sudden movement and I’ll blast you into the next year,” Rotten breath growled in her ear. “Now, step down slowly and stand still.”

Annie followed the instructions while her heart disowned her. Now, that her eyes became used to the glare, she glanced around hoping to figure out where they’d taken her.

The sunlight weighed heavily on her exposed skin. She did her best to shield Reon from the brutal onslaught.

“Move bitch.” The man dug the gun deeper into her skin. That would bruise.

A deep voice followed, “Don’t make a sound.”

With a quick nod, she walked. Her bare feet scraped over the hard road. Pebbles bit into her toes and the sides of her feet, but she didn’t let that slow her down. She had to stay alive.

As the walkway neared, a huge iron gate came into view. Annie stumbled; her legs felt like jello.

“Put some pepper in your steps; we haven’t all day.” The man nudged her with the gun.

Annie urged herself to move faster. She knew the bottoms of her feet were raw by now. She was so tired and hungry. It had surprised her Reon hadn’t bawled for his bottle. Well, she had to thank the straps of her top for that. His little mouth was having a feast. Once or twice she would feel his little teeth grazing her shoulder.

Annie didn’t want to stop him for fear was deep in her heart. If he cried, the kidnappers would get angry and might hurt him and that was something to avoid at all cost.

They led her up a pathway towards a large stone front house. The sides were wooden and painted in white. Huge tinted glass windows stood proudly on both sides.

Annie felt goosebumps appeared on her skin. She felt chilled. Windows, doors and all other exits had iron grills covering them. It was like a prison. Annie wanted to bolt. She wanted to get away from this place. Faraway.

It’s fear, her subconscious whispered into her head. It scared Annie out of her pants to enter. She hoped inside wasn’t as creepy as the outside, but she wouldn’t bet on it.

She clutched Reon closer. He needed changing. Perhaps she could ask one of them to get some diapers. Are you crazy?

She opened her mouth to ask but slammed it closed when she saw the look on tattoo man’s face. She changed her mind immediately.

It was that scary.

He knocked once on the huge steel door. A beep sounded then a click. What the hell?

A powerfully built mack truck of a man stepped into the open with a scowl etched on his weathered face. What’s his problem?

He wore all black with a gun strapped to his thigh and a large army knife in his hands.

“It’s about time, the boss has a stick so far up his ass I can see it through his eyes,” mack truck belted out.

Tattoo man giggled. What in the...

Annie looked up at the mack truck then back at tattoo man. Yup. Definitely, something’s happening here.

If she wasn’t so scared she would have burst out laughing.

“Would you two get a room already? Bloody cocksucker.”

Mr. Bloodthirsty glared at tattoo man.

“What’s your deal? Do you have a problem with us being together?” Mack truck growled. Eyes turned into in slits, he walked towards her kidnapper.

Oh, no. Shit just hit the fan. Annie wanted to be anywhere but here. She would give anything to see mack truck pound that monster into dust.

Annie stepped back, but the gun pressed into her back stopped her cold.

“Look, I need to get this bitch in there. And as for if I have a problem, I don’t give a fuck about who you’re fucking, just get the hell out of my way.”

Her kidnapper shoved mack truck out of the way and pushed her through the door. He led her deeper into the house. It was eerily quiet. Annie heard no movement nor saw anyone else.

Oh, God!

The fear she felt increased right away. A door on the far right was ajar. From the corner of her eyes, she saw a figure lying prone on a bed. She sucked in a breath when she saw it was a woman.

“Get in!” he shouted starling her.

Her kidnapper shoved her into a room. Annie stumbled but righted herself before she hit the ground.

“Don’t make a sound.”

Annie was shaking so badly. She prayed he didn’t notice. The room had a tiny bed and one window that was so small, Reon couldn’t even go through. The walls were bare and on the far side of the room, there was a toilet, a sink, and a discolored bathtub.

Ew.

“If you try to leave I’ll pop two into your head and one into the brat,” the man barked, bursting into her thoughts like a hurricane. He waved the gun in her face then spun on his heels and left the room, slamming the door in the process

He never looked back.

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