Chapter 1
Jana
Fuck, why does my head hurt so much?
As I open my eyes, I realize it's because the kidnapping wasn’t a nightmare. It’s real—a living nightmare. I've been in this cabin for what seems like forever. They’ve drugged me here and there, but I think it's been two or three days.
I returned from visiting my best friend, Hope, and her boyfriend, Cash, who lives on the mountain. I live in an apartment above the cafe in the grocery store where I'm the general manager. The parking lot is behind the building, and I was pulling my keys out of my purse when I was grabbed from behind. I remember the pinprick on my arm before everything went black, and I woke up in this cabin.
Of all the sick and twisted things, the people who kidnapped me are Hope's mom and her boyfriend. They've been trying for days to get information out of me. They wanted me to call Hope and have her meet me somewhere so they could kidnap her, but I refused.
The first time I refused, the boyfriend took a baseball bat to my ankle. To say it hurt like hell would be an understatement. Since then, I've been starved and hit in the head, and they've stomped on my injured foot several times. The last time I refused to speak, they burned my arm with one of their cigarettes.
A quick look around the cabin reveals I'm alone, which means they’re outside or in the other room going at it like rabbits, which is how they seem to spend their free time. So once again, I work on freeing my hands strapped behind me.
I only get a few minutes before Hope's mom walks in, and the boyfriend is right behind her. They're high on something, though I have no idea what. I can see it in their eyes and behavior because they never sleep.
Her mom walks over and shoves a piece of bread in my mouth. I try to chew as fast as possible because they take it away if I take too long. Once I finally swallow it, they tip my head back and pour some water into my mouth. Not enough to keep me hydrated, but enough to wash the bread down.
"We've come up with a great plan, and your friend Hope will be joining you here shortly." The boyfriend laughs.
My mind races. I have to get out of here. If they take Hope, at least Cash will come for her, but no one's coming for me.
If Hope knew I was here, she and Cash would come after me in an instant. But it’s not unusual for us to go several days without talking, so they won’t be missing me yet.
"All right, doll, it's time for you to take another nap." The boyfriend reaches into his bag.
Thankfully, when they drugged me, they only used a needle that first time. Since then, they've been putting something in the water they give me. It tastes disgusting, but I'm pretty sure it's sleep medication—a strong dose that works whether I want it to or not.
When he's done mixing, he looks at me and smiles. Thank God for small miracles—at least they're not torturing me today.
"Drink up, doll. When you wake up, your friend will be here. Won't that be a treat?" he asks in an overly excited voice.
I don't want to drink, but it’s not worth fighting them. I do as I’m told, and the room grows hazy before it goes black.
The next time I open my eyes, I see a chair a few feet away. Hope is strapped to it with her hands taped behind her back.
"Hope, wake up," I call.
We’re alone. We may have a chance if we can get out of our bindings.
"Hope!" I call again, but this time, it brings her mom and the boyfriend from outside.
"Shut up, you mangy bitch," the boyfriend growls.
He takes something from his bag, and before I know it, he's shoving the cloth into my mouth and tying it behind my head.
Dammit.
All I can do is sit and wait until Hope wakes up. It seems like forever before she starts to stir, and when she opens her eyes, she looks right at me. I try to convey everything with a look, but I don't think she understands me.
"Shit," she whispers.
I almost roll my eyes because that’s an understatement.
She moves, trying to free her arms and legs, which are bound like mine.
"Oh, good, you're awake." Her mom steps into the room and shoves a gag into Hope's mouth.
My mom had her issues, but good Lord, what kind of mom treats her daughter like this? As she shoves the gag into her mouth, Hope tries to yell out. I don't blame her. I'd fight every step of the way, too, and I did.
"Told you to do this the easy way, and none of this would have happened," her mom says in a fake disappointed voice, making my stomach churn. She has no right to be disappointed in anybody right now.
"So, you're both probably wondering about the plan now, aren't you?" the boyfriend asks.
I don't know his name, nor do I care to learn it.
"If you’d handed over the money when your mother asked the first time, we would’ve taken it and been on our merry little way. We would’ve been in Mexico now, and you never would’ve heard from us again. But since you refused and moved so rudely without a forwarding address, we had to use your friend here to figure out where you were. That part wasn't too hard, as you might have guessed. I’ve had eyes on you for a long time."
The footprints at the edge of the woods that Cash was tracking were him? I know it was driving Cash and Hope nuts figuring out who was watching them at the cabin when the footprints suddenly disappeared. Hope thought it was a hiker, especially since the one picture they got on the hunting camera was of a guy in a sweatshirt.
Looking at the boyfriend now, I guess I can see the resemblance.
"Of course, I was a little sloppy, which made it hard to find a way to get you alone. That's where your friend here came in. We were going to use her as bait to get you out here by yourself. The perfect opportunity opened up today when we saw you were alone." He smiles that creepy smile as he starts to eat whatever food he’s made.
"Now that we have you, we’ll ransom you to your mega-rich boyfriend, and for a bonus price, he can also have your friend here." Her mom smiles like she’s a freaking 1950s housewife.
"I think we'll wait till tomorrow to make the call. Let him sweat it out. I bet we get more money for her that way," the boyfriend says as he walks over and pulls the gag from Hope's mouth.
"It's hilarious you two think you're going to make it out of this alive," Hope says with an evil smile.
Her smile is met with a slap across the cheek from the boyfriend, but she doesn't even flinch. It's like she felt nothing, and her smile doesn’t falter. I've never seen this side of Hope before, but she's one bad bitch.
"You’re the biggest piece of shit I've ever met and a horrible mother. You can't die from a drug overdose soon enough," Hope spits at her mom before the boyfriend slaps her other cheek. Again, she barely flinches.
"I raised you, and you owe me this," her mother says.
"I owe you for what? Starving me?"
Her mother slaps Hope this time, but she stays strong.
That’s also when the front door bursts open as someone slams into it. Cash explodes into the cabin with his dog, Hank, on his heels. "Lay another hand on her, and I’ll kill you both."
I knew Cash would come for Hope. They have a bond, a connection. There's no doubt they're soulmates. They’re meant to be together, and there’s no way he would let them take Hope without a fight.
Before anyone can speak, the back door flies open, and three large men step through. Cash's friend Axel is first, who detains Hope's mom by slamming her to the floor with a knee in her back.
Next comes Bennett, another of Cash's mountain men friends, who tackles the boyfriend in much the same way.
A man I’ve never met walks in behind him. He has a big scar on the side of his face. Cash, Axel, and Bennett are tight, and if they trust this man, I will too.
He walks in and scans the room. His eyes lock on mine. It’s like that moment everyone describes where time seems to stand still, and there's no one but him and me in the room. All the pain from my injuries disappears when his intense gaze is on me.
He breaks eye contact, and his gaze runs over the rest of my body. Taking a few steps across the room, he stops in front of me and drops to his knees. He gently removes the gag from my mouth and pulls a knife from his boot to cut my legs free. Reaching behind me, he cuts the tape from my arms. His hands are gentle as he moves my arms and places my hands in my lap.
"The cops are on the way. I'll check their bag and see if we can figure out what they gave them," Axel says once Hope's mom and the boyfriend are tied up.
The man, whose name I still don't know, runs his hands up and down my arms as if he's trying to warm me up. The more he does it, the more the sensation returns.
I'm aware of people talking around me, but I hear nothing of what they say while this man's hands are on me. After a moment, he stands and offers me his hand. I take it and try to stand for the first time in days, but the moment I put weight on my legs, they give out. Pain shoots up my leg from where the boyfriend took a bat to my ankle.
The mountain man wastes no time picking me up bridal style and looking over at Cash. "Let's take them to the road and wait for the cops so they don't have to be around these two assholes."
Cash nods, and just like that, this hulk of a mountain man carries me out of the cabin. I have no idea what his name is, but I feel safer with him than I have in a long time.
That's the moment I realize I'm in trouble.
