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prayed it
wasn’t him but, if not, who was the ski-masked man and why had he taken
her?  And hadn’t she shot him?
    If
his intention was to rape — and possibly kill her — why hadn’t he simply done
so in her house?  Concern over leaving his DNA there?  Or was he was
taking her somewhere that he could take his time with her.  This horrid
notion caused an icy fist to clamp her heart and squeeze it with painful
force.  Chills shivered through her bowels and stomach.
    Still
groggy and disoriented, she lay there for what seemed like ages, the arms
stretched over her head going numb.  Her mouth had long since gone dry and
her tongue scraped around, searching for a trace of moisture.  Despite her
overwhelming fear, the drug in her system soon had her drifting back into an
uneasy, disjointed slumber.
    The
next time she awoke, she swallowed the bitter taste of panic and grunted,
“Mmmph,” in frustration around the ball gag.  “Mmmph!  Mmmph! ”
    At
the sound of a deep, masculine voice from somewhere ahead of her, her heart
knocked against her ribs.  “Just relax,” the voice said.  “We’ll be
there in a little while.”
    Be where in a little while?  And what was going to happen once they
arrived?
    The
vehicle slowed and turned sharply right, inertia shifting her body to the left,
making cold steel bite painfully into her wrists.  Wheels crunched over a
rough and uneven surface she assumed was gravel, and then the vehicle braked to
a stop.  The engine shut off and, in the sudden silence, the pounding of
her heart echoed in her ears.
    Loud
music began blaring, there was movement and shifting somewhere ahead of her,
and then a hand was touching the gag, evidently checking to make sure it was
still secure.  His mouth close to her ear, he said, “I'll be back
shortly.”  There was the sound of a car door opening, then it thumped
closed again, and she was alone.
    While
frantically struggling to free her hands from the cuffs, she screamed
repeatedly.  The gag, however, muted the sound to the point that, even if
someone were standing directly beside the vehicle, they’d never hear her over
the blaring music.
    * * * * *
    Chase pulled into a motor court with a
flashing neon sign that boasted kitchenettes.  A dozen run-down cabins
that had seen better days squatted back off the highway among a grove of
bedraggled trees.  The dearth of cars in the lot made him feel somewhat
better about leaving his target in the vehicle unattended while he checked in.
    In
the office, the red-haired clerk could have been anywhere from thirty to
fifty.  She looked used-up, your basic white trash with makeup that
appeared to have been applied with a trowel.  As he strode to the counter,
she eyed him appreciatively.  He gave her a friendly smile while resisting
the urge to fan his hands at the thick miasma of cigarette smoke and perfume
that hung between them.  “Do you have a vacancy at the far end?”
    She
leaned over the counter, flashing him a generous view of heart-tattooed
cleavage and, in a two-pack-a-day voice, drawled, “Darlin’, all we got is
vacancies.  Will it be just you?”
    He
handed over his fake ID.  “My wife’s with me.”
    The
smile ratcheted down several notches.  “Oh.  Well, that’s too bad.”
    After
he’d filled out the necessary paperwork, she handed him a room key.  “My
name’s Louella.  If you need anything, anything at all, you just
let me know.”
    “Thanks,
Louella.  I’ll do that.”
    He
moved the vehicle to the cabin at the very end, just beyond the neon’s ruby
glow.  Ignoring his target for the moment, he quickly unloaded the two
coolers, the cardboard box full of non-perishables, his duffle bag, and the two
trash bags containing her belongings, and carried them inside.
    * * * * *
    From the sounds and movements around her,
Larissa could tell her kidnapper was unloading the vehicle, but unloading what ? 
The vehicle shifted beneath his weight as he climbed inside, and