“Spoilsport—we’re near tons of good land!” Kylie told him. “Okay, a bit of a drive, but doable.”
In the stables, Raina paused again to speak to and assure Wild Thing and Andrew’s sturdy and dependable buckskin, Jacob.
Then Raina ducked into the tack room to disrobe and don the little blue dress that had started it all.
Axel stood just outside the door to the tack room, waiting with Kylie.
After a while, he grew anxious and he opened the door.
Raina was clad in the dress. Standing barefoot, she was staring straight ahead at Axel and Kylie, but not “at” them at all. She was seeing something distant, something they could not begin to fathom.
At Axel’s side, Titan whined softly.
Axel reached for her hand, then hesitated. She still didn’t see him.
“It’s all right. I think. This is the blind leading the blind,” Kylie said softly. “Take her hand, lead her out here with us. We can have her sit on the grain chest over there and be next to her.”
Axel grasped Raina’s hand and led her over to the grain chest, easing her down to sit, and went on his knees before her. Kylie stood just behind him.
Titan found a position by Axel, setting his nose on Raina’s knee. Her eyes didn’t change, but she set her free hand on the dog’s head.
“She didn’t scream this time,” Axel commented.
“In my experience, you stop screaming once your mind kind of accepts what’s going on,” Kylie said softly. Then she spoke in an even, level tone to Raina.
“Raina, it’s Kylie. You’re safe. You’re with Axel and me. We’re in the stables. Titan is here and the horses are here and Jon and Nigel and Andrew are just inside the house. Whatever you see, it isn’t where you are. But it’s good to see what you see. Can you talk to me?” Kylie asked.
“Yes,” Raina said.
“What are you seeing? Remember, you’re with us. You’re safe. But we need to know what you’re seeing. To try to help.”
Raina nodded, again, doing so without her eyes changing. She stared straight ahead.
She didn’t blink. “Right now...” She paused.
“What?”
“I see Jennifer. She’s happy, she’s excited, and she’s feeling daring. She’s trying on the dress for a special occasion. She likes it. She thinks she’ll buy it, but she’ll wait. She’ll check her finances. She’ll make sure that...”
“That?” Kylie prompted softly.
“That he’ll be there. She likes him. And she knows he likes her. She’s been hurt before. She means to be careful...”
Her words broke off.
“Raina?” Axel said softly.
“It’s growing dark. It’s night. She was so happy. She saw him. She knew she’d see him again. And she’s hurrying and she’s careless and she doesn’t see...”
“See what?” he asked her quietly.
“What’s coming around from the side of her house. The person. So dark. Because there’s no face. It’s all dark and then...
“Then the bag. The burlap bag over her head. And even while she’s terrified, she’s still thinking it has to be a joke. Her coworkers, trying to surprise her, trying to make her have fun. They don’t think she gets out enough. Still, she tries to scream. She can’t. She can barely breathe. Her scream is just a sound, so weak. And she isn’t strong enough to save herself from being dragged. Her hands are tied and she’s suddenly in the back of the car, and she wonders if it’s him...”
“Him as in Jordan Rivera?” Axel asked.
“Yes. Whoever it is, he’s tall. Tall and strong and...”
“Jordan?” Axel said.
Raina slowly shook her head. “No. She can’t see him, but she knows. It isn’t Jordan. It can’t be Jordan.”
“How does she know?” Kylie asked.
Again, Raina shook her head slowly. Her eyes remained staring straight ahead. Wide open.
Still unblinking.
“Because she knows how Jordan smells. No cologne or aftershave. Nothing bad. Just something unique that is Jordan. And this isn’t Jordan.”
“Can she sense anything? See anything? Is it definitely a man?” Axel asked.
“She’s trying to tell. The person who took her, she doesn’t know, but she does know someone else is driving. She tries to cry out, make someone in another car see her. No one does. No one stops them. She tries to tell herself it’s a prank, that it’s all going to be okay, and then...”
Neither Kylie or Axel spoke.
Titan whined softly.
Raina’s hand moved automatically over his head.
“She is terrified. She’s being dragged out of the car. She feels high, wet grass all around her ankles. She can smell the earth and its rich aroma and the ground is soft, muddy or mucky.