Special Forces Father - By Mallory Kane Page 0,52
fumbling and dropping it. The chain that held the two cuffs together was not very long.
“I can’t,” she said truthfully. She wished she were smart and brave enough to trick the man by pretending not to be able to fasten the cuffs, but unfortunately, her fumbling was real.
The man spewed out a string of curses. “Don’t try anything,” he warned. “Do it!”
By some miracle, she managed to get her wrist inside the second cuff and fasten it. It made a flat metallic sound as it locked.
“Now sit over there.” He gestured with the gun barrel. “On the floor next to the TV.”
Kate went over to the TV and knelt on the floor.
“I said sit.”
She rolled sideways, pulling her legs out from under her, then tried to sit up. It was hard with her hands cuffed behind her back. She wiggled around until her back was against the TV cabinet, and watched the man as he disappeared down the hall to search her bedrooms and bathrooms.
As soon as she heard him enter her room, she tried to stand, but again, she was surprised and dismayed at how hard it was to move without the use of her hands. By the time she got to her knees again he was back.
“I told you to sit. What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “My hands are falling asleep.”
“No, they’re not. You haven’t had the cuffs on two minutes yet. Stop horsing around or it won’t go well for the kid.”
With a huge effort, Kate pushed herself to her feet. “Where is Max?” she asked, trying to sound imperious and demanding, but knowing she wasn’t pulling it off. “Did you bring him with you?”
“No,” he said and laughed shortly. “That’s not how it works. You’re going with me. I’m going to do this on my terms. I’m not about to give you any kind of chance to sic the police or your baby-daddy’s family on me.” He let his gaze run from her head down her body to her toes and back up again. “So, Doc, how much money were you able to get?”
“A lot,” she said eagerly. “You’re going to be really happy.”
“Where is it?”
She nodded toward the kitchen. “In my purse,” she said, swallowing the panic that was pushing its way up her throat. For a man like this, who kidnapped people for a living, was $73,000 enough? She felt her throat fluttering with the need to scream or run or do something other than just wait pitifully, while this ghoul held the decision of whether or not she could see her child.
“In there?” He looked at her purse, then reached over and picked it up. “It’s not very heavy, considering. How much can you have in there. Gotta be less than a hundred thousand, right?” He grabbed her phone from the counter. “We’ll take your phone in case I want you to tell your baby-daddy something.”
“You’re not going to check it?”
“Nope.” The man shook his head. “We gotta get out of here. Besides, I’ll be able to squeeze five times that out of the kid’s grandparents. I’m hoping they’ll be willing to pay more for you and the kid together.” He gave her the once-over again. “Then again, maybe not.”
His flat words and the leer in his gaze chilled Kate to the bone. What had she been thinking, trying to handle this on her own?
He grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the kitchen counter. “Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do.” He unlocked the cuff around her right hand. Then he pulled something out of his shirt pocket, while he picked up the glass she’d left on the drain board. “I want you to swallow this. Here. Get some water.”
“What is this?” she demanded, studying the small tablet the kidnapper showed her. She couldn’t identify it.
“You don’t know? It’s a sedative. A very fast-acting one. About five or so minutes after you take it, you’ll start feeling really drowsy. You should just go with it. You’re not going to get to find out where we’re going, anyhow. But if you swallow the pill, you can ride in the backseat. If you won’t, I’m going to put you in the trunk. Do you understand?”
For a brief instant she considered refusing. He’d have to force her out to the car. She could fight and maybe attract attention from the neighbors. Maybe one of them would call the police. But as soon as that thought entered her head, she rejected