He tried to throw her into the van, but she fought him. Her cheek burned when it scraped the edge of the door while she was forced up against it. Her body cried out in pain when someone heavy pinned her against the van, smashing her pack against her back.
Air left her lungs in a rush, chasing away the scream as she tried to catch her breath.
Panic seared her senses as she struggled, kicked, and fought the holds of the two men—a big bruiser and the thug driver. Bruiser grabbed her where the healing bullet wound was. The pain was so great that stars sparked in her mind.
For an instant Thug took his hand off of her mouth and she found her voice. He clapped a big hand over her mouth again.
Keri bit the dirty hand. Thug shouted and jerked it back.
She screamed as loud as she could. Thug slapped her so hard her vision blurred, cutting her off in mid-scream.
Keri started to scream again, but Thug grabbed her around the throat and started choking her.
“Don’t kill the bitch,” Bruiser said. “Carter will take you out.”
“The bitch bit me,” Thug growled.
“Big fucking deal.” Bruiser climbed into the front seat. “Let’s go, shithead.”
Terror ripped through her. Adam wasn’t here and she couldn’t fight off two big men. She struggled and struggled, but couldn’t get free.
“Put her in,” she heard Bruiser say. “Hurry.”
She felt herself being lifted. Through the light streaming into the rear of the van from a streetlight, she saw a large open storage trunk.
In the next moment she was dropped in on her back, the pack smashed between her and the floor of the trunk. The heavy lid slammed shut. She heard it being latched and then faint, muffled voices.
When the lid was closed, terror ran even more rampant through her as complete darkness enveloped her. She had to fight to slow her breathing. To not panic in the cramped space.
“Did you get her cell phone?” Bruiser said. “It’s lying on the ground.”
They had her. Edward had her and he was going to follow through with his threats.
Keri coughed as she tried to calm herself down. She couldn’t just give up.
She was locked in a trunk. How was she going to get out of this?
Tires squealed and the car shot forward. Keri’s head hit the side of the trunk and her injured arm was squeezed between her and the trunk wall. Her mind spun from the pain.
If only she had her cell phone. Some way to contact Adam.
Her mind went through all the possibilities, which were no possibilities. She didn’t have anything sharp to protect herself with.
She was tossed around with the movement of the van.
Her pack hurt her back as she lay on it.
Marcy’s cell phone. The girl was always texting or calling someone and Keri had had to make the girl put the phone away more than once. The thing was normally glued to Marcy’s fingertips but today she’d actually forgotten it.
The space in the trunk was so cramped Keri could barely move. She struggled to get to the backpack and was barely able to take it off in the close quarters. She tried to rush, knowing that they could get to their destination at any moment, wherever that might be.
The more she rushed, the more she fumbled. She forced herself to take a deep breath and slow down. Her hands shook as she unhooked the top of the pack and pulled at the drawstring to stretch it out. She reached in and groped inside for the girl’s cell phone.
She could barely keep her hands steady. Sounds of traffic were loud. A ship blew its horn. From it and the loudness of the traffic she guessed they were about to go over the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan.
Keri dug through her pack and finally clasped her hand over what felt like a cell phone. She drew it out and flipped it open. Immediately the glow of the phone lit up the almost pure darkness of the trunk.
For a second she clasped it to her chest, silently thanking Marcy.
The backlight on the phone went dim. Keri pressed a button and it lit up again. She started to dial Adam’s phone number when she saw the battery was almost dead.
She rushed to complete the call, praying he would answer this time.
“Boyd,” came his voice.
Keri almost sobbed with relief. “Adam,” she said into the phone, “they’ve got me, Edward’s men, and they locked me in a storage trunk and I found my student’s cell phone and I don’t know where they’re taking—”
“Keri, I can barely hear you.” Panic was in his voice, then she heard the cop side of him take over. “It’ll be okay. I’ll get you. Tell me where you are.”
“I don’t know.” She could hear the near hysteria in her voice. “No, wait.” Calm down, Keri, Calm down. “I think we’re going over the Brooklyn Bridge,” she said, trying to catch her breath.
“I’m not far,” Adam said and she heard the slam of a vehicle door. “Stay on the phone with me. I will find you.”
“Okay.” Keri nodded, bumping her head against the side of the trunk again.
“Tell me what happened.” Adam was trying to stay calm for her and it was helping her panic to ease.
Keri told him how the men had grabbed her in front of Marcy’s apartment and that she had heard one of them refer to “Carter.”
She heard the curse in Adam’s voice even as he held it back for her.
“Whatever you do, don’t shut off the phone. When you notice your surroundings try and describe as best you can where you are. You got that, honey?” he said.
“Yes.” She looked up
