Chapter Twenty-One

I wake up to the smell of leather and my car, mixed with the aroma of fresh rain. I feel groggy and weak; my limbs lifeless and lethargic. My skull is pounding with the world’s worst hangover I’ve ever experienced in my life. How much did I drink? Blinking a few times, I try to get my eyes to focus. It’s so dark I can’t see at first. Finally my eyes adjust to the night’s thick darkness and I realize I’m lying in the backseat of my Audi. Jacob is sitting up front in my passenger seat, and it’s hard to see…but I think Zak is in the driver’s seat.

I go to speak, but I have the worst cotton mouth of my life. My throat is so parched that I can barely make an audible sound. Panic instantly fills my veins when I realize my hands and ankles are bound. Glancing down at my hands, I try not to draw attention to myself. I see a white zip tie is tight around my wrists and another around my ankles binding them together.

My head is spinning and I can feel tears welling up in my eyes. What the hell is going on? Why am I tied up in the back of my car? Why would Jacob and Zak do this to me?

I lie perfectly still, God help me...I don’t think I will be able to move. My body is frozen with shock and confusion. Jacob is talking to Zak, and I’m even more mind-fucked by what he’s saying. He just told Zak that Kayden texted them back on my phone, saying he will have ten million dollars wired to their offshore account within the next hour.

He’s driving home from the office now and will text them back when the transfer is complete. They are holding me for ransom? Are they going to kill me? I thought this entire time these two were my friends. Now I’m finding out I’m their easy ticket to millions of dollars? Anger is now running rampant throughout me; I swallow my saliva a few times until I’m finally able to speak.

“You won’t get away with this, Jacob. If you needed money all you had to do was ask; not fucking kidnap me!” I try to shout, but it only comes out as a low whisper.

Jacob jumps in his seat at the sound of my voice. “Fuck Zak! She’s already awake!” He turns to look back at me, and I can see panic in his eyes. “You said the drug we used would knock her out for hours, not forty fucking minutes!”

I can’t believe they drugged me, which explains why they were drinking beer, and not the wine. They spiked the wine? I knew it was odd how drunk I was feeling just after a few glasses. My fear is heightening as everything unfolding becomes very clear to me. Jacob see’s the fear written all over my face.

“You drugged me?” I just stare at him with tears finally escaping my eyes. They feel like acid burning my skin as they roll down my face.

“She was supposed to be out for hours; only thing I can think of is she didn’t drink enough. I told you putting it into the wine bottle wasn’t going to work unless she drank the whole thing. There was still quarter of a bottle left when we chucked it in the dumpster down at that Quick-E-Mart.”

Glancing back at me again, Jacob rakes his hands through his hair. “Bloody hell, everything’s fucked up now, she wasn’t supposed to wake up yet! This fucks up everything!”

I am so confused. Did they think they could kidnap me, get their money and go back to their everyday lives? No one would know it was them?

“You can’t be that stupid to actually believe me being passed out the whole time or awake, that Kayden won’t figure out it was you two! When he finds you, and he will, he’s going to kill you! I trusted you guys….” A sob escapes me, “how could you do this to me?”

Realization dawns on me, resulting in my complete breakdown. Hysteria hits me, as my sobs rain uncontrollably, loosing myself to the panic with my insuppressible cries.

“Kayden thinks we tucked you into bed after having too much wine, and then went home. As far as anyone will think, someone broke into your house and took you. There’s no evidence that will point to us, we’ve been communicating the entire time with him on your cell phone.” Zak says looking back at me with a smug look on his face. He thinks he has this all planned out perfectly.

“The plan was to get our money, dump you off somewhere and send a text telling Knox where to find you, and then we would disappear. Everyone knows we’re driving back to California tomorrow, so us not being home isn’t going to draw any attention to us. We’ve been the model friends to you this entire month. Now that you’ve woken up before we can dispose of you, our plan is fucked.”

“What the hell are we going to do Zak? We can run to Mexico, but that means living a life on the run. She can I.D. us to the cops!” Cracks begin to show in their carefully laid plan; my guess is that Zak is the mastermind behind all of this.

“If you guys bring me back to my house and call this whole ransom off, I’ll forget this ever happened. I can give you guys’ money, please just bring me home…” My chest is shaking from my cries, I don’t want to die.

I had dreams of running a magazine, getting married, having children with Kayden. Oh my god…Kayden. I love him so much. This will kill him; he’ll end up blaming himself. He trusted them as much as I did. My parents…I won’t ever get to tell them how much they mean to me. I’m eternally grateful for them being the best mom and dad they could be. Especially with everything I’ve had to endure over these last few months.

“We have no other choice but to kill her Jacob, I don’t like it any more than you do, but we can’t risk her going to the cops. We’ve done everything to make this plan foolproof…one fucking thing! You had one. Goddamn. Thing to do! Get the drugs in her system, so she’d be out long enough to get our fuckin’ money! Damn it!” Zak starts pounding my steering wheel with his fists.

I flinch witnessing the anger burst out of him, taking over his features.

Hearing the words stream from his mouth makes all my fears a terrifying reality. This is it; this is how I will spend my last moments alive. Tied up and murdered by two men I foolishly trusted.

I think of Kayden, which only makes more tears overflow, picturing him right now in a state of panic, doing everything he can to comply with their demands in order to ensure my safe return.

That gives me a sliver of hope to hold onto that we’ll be reunited again. The odds are slim to none, but I can’t give up. Stupid or not, I have to believe Kayden will do anything to get me back.

We only had a month together, but I will cherish that month we shared until my last breath and beyond. Kayden gave me the best four weeks of my life; loving me unconditionally, heart and soul, every single day.

My father will never have the chance to walk me down the aisle to give me away to Kayden. I hold my zip-tied hands over my stomach feeling the ache deep in the pit of my stomach, knowing I will never experience the joy of feeling our baby’s first kick, or that breathtaking moment when I hold my child for the first time.

I’ll never have the chance to experience motherhood. I can’t help but think of my mother, she’ll never have the chance to be a grandmother.

The image of Brooklyn pops into my mind, my best friend, I’ll never see her get married nor have children. We dreamed of raising our kids together. Having them be best friends just like us. She always laughed and said that would happen, only if Jared Leto would agree to marry her. She could never picture herself settling down and becoming a housewife.

Through my sorrow I smile, my tears falling over my lips. Even in the face of death, thousands of miles away, she still has the ability to bring me sunshine on a rainy day. Brooklyn puts on a show for the world, acting like a tough chick, but I know my best friend better than she knows herself. I see the real her from the inside out. She wants that life, too; she just feels she will never find a guy who will love her the way Kayden loves me.

I close my eyes taking calming breaths, trying to restrain my wayward emotions. I need to think. What can I do to get out of this alive? I will not allow my life to end this way. I need to snap out of this pity party in my head.

My father raised me better than this. When you get knocked down, you have to get back up. I was raised to never give up. They want money; I can give them money and let them go. I will gladly let them go and never say a word. If it means I live, then I don’t give a flying fuck if they flee the country. They’re too panicked and paranoid to accept that offer. I need to formulate another plan.

Trying my best to wipe the tears away from my eyes, I look around the back seat. My head has been in such a fog between the drugs they gave me, and the full blown panic attack I’ve been having, I haven’t been trying to think of a way to escape. A streetlight illuminates the car momentarily, making something twinkle under the driver’s seat.

That’s it! I forgot all about my pistol! Thank you Daddy for insisting I always keep one in my car. My dad has been taking me to the firing range since I was five years old. I have the best shot out of any of my cousins. I use to spend every fall season hunting with my grandpa, dad, uncles and cousins.

Now the only problem is how do I get my gun out from under the seat, without them noticing? My Audi isn’t the roomiest thing on the planet; even the slightest move may draw attention to me in the backseat. I have to remain patient and wait for the perfect opportunity.

A full blown argument is taking place between Zak and Jacob over how and where to kill me. Hearing them talk about where to get rid of my body when they’re done with me sends fear coursing through my entire body.

I feel like vomiting, all the contents of my stomach are rising to my mouth. I feel like I’m having an out of body experience; floating above myself, looking down at everything going on. It seems surreal; this only happens on TV shows like Criminal Minds…not real life!

My stomach is starting to ache. The vomit is in my throat. It dawns on me that this may be my chance, the diversion I need. Between the stress and fear mixed with the pain my head is in from the drug they gave me; I’m already on the verge of getting sick. I come up with my plan, and say a silent prayer to God that it works.

Moaning and holding my stomach, I’m able to get Jacobs attention. “I think I’m going to throw up…” I let out a loud groan and cover my mouth with my hands.

“Shit! Don’t let her puke in here; we’ll have to fuckin’ smell it the entire time we’re driving! Quick, grab that plastic bag on the floor from the gas station.” Zak yells to Jacob. 

Jacob reaches for the bag on the floor, and quickly hands it to me. “Make sure you get sick in the bag so we can toss it on the side of the road!” Hearing him raise his voice at me is terrifying. I’ve only known Jacob to be suave and funny. His British accent I once loved listening to, now sends pangs of fear into my stomach.

I lean over the seat with my face in the bag, and Jacob turns his head back up front, bitching about if he sees me vomit, he’s going to end up vomiting himself. They both roll down the car windows, which work out perfectly for me. The sound of the wind whipping through the windows, mixed with the radio will help drown out any sounds of me moving around.

While no one is looking I stick my finger down my throat causing myself to gag and bring up the vomit that has been churning in my stomach. Taking extra care to vomit violently, making as much noise as possible. Leaning almost to the floor puking into the plastic bag, I let go of the bags handles.

My hands being zip tied together is making this extremely challenging. I slide my hands under the driver’s seat, careful to not hit anything under the seat to draw Zak’s attention. Wiggling my fingers along the floor until I reach my target, I inch my gun forward until I’m able to pick it up. 

An impulse wave of trepidation shoots through me as I hold my gun in my hands. Gagging still, I pick the bag back up. Leaning back up onto the back seat, I quickly slide my tiny revolver under my thigh. I tie the bag and hand it back to Jacob. He proceeds to gag as he dangles the bag in front of himself. Not wasting any time he whips it out the window.

This is my one and only chance, so I can’t afford to make any mistakes. My head is still spinning and my vision is slightly blurred. If I shoot and miss, they will definitely not hesitate to shoot me here and now before I can try anything else.

My hands are shaking and beads of sweat are running down my temples as I retrieve my gun from under my leg.

Holding my gun in my hands, I think back to the day my father took me to buy it. I had just turned sixteen and gotten my license. Maverick Livingston’s daughter wasn’t going to be driving around Los Angeles without a gun to protect herself. He wasn’t thrilled when I picked a pink one because I thought it was cute, but being the man he is, he got me what I wanted. As long as I would keep it in my car at all times. Later on, when I moved out, he got me another one to keep in a lockbox in my bedroom.

I’ve never been so happy to be holding a gun in my hands in my entire life, than I am right now. Daddy you don’t know how grateful I am to you right about now. You being the overprotective dad that you are may have just saved my life tonight. I think to myself, as I quietly turn the safety off.

Jacob is leaning on his hand, with his elbow propped up against the door. Zak isn’t saying anything anymore, it’s eerily quiet. I can’t tell where we are because it’s so dark. I see nothing but trees on either side of the car. I have no idea what I’ll do after I shoot Jacob, all I know is I have to try shooting Zak also.

It looks like we’re in the middle of nowhere, and my phone is up front with Jacob. If I end up dying, at least I died fighting and can die knowing I did everything in my power to get back to Kayden, the love of my life, and back to my family and friends. I need them to know I didn’t give up.

Holding my breath, I count to three in my head and pull the trigger. The loud popping sound it makes is deafening in my small car, my ears instantly start ringing. First shot I took hit Jacob right in the temple, his body jerked forward smashing against the dashboard; blood splattering all over the front of the car. I let out a small scream watching the life drain from Jacob’s body.

I just shot him, oh God, I just killed someone.

Zak begins screaming profanities, in shock trying to register what just happened. “You stupid bitch, you killed Jacob!” I can hear the pain in Zak’s voice, but I have no sympathy for him. He was going to kill me, I had no other choice. My entire body is shaking; I feel nauseous again, seeing all the blood everywhere. I can’t stop the flow of tears falling from my eyes.

Zak cranks the wheel of the car, sending me flying to other side of the back seat. The roads are slick from the rain and he loses control; the squealing of the tires is so loud. Tears are streaking down my cheeks and as my sobs become uncontrollable, Zak turns and looks at me. The shock and horror in his eyes is frightful and ghastly; I freeze and so does time. Everything is unfolding in slow motion.

I’m shaking, holding my gun pointing it at him, but not able to do anything. The car is spinning in circles and I can see Zak gripping the wheel trying to correct the car.

I snap back to reality, everything is moving 100MPH as I feel the car going airborne. Dropping the gun to the floor, I roll over facing the back of the seat clinching the seatbelt; Holding onto it so hard that my nails are digging into the palms of my hands drawing blood. I close my eyes and continue to pray as I feel my car rolling down an embankment.

Last thing I hear are my screams of terror echoing through the car along with Zak’s, as the glass explodes all around me. The sound of the metal crushing, and the car barreling through trees is deafening, then everything goes black.