NINE
Sniffing at the burger placed in front of her, Josie wanted to cry. She had held her tears in for the first few hours, but now they were threatening to spill out. She’d been too stunned when Walter had come rushing in behind her as soon as she’d opened the door to her apartment.
When he’d knocked her to the ground to gain advantage over her, she’d turned her body to her right side to protect her belly. Unable to lift herself after that, it had been easy for Walter to drag her back to his car. She had opened her mouth to scream, and he’d covered it quickly before they’d walked outside.
“Do it, and lover boy gets it,” he taunted her.
She clamped her mouth shut after that. The last thing she wanted was to cause Jake more trouble. If she went quietly with Walter, he might just leave Jake out of it for now. They knew where he was, and they would likely gather their resources first before attacking. Her father always thought everything out, and since he’d been chasing Jake for a long time, he would want everything to be in place before he tried to get him.
Walter seemed to think about folding her into his trunk, but he dragged her back to the front when he realized the sun was rising.
“Too many witnesses,” he growled. “Give me one reason to pull over and shove you back there, and I’ll do it. You’ve made me waste a hell of a lot of my time out here. If I’d had my way, I’d have grabbed you when I drove by with the bulldozer yesterday. That bastard, Jake’s always getting in my way.”
Josie clamped down on the retorts that threatened to spill out. So much time around Bill had her feeling just as surly at times. Remembering Bill and his new love, Lucy, she bit her tongue. If she didn’t do exactly as she was told, she was sure she’d be treated even worse than she was already being handled.
Then it would make Walter mad enough to pursue Jake and everyone else at the office. She couldn’t let that happen. While she couldn’t warn her friends, she could at least do her part in controlling herself and hopefully causing Walter and her father’s other men to lose interest in them.
“I’m coming,” she said quietly. She must have looked at him in the eye too long because he jerked her arm before shoving her unceremoniously into the backseat. He always had been sensitive, she thought. She had better remember that before she slipped up and made him angrier. She’d only been gone from her father’s for a short while, and she already learned how to lower her guard and trust people. Well, so much for that, she thought to herself. She had to summon her old self and learn to bury her emotions and thoughts about anything that differed from her father.
“Got yourself pregnant, huh?” sneered Walter. He was speeding and glancing nervously through every mirror as he drove. “Only been away from Daddy a few weeks, and now you’re knocked up.” He barked a short laugh. “If you had told me, I could have helped you out with that. You didn’t have to leave the state, or the city, even. Why, I wouldn’t have made you leave your bedroom.” He sniggered and snorted as he laughed.
As much as Josie wanted to throw a retort back in his face, she refrained. She had to stay calm. If he knew something rattled her, he would do it more. Choosing to remain quiet, she stared out the window, her hands protecting her belly. She could already feel some kicks, and a wave of relief swept over her. At least the baby was okay, and the fall hadn’t hurt it. Just me, she thought with sigh.
In the early morning hours, the traffic was building within surrounding neighborhoods. And once they hit the freeways, they were in a virtual gridlock. Josie peered out her window, trying to gauge which direction they were heading in. She’d only been in New York for a short amount of time, not quite long enough to learn anything, really. In fact, she only knew the way to work, home, and grocery stores.
“Where are we going?” she chanced a question. Walter didn’t seem to be in any hurry. Josie knew him as an impatient man, so this was definitely unusual.
“Back to California, of course,” he said matter-of-factly. “My orders are to come retrieve you and take you back to your father. Already halfway done,” he said, laughing. “Easiest job in the world,” he taunted.
“I understand that,” Josie said slowly. She tried not to make it sound condescending, but it was coming out that way, despite her best efforts.
“I’m just wondering, why aren’t we going towards the airport? Is there a smaller jet or an airport you’re taking us to?”
“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Walter scowled. “Such a spoiled brat.”
Josie sighed again. She was getting nowhere with him, and he was trying her patience. Looking away again, she tried to think of another way to ask him.
Then he answered on his own, “We’re going to drive to an airport that I’ll have to check to see if it’s safe. If it’s not, then we may wind up driving the whole way.”
“What! That’s so far,” Josie said. She couldn’t help it. She wasn’t prepared for a cross-country road trip. Not with the motion sickness that was already developing inside her.
“I’m not going to drive it all in one day,” Walter said as his gaze narrowed at her in the mirror. “It would take me a few days at least. In the meantime, we could get a hotel. I wouldn’t mind.” He gave her a lascivious smile, and she shivered.
He wouldn’t dare. She’d known Walter for years, but he’d always maintained some distance, presumably because of his fear of what her father would do to him if he found out he was making advances toward his daughter. But now that Walter knew her father had no regard for her feelings and that she was “knocked-up” as he so delicately phrased it, there was little standing in his way.
How was she supposed to get out of this? She could only imagine what her father had said to him before he was sent to retrieve her. Retrieve. As if she were some sort of object to be manhandled. Her father always treated her as such, but it hadn’t seemed as prevalent to her until recently. Knowing her father, he’d probably instructed Walter to bring her back alive and said nothing about keeping her safe until he reached her. It was typical of him.
It wasn’t until she’d met Jake that she realized her experience with men was severely limited. She’d led such a sheltered life. Much of it was spent around men who were controlling and who treated her like she was a nuisance. They were either callous toward her or they ignored her altogether. It wasn’t something she’d thought about until she’d spent more time with Jake.
With Jake, she didn’t have to do anything special for him to treat her with respect. Before he had known her worth to him, he was kind to her. The night that they were together for the first time, she hadn’t thought anything about him being rough with her, even though it was unintentional.
But when he had become tender and gentler after that, she hadn’t known how to react. She had no idea a man could be that way with a woman. The past several weeks had only solidified the idea that this was the way love should feel.
As the day wore on, Josie was lulled to sleep by the sun creeping into the car. And when she woke, she pretended to be asleep. She wanted to limit her conversation with Walter as much as she could, and her only escape was to close her eyes. Once in a while, she chanced a glance at him through her lashes. He seemed agitated most of the time, taking calls as he drove, speaking tersely to whomever was on the other line.
“I told you to stay after him. I got her. You get him.” He slammed the phone down on the console next to him that time. It wasn’t hard to figure out, Josie thought, panic bubbling up inside of her. They had her, and now they were going to get Jake. Maybe she was wrong after all. Maybe her father had run out of patience and just wanted Jake, regardless of the risks.
At this point, there was nothing she could say to deter anyone. She knew Jake, though. He was agile and smart. He could outrun them, outdo them somehow. Josie had to believe that, or she would lose all hope for herself. She worried a little about Bill and Lucy as well. They would be blind-sided. Bill didn’t even know about Jake’s abilities; at least, he hadn’t let on that he did.
It was close to ten before she heard Walter make last minute reservations at a small motel. He told the person on the other end that he expected to arrive in two hours. Midnight! She calculated how far they could have driven in that time. She’d tried to keep track of where they were when she was awake, but she’d lost track sometime two hours ago. She assumed they were somewhere in or near Tennessee.
Bracing herself for the night ahead, she tried to focus on what she could do to deter Walter from trying to make any moves on her. She couldn’t even protect herself, she thought, panicking. If only she had told Jake the truth earlier on, maybe he could have helped her. Now, she had to rely on her wits to get her through this trip.
For the remaining two hours, Josie stayed awake, watching as the signs became more and more isolated and the highway became a dusty county road. She felt hopeless and again fought back her tears. She couldn’t let him see her reaction. As long as she could act like this didn’t faze her, Walter wouldn’t bother her. While the man made her extremely uncomfortable, she could tell he was agitated and distracted. She could use those two factors to her advantage.
Soon, they reached the motel, and Josie got out to stretch leisurely. They had stopped before long enough to use the bathroom and get gas, but Walter had made sure each stop was under ten minutes. He was paranoid that every fellow traveler was out to get him. Now, she took her time, stretching all her limbs, cramped and sore from sitting all day.
Walter went inside to get the keys to the room, and she looked around for a way to run away from Walter. It appeared as though there were a few families staying, judging by the mini-vans parked around the motel. But other than that, there was little hope of escape. She could tell the man at the front desk, she thought. But she wondered where that would leave Jake and everyone else.
Would they face more danger from her decision to run? She had to take that chance, but maybe not here. Once she got a look at the boy behind the desk, she knew he could be of no help to her. He looked like he was sixteen, on a good day. She would have to wait until they got to a more populated area, she thought glumly.
Walter led the way to their room and kicked it open, bowing sarcastically as she entered. “Your highness,” he drawled.
Josie wanted to punch him but silently applauded herself for resisting instead.
“I’ll take that one,” Walter said, stopping her from taking the bed closest to the door. “And in case you have any ideas about running away, just know that I’m a light sleeper and I keep a gun handy at all times.”
Josie rubbed her belly to settle the baby that had begun to toss and turn after sleeping with her most of the day. “I’m not running,” she protested. “I’ve been going with you peacefully all day today. And do I look like I’m in a position to run?”
Walter gave her nudge nonetheless, toward the other bed. “Don’t forget what I said. And before I use my gun, I might be inclined have a taste.” He licked his lips when his gaze dropped to her chest. It was fuller now than it had been when she’d last seen him, and she knew he noticed.
“Who was the lucky guy?” he wondered out loud, not waiting for a response. “I guess you couldn’t get away from Daddy fast enough to satisfy your urges. I suppose I can understand that.” His laugh sounded more like a short bark. “All you had to do was tell me,” he said, his tone lowering meaningfully. “I work for your father, but I can also offer my services to you.” His breath smelled rancid, and his gut was beginning to press into her side. It was enough to make her want to throw up.
Josie evaded his grasp and headed toward the bathroom. “I’m going to use this, if you don’t need it,” she said evenly. She could feel the bile rising up as she walked away.
“Nice try. Let me check it out first. And you’re using it with the door open.” Walter strode toward her and pushed the door open to do a quick sweep. Seeing no windows or anything that posed any danger to him, he allowed her to enter.
Josie closed the door behind herself defiantly. He was going to have to kick the door down if he wanted to get in now. She knew he wasn’t that desperate. The man had been driving over fourteen hours. He was also well into his sixties. There was little chance of him trying to do anything beyond sleeping, she concluded.
“Now I know why your Daddy always said you were nothing but trouble,” he muttered after she came out. “You better do as you’re told. I’m not in the mood for these games.” He was seated on the bed, flipping through the channels.
Josie said nothing and went to lie down. At this point, nothing she said would satisfy him; there was no use in trying. She closed her eyes and turned away from him.
“So, how did you find Jake, anyway?” Walter asked, curiosity evident in his tone. “I’ve been trying to hunt him down for damn near five years.”
Josie thought before she opened her mouth to respond. “I didn’t really find him. I just was in that field, and he had a job opening. That’s it.” It was a partial truth, anyway. He did have a job opening, and she was in a related field. But she had also sought him out long before she knew that he was in a similar line of work.
“Bull,” Walter scoffed. “You were after him because you knew he could be your ticket out. Can’t say I blame you.” Walter stretched out on the bed next to her. “I know David pretty well. I wouldn’t trust him to watch my trash. I wonder what deal Caster made with him that made him have to give you up.”
Give her up? Again, he was talking as if she were some kind of object. She gritted her teeth and stopped herself from saying anything. She would be wasting her breath. And she had no desire to invite him into a deeper conversation about it, either. It was none of his business, and he had nothing of value to offer.
Walter was bored after trying to get her to take his bait a few more times. She gave non-committal responses to his queries and pretended to be falling asleep again.
“How come you’re still tired?” Walter asked, irritably. “You slept all day today.”
“I’m…it’s the hormones,” she lied. He didn’t know anything about pregnancy and even less about how the body reacted to it.
“Well, just make sure you’re up early. I want to get back on the road.”
Josie murmured her understanding and let out a soft snore.
She heard Walter turn the light off and stiffened. But he just got into his own bed, and soon enough, she heard him snoring as well, and she relaxed for the first time that day. One or two more days of this until she got back to her father’s place. And then she could figure out how to escape. She knew how the house was set up, at least. She knew all the hideaways, nooks, and crannies. She didn’t know who she could trust, though. With an ever-changing staff and the men he surrounded himself with, she would have to figure a way out on her own.
***
Josie awoke to Walter rudely shaking her awake. “Wake up, we’re going.”
She wanted to ask him for a toothbrush and some basic necessities but decided to wait until they were on the road. Josie had only enough time to use the restroom before she heard pounding on the door. “Out, dammit!”
She came out, and he immediately grabbed her arm and hauled her to the car. It was already on, and he shoved her in the back again, slamming the door behind her. Racing around, he jumped behind the wheel and peeled away.
It was barely dawn. Josie wondered what had happened that had made him run out of the room. She’d looked around the parking lot but hadn’t seen a soul. There were no other cars around either.
“What happened? Why are we leaving so early?” she asked finally, after he didn’t volunteer any information.
“I told you last night that we would be leaving early,” he barked.
She stayed quiet for a moment. “I thought we could at least freshen up. I could use a toothbrush,” she said.
“You’ll get some coffee and quit your complaining,” he retorted.
True to his word, he got her some coffee and offered her a doughnut. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, she ate it under his watchful eye at their first stop.
“Did you try to call Jake?” He eyed her suspiciously.
“How could I call him?” she asked incredulous. “I didn’t bring anything with me. And you grabbed my license just in case we were able to catch a flight.”
“Well, if I find out you did, you and that baby won’t make it to California alive. Don’t make any trouble for me!” He threw his cup into the trash next to the car and opened her door, jerking his head toward it. She balled up her napkin and tossed it as well, taking her cup with her. He seemed spooked that Jake was following him, and now, she wondered if he was. She kept an eye out after that for any sign of him. But she just saw miles and miles of desolate landscape.