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  Nathan’s fingers hovered over ‘delete.’ If he wanted to make a new start, this was the first thing to do. Delete the file. Not difficult. He took a deep breath and pressed. Nathan smiled briefly. Deleting Jack from his mind wouldn’t be as easy.

  Memories of Alison and her cry of delight were still too vivid and when Nathan thought of her, he thought of Jack. He sighed. No more watching Jack Thompson. Nathan was used to waking with an ache in his chest that lasted all day. Maybe now it would stop.

  Chapter Four

  Jack glanced at Kate. The drug had worked fine. She’d been so deeply asleep since they left the suburbs of San Antonio, he’d risked stopping to top off the gas without restraining her. He also took the opportunity to disable the frigging horn and withdraw the final five-hundred dollars from her account. He’d parked away from the machine and pulled the cap low so the camera didn’t catch him. She hadn’t lied about the PIN, but then he hadn’t expected she would.

  Her cheek was red and swollen and there was a scratch above her lip. Jack was annoyed he’d marked her face. He hadn’t expected her to fight so hard. She was still thinking up ways to escape. Probably dreaming them. He sniggered. Not scared enough. His mistake. He should have fucked her in the apartment. He’d thought about it, especially when he’d had her in his arms on the floor and looked at those long legs. Jack laughed. Yeah, he should have fucked her. Now, it was a pleasure to savor.

  ***

  Kate woke with a crick in her neck, a dry mouth and a throbbing pain in her head. When she opened her eyes, she blinked against the bright light flooding the car. Desert everywhere. Kate took a moment to pull herself together, then eased upright on the seat. Her limbs felt leaden, her wrist stiff and aching. She felt Jack glance at her but she didn’t react.

  “Water in the box behind you,” he said.

  Kate wanted nothing from him, but no point staying thirsty. She reached back to snag a bottle of spring water, wedged it between her legs to unscrew the top one-handed and drank deeply.

  “Better?”

  She wondered where they were. No more pills. She’d slept for hours.

  “Want to know where we’re heading?”

  Kate dragged the word out. “Yes.”

  “Vegas. Ask me why.” He almost bounced in his seat.

  “Why?”

  “To get married.”

  She wanted it to be a joke, but a metal band tightened around her chest. “I don’t want to get married. I don’t even know you.”

  “Yeah, you do.”

  She turned to face him and he smiled. She hated his smile.

  “I know a lot about you,” he said. “Your doctor’s name, what supermarket you use, what makes you scared.”

  Kate’s heart fluttered.

  “Dr. Mark Hodson, you shop at HEB and what makes you scared? Me. Boo!” She jumped and he laughed. The pain in her chest increased.

  “Your parents are dead. No brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts or uncles. Distant relatives on your mother’s side in Florida, but you’ve lost touch. You wouldn’t know them if they knocked on your door holding a bunch of flowers.” He grinned.

  “You rarely go out. No boyfriend. Until now.” He patted her knee. Kate flinched.

  She didn’t want to listen but the more he talked, fascination surged alongside fear.

  “You like cheese pizza and praline ice cream. You don’t like chocolate cake. Me neither. You ride the bus to work and read all the way. Head down, no eye contact. Don’t want no crazies talking to you. You bring lunch from home and eat in the park, unless it’s raining. You like the zoo, especially the hippos.” Now she knew for sure he’d followed her.

  “When you were a kid you used to think you were from outer space. You built your own spaceship and made up a weird language.” Kate gaped at him. “How do you know that?” He chuckled.

  “How the hell could you know that? Why have you kidnapped me? What do you want? I’m going to lose my job.”

  “I haven’t fucking kidnapped you,” he snapped. “Don’t worry about your job. You’ve resigned.”

  Kate turned to the window. She tried the handle again, using her body to block his view. She should have jumped from her bathroom window. Even falling from a moving car seemed preferable to staying inside with him, but the door wouldn’t open. There had to be something she could do. What had she missed? How could she make sense of nonsense?

  If he’d been following her, he’d know about the places she went. She last visited the zoo four or five weeks ago. The hippos made her laugh. It was the idea of them wearing tutus, how someone could think of that. But she hadn’t been to the doctor for over a year. Maybe he knew the relatives in Florida. Maybe he was one. They might think her parents should have left them money.

  But although Kate could rationalize most of it, she couldn’t explain the spacecraft and the alien language. No one knew.

  Her mind crumbled, racing through horror scenarios of rape, mutilation and death.

  He was a psycho.

  She was a statistic.

  Kate fought hard to push back the second-hand fear. Why imagine horror when it sat next to her?

  She switched her attention to the two ID cards wedged under her heel. No point dropping them along a desert highway. The SUV guzzled gas. He’d have to stop sometime.

  Every time they passed a vehicle, Kate made desperate faces against the tinted glass. A couple of kids stuck out their tongues, adults looked the other way. They probably thought she was mad. Maybe she was.

  Finally, unable to keep her eyes open, Kate slept again.

  ***

  This time when she woke, Kate kept her eyes closed and her breathing even, but she couldn’t imagine all this away and in the end, opened her eyes. She’d slept for an hour and a half. Still plenty of gas. Make conversation.

  “How did you know I worked in the library?”

  “I saw you. In your long blue skirt with your hair pinned in a swirl, little wisps hanging down. You sat on the carpet, reading the kids a story about Little Bear looking for his mommy.”

  The children loved that story.

  “Little Bear looked behind the door, behind the couch and under the bed, but his mommy was nowhere to be seen,” Jack said, as though he was reading the story to children.

  “So he sat down on the floor and sighed,” Kate added.

  “All the kids did this enormous sigh.” Jack laughed.

  Kate was struck by a chilling certainty she’d never hear them do that again.

  “And where was the uncaring Mommy bear?” he asked.

  “In the garden, picking strawberries.” Another life and it was gone.

  “She shouldn’t have left him alone. He was scared.” Kate didn’t miss the change in tone. “She was only in the garden.”

  “Too far to hear him calling. He thought she’d abandoned him.” Was this still a story? “His mother hadn’t left him,” Kate said. “She was picking strawberries. It all ends happily ever after.”

  “Why lie to kids? Life’s not like that.”

  “It can be. Children need things to turn out okay in the end.” Not just children.

  “You’re good with kids. They like to sit on your knee and twirl your hair in their fingers.”

  He reached for her head and Kate jerked away.

  “Do you have children?” she asked.

  “A son.”

  That shocked her.

  “How long have you been following me?”

  “A while.”

  “How do you know so much about me?”

  “You’ll work it out.”

  “Tell me why you’re doing this.”

  “It’s a chance to start again, build a new life with me.”

  “Don’t I get a say?”

  “No.” He snapped the word out and then laughed. It made Kate jump. “What you doing, sweetheart? Trying to figure out how to give me the slip?” Jack drove on, a steady pace. Kate wished he’d go fast and get pulled over by the police but he
’d engaged cruise control. The road was so straight, the car could almost drive itself. Kate dragged her eyes from the highway, made herself keep talking.

  “Why did you kidnap me?”

  “Give me an honest answer now, darlin’. If I’d knocked on the door and asked you to come with me, you’d have said no.”

  “Not necessarily.”

  He snorted.

  “Why use force? You could’ve tried charm.” Would I have fallen for that?

  “Well, thank you. You think I’m good-looking?” Minefield ahead. “Yes.”

  “Tell me.”

  “Very good-looking. Lovely blond hair.” Though it didn’t look natural. “You’ve got a…strong face, a good square jaw and…interesting eyes.” Dead eyes I can’t understand. “I can’t see what a guy like you would want with someone like me.”

  “You’re the one I want, Kate. The only one I ever wanted.” Kate wanted to scream—torn between fear and hysteria. She’d dreamed for so long of being special to someone, only not to someone like him.

  Her childhood hadn’t been happy. She wasn’t unpopular, though when everyone paired off at school, she was always left standing. Her father hardly came home enough to notice he had a daughter and her mother continually expressed her disappointment in Kate’s lack of interest in things she found fascinating. Her mom had a cold heart, before and after Kate had been…raped.

  Kate’s heart pounded. Oh God, it was happening again. How could it be happening again? She held her breath and counted down from a hundred. She’d survived before. She could survive this.

  When Jack kept yawning, Kate wondered if he’d fall asleep behind the wheel.

  She decided to stay quiet and risk an accident but he fiddled with the air-conditioning and a cool breeze flooded the car.

  “Your back ache, Kate?”

  “No,” she lied.

  “Mine feels like I’m leaning on knives. We’ve covered over five-hundred miles.

  Time for a break.”

  On the outskirts of El Paso, Jack turned off the highway, made a right at the bottom of the ramp and headed toward a Burger King. He parked on the empty lot next to it, nowhere near any vehicle. Kate guessed he intended to leave her in the car. Jack unfastened his seatbelt and took two long nylon cable ties from a side pocket. As he pulled her toward him, Kate flailed with her fists.

  “Stop fighting. It’s only for a little while. I need to stretch my legs and get us something to eat.”

  Jack pinned her across the front seats, her head resting against his thigh. He wrapped one of the ties around her hands, slid the ribbed end through the ratchet and pulled tight. Picking a roll of silver duct tape from the console, he ripped off a strip with his teeth and pressed it over her mouth. Jack shoved her forward, reaching to loop the other plastic strip around her ankles and through the one at her wrists so Kate was hog-tied, doubled over with her chest pressed into her knees, unable to move, hardly able to breathe. A blanket floated over her.

  “Be good, sweetheart.”

  She heard the click of the lock as he walked away.

  Kate struggled to pull air through her nose. She’d already been short of breath from the struggle, now she began to panic.

  I won’t die like this. I won’t.

  By the time Jack returned to the car, her breathing was ragged. He pulled off the blanket and cut the ties. Kate levered herself upright and desperately peeled the tape from her mouth, not caring if she ripped the skin from her lips.

  She gasped. “Couldn’t…breathe.”

  “If you couldn’t breathe, you’d be dead.” He lifted the bag of food to his lap.

  Kate’s head ached. She continued to gulp and bent to rub her ankles, wrapping the ID cards in her palm before she sat up again. “Please…window.” Jack turned the key in the ignition and opened her window. Kate leaned out and took a deep breath. She coughed to disguise the sound of the cards dropping and after a moment or two, pulled her head back inside.

  “I got you a coffee. Black, one sugar.” Jack offered her the drink.

  The moment she had her hands on the cup, she threw the coffee into his lap.

  Kate reached through the window and wrenched at the door handle, almost falling out when the door opened. She heard Jack screeching as she bolted. Her mind dismissed the consequences of what she’d done, his reaction if the door hadn’t opened, what he’d do if he caught her. Not going to catch me. She sprinted through the shrubbery into the restaurant parking lot, straight into the path of a car.

  It wasn’t going fast but Kate slid onto the hood and off again as the car braked.

  The driver, an old guy, looked at her in alarm as she staggered to her feet and grabbed the handle of the passenger door. Nothing happened. She tried the rear.

  “Open the door,” she gasped. “Help me.”

  She glanced back and saw Jack coming. She heard the click of the door unlocking and threw herself in the back, but as she tried to shut herself in, Jack’s fingers caught the edge of the door. Kate scrambled to get out the other side but he grabbed her.

  “What’s the hell’s going on?” the old man asked.

  “He’s kidnapped me. Call the police.”

  “Shut up,” Jack shouted.

  He tried to drag her from the car and Kate clung to the seat.

  “I’m Kate Evans. I live in San Antonio. He’s Jack Thom—” Something sharp pressed into her ribs. The pain came after. Jack yanked her upright, and Kate watched a red spot bloom like an ink stain on her T-shirt.

  “I warned you, Kate. I warned you what would happen.” She pressed trembling lips together.

  “What’s your name?” Jack asked the driver.

  “Charlie.”

  “Looks like you joined our game, Charlie. Kate’s introduced us so we’re all friends now, right? You see that Suburban in the next lot? Park next to it.”

  “How about you get out and walk,” Charlie said.

  “Tell Charlie why he should do as I say.” Jack twisted the blade in her T-shirt and tears sprang into her eyes.

  “He’s got a knife.”

  “Fuck,” Jack muttered, his gaze on a man approaching the car. “Tell this guy everything’s fine or I’ll kill her and then I’ll kill you.” The man bent his head and Charlie let down his window.

  “Everything okay?”

  The knife dug deeper into Kate’s skin but Jack had her pressed tight to the seat so what he was doing couldn’t be seen.

  “They’re arguing,” Charlie said.

  “I thought you just knocked her down.”

  Jack pulled Kate back and let the guy see the blood on her T-shirt. “He’s going to drive us to the hospital. You’re holding us up.” The guy moved away again and, as Kate was on the verge of opening her mouth and screaming, Jack put the knife to the back of Charlie’s neck.

  “Drive.”

  The old man gave a heavy sigh, pulled out of the parking lot and parked next to the Suburban.

  “Okay. I drove you over. Now get out.”

  “You know, Charlie, I’d like to see how you look behind the wheel of my car.”

  “Let him go,” Kate pleaded. “I’ll be good. Let him go.”

  “We’re all going to get out of your car and into mine. Nice and steady.”

  “I don’t think I want to do that,” Charlie said. “I’ll stay right here.” Jack took the knife from Charlie’s neck and pressed it into Kate’s side, and she couldn’t stop the cry escaping.

  The old man grimaced. “All right. Don’t hurt her.” Jack dragged Kate out and she began to struggle. He twisted her sore wrist, bringing her to her knees. When Charlie moved toward her, Jack put the knife to her neck. The man glared but got behind the wheel. Jack threw Kate in the rear and slammed the door on her.

  “Are you okay?” Charlie turned to her.

  Kate clutched the red patch on her T-shirt, now large as a saucer.

  “Run,” she gasped. She could see Jack wiping Charlie’s car. “No, lock the door.�
�

  Too slow. Jack got in beside Charlie and handed him the keys.

  “Buckle up, Charlie. Back on the I-10 west. Stick to the speed limit, we don’t want to attract any attention.”

  Charlie glanced down at Jack’s crotch and Kate cringed.

  “Fucking coffee,” Jack snapped.

  She heard the rasp of his zipper.

  “Kate, hand me a soda. The coldest there is.”

  ***

  Jeannie’s anxiety was severe enough to give her palpitations. On Sunday morning, she’d tried to call Kate but her phone appeared to be disconnected.

  There was no answer at the door when she’d knocked. A little puzzling, since Kate always had a drink with her on Sunday mornings, providing she wasn’t busy. But not coffee. Why had Kate said that? Coffee gave Jeannie terrible indigestion.

  She’d called the library and been told Kate wasn’t due in until Monday.

  Jeannie had been five times now to Kate’s apartment, even gone downstairs and pressed her buzzer. The fact that she could hear nothing convinced Jeannie something was wrong, but with no apartment on the other side of Kate, no one could confirm or deny the silence. Jeannie tried calling Martin Fryer, the building superintendent who lived on the first floor. He wouldn’t even come up and check.

  With a sense of foreboding, Jeannie tried the emergency departments of the local hospitals. No one would tell her anything. Finally, she called the police. She thought they’d be sure to take notice, but apparently she had to wait until after the weekend. The policeman suggested Kate had gone away and forgotten to tell her. Or maybe Jeannie had forgotten. Or, as Jeannie now regretted pointing out, maybe the phone connection had broken when Kate tripped.

  Disappointed by his patronizing attempts at reassurance, Jeannie had to face facts. Unless it was a child or a disabled adult or there was evidence of foul play, a person needed to be missing forty-eight hours before the police would take details, let alone start looking. She wrote down the policeman’s name and then told Detective Luke Foster he’d be hearing from her again. Though she prayed it wouldn’t come to that, hoping Kate would come knocking on her door like nothing had happened.