Winds of Deception (Samantha Rite Series Book 2) Read online

  Maybe she could reason with whoever had brought her here. Sam swallowed hard as she tried to keep her voice from rising in panic. “Who are you? W-What do you want?” she stammered.

  Sam lay there quietly, holding her breath as she waited for an answer. She could sense someone listening, could hear small movements but there was no response. “Listen, I’ll give you whatever you want – just let me go.”

  Her voice dropped to a whimper. “No one will know who you are. Just tell me what you want…”

  Even though she was blindfolded, Sam could sense she was being studied. A trickle of sweat, mixed with fear ran down her forehead.

  Without warning, the abductor grabbed her ankles and shoved them together. Seconds later, a coarse, prickly rope was tied around them. She dug her fingernails into the palm of her hand. Do not scream!

  That seemed to help a little but her mind was still racing. I have no idea what this person wants with me. Why won’t they just tell me what they want?

  She swallowed hard and licked her lips. “Please…” Before she could utter another word, a thick piece of duct tape was slapped across her mouth. Behind the blindfold, Sam’s eyes widened in sheer panic as waves of terror washed over her.

  Her heart was pounding out of her chest. Oh no – not now! The familiar feeling of claustrophobia pressed in on her.

  Suddenly, the cushion shifted. Whoever had tied her up and taped her mouth moved away. Footsteps echoed on the cement floor and then slowly faded. Seconds later she heard a door slam shut. Whoever it was had left her all alone.

  Chapter 4

  Lee’s flight was right on time. Donovan was waiting for him in the terminal with a grim look on his face. Judging from his expression, there was no need for Donovan to confirm what Lee already knew.

  “Nothing, huh.”

  Donovan shook his head. “Not a trace. I ran a background on her, found her car in the parking garage. When I looked inside, I could see her briefcase so it appears she made it that far before vanishing into thin air.”

  He watched as Lee unconsciously clenched and unclenched the bag he was holding. He’d known him long enough to tell this was a sign of extreme agitation.

  Donovan was filled with guilt. If only he had insisted on meeting Sam earlier at her office. Looking back, he should’ve just ignored her and shown up on her doorstep - forced her to listen to him.

  Lee ran a hand through his short hair and took a deep breath as he glanced around the airport terminal. “Did you go by her townhouse yet?”

  Donovan shook his head. “Nope. Figured we could do that once you got here.”

  “Well, let’s get going.” Lee pointed to his backpack. “Traveling light as usual. This is all I’ve got.”

  A short time later, Lee and Donovan pulled up in front of Sam’s place. Not surprisingly, it looked deserted. The evening air was crisp and cool, the neighborhood quiet and peaceful except for a neighbor’s dog barking in the distance.

  They walked to the front entrance and rang the doorbell. After waiting a few minutes to see if anyone would answer, Lee dropped his backpack on the ground and began rummaging around inside.

  When he pulled his hand back out, he was holding a long, slender pick. He expertly inserted the pick into the lock and after a couple quick jabs, it popped. Seconds later, the front door swung open.

  Donovan grinned. “You always were one of the best in the business.”

  Lee smiled wryly. “Yeah, comes in handy every once in a while.”

  Lee stepped in first as he peered into the dark house. “Sam?” They waited. He called louder, “Sam, it’s Lee. Are you home?” Nothing but eerie silence greeted them. It was obvious no one was there.

  Lee reached out, groping the wall until his hand made contact with the light switch. Bright light instantly flooded the interior. The place was in shambles. Whoever was there before them left a huge mess. Closet doors had been flung wide open - all the contents dumped out on the floor below. Everything in the kitchen cabinets now lay on the counter, carelessly strewn from one end to the other. Kitchen drawers had been ripped out and tossed in a haphazard heap on the floor. Even the refrigerator was pulled away from the wall.

  After surveying the mess in the kitchen, the two made their way into the living room where it wasn’t much better. The floral-colored sofa had been destroyed and what was left of the cushions lay in a crooked pile in the middle of the floor where someone had taken a knife and shredded them.

  Her brown leather recliner didn’t look much better. There were chunks of padding everywhere. Even the flat screen TV had been ruined. Whoever it was, had ripped the back off and pulled the wires out.

  Lee shook his head as he surveyed the damage. “I’m almost afraid to look in the bedroom.”

  They weren’t surprised to find that the same mess greeted them in there. The sheets had been yanked off the large four poster bed. The pillow top mattress looked like someone filled it with confetti and then dumped it out all over the room.

  “Whoever did this has Sam.” Lee looked soberly at Donovan. “I’m pretty sure I know who it is. Now we just have to find them.”

  He paused before continuing, “Let’s go down to police headquarters. There’s a packet of info waiting for me I’m hoping will help us figure out where they’re at.”

  With that, they retraced their steps to the front of the house, turning off the lights on the way out and carefully locking the door behind them.

  Chapter 5

  When Sam realized she was alone, she knew she needed to come up with an escape plan – and fast!

  Think, Think!!

  First things first. She had to figure out how to get the ropes off and since she wasn’t able to see exactly how the knots were tied, she decided to start out by twisting her wrists away from each other. She bent her hands forward and stretched her fingers as far down as possible. If only she could slip her fingernail under one of the outside knots. She feverishly worked on the closest knot that was just within reach of her fingernail. The angle was all wrong and there was no way it was going to budge.

  Sam’s exhaustion and frustration turned to anger. Now was not the time to give up! She had to stay focused and get out of there!

  Maybe she should try the ropes around her ankles. She started to wiggle her feet back and forth and found the rope giving a little. If she could bend far enough back she might be able to reach down and loosen the rope.

  She took a deep breath and arched herself backward as far as she possibly could. Her neck was tilted at an odd angle as her face pointed upward.

  It was hard to breathe with her mouth taped shut. Her heart began pounding at the thought of not having enough air. Please God, do not let me have a panic attack now!

  Finally, her fingers latched onto the ropes. Her hands were sweating as she awkwardly fumbled with the ties. Her pulse raced as she easily untied the first three knots. Soon she would be free!

  After the third knot was easily undone, her stomach plummeted when she discovered the rest of the knots were in the front!

  I am NOT giving up! With a renewed sense of determination, she arched her back even further and at the same time tried to reach around to the front of her ankles.

  It wasn’t going to work. She just couldn’t bend that far.

  After taking a short, snorting breath through her nose, she cautiously moved her ankles back and forth. If she could loosen the ropes enough, maybe she could slip out of them…

  She did this for several minutes and finally felt the rope give a little. The flesh on her ankles started to burn as the rough strands rubbed her skin raw. Sam pushed the pain aside and focused on freeing her legs and getting out of there before her abductor returned.

  Just then, she heard a car pull up and a door slam. He was back! Seconds later, she heard the creak of a door as it was opened. Sam lay there quietly, praying he wouldn’t notice what she’d been doing while he was gone.

  The footsteps grew louder as her abductor drew near. She
could feel eyes boring down on her. Suddenly, there was a firm grip on her ankles and the ropes were quickly tightened.

  Sam was devastated, a wave of hopelessness and despair washed over her. She was so close to escaping!

  She swallowed hard and began to pray. She knew that God was with her. Instantly she felt His presence and was filled with peace. She said a small prayer of thanksgiving. There was no way she could remain this calm without God.

  The calm continued, even when she sensed a face, only inches from hers. She could feel a person’s breath close by, as if she was being studied.

  The cushion she was laying on shifted. Whoever it was - was now right beside her! Without warning, the duct tape was painfully ripped from her lips.

  She gasped for air. Even though her face and lips were throbbing, she was relieved to have the tape off.

  Sam jumped as a voice suddenly whispered in her ear, “Where is it? I need my papers back. What did you do with them?”

  Finally, a voice. Instinctively, she had always known it was a male abductor judging by the arms that carried her and the heavy footsteps that echoed in the empty building.

  But what on earth was he talking about? She didn’t know anything about any “papers.” Sam stammered, her words barely coherent as she forced herself to answer, “I, I d-don’t know what you’re talking about…”

  The voice cut her off as the whisper turned to a shout, “I know you have them and I want them back – Now!”

  Confused, Sam shook her head. Her voice wavered. “You have to believe me - I don’t have your papers!”

  Abruptly, Sam sensed the person had moved away. The voice became muffled. Her abductor was talking but not to her.

  “If I don’t get them back soon, they’re going to track me down and kill me. First, they’ll kill you, then they’ll kill me.”

  A horrifying thought entered her mind. What if he brought someone back with him? What if there are TWO of them?

  But that voice. It was vaguely familiar. Where had she heard that voice?

  She had no time to dwell on it. Her abductor stomped back over to where she was laying. She could feel hot breath on her cheeks. The voice was low and menacing. “We’re going to go for a little ride to your place and you’re going to show me where it is. If you don’t, I’ll be forced to drag it out of you. Slowly and painfully.”

  Sam’s face froze, her heart pounding in her chest. She took a big gulp of air. “I … I d-don’t know what you’re looking for. Please, I have no idea…”

  Her captor cut her off as he roughly shoved his hands under her arms and picked her up. In one motion, he tossed her over his shoulder and walked rapidly toward the door.

  When they reached the outdoors, the cool night air hit Sam’s face. She took a deep breath. It smelled a whole lot better out here than it did in that musty old building.

  There was no time to enjoy what little bit of relief the fresh air could offer as a car door was flung open. Sam was carelessly shoved inside and the door quickly slammed shut. Her captor jumped in the car and moments later, they were on the road, headed to her house.

  The ride to her place gave Sam some precious moments to think. She desperately tried to formulate a plan but the only thought swirling in her head was that she was about to die and she had no idea why.

  The only thing she could hope for was a chance to stall him and figure out a way to escape. She was certain that even if he found what he was looking for, he was still going kill her.

  A dizzying thought dawned on her. If this person knows where I live, how long has he been stalking me?

  An image of Lee popped into her head. Obviously he had known something – but why didn’t he just tell her? Why didn’t Agent Donovan stress the danger she was in when he called?

  Admittedly, Donovan tried to tell her that her life was in danger. She didn’t completely blow it off but she obviously hadn’t taken it as seriously as she should have.

  A glimmer of hope filled Sam. Surely Donovan and Lee would be looking for her by now since she never showed up to meet Donovan. What if they’re there waiting for me at my house? Sam lay motionless as she contemplated a possible rescue.

  “Please Dear God,” Sam prayed. “Please save me. I don’t want to die…”

  It seemed like they were riding forever before the car finally stopped. The passenger door opened. Sam was roughly yanked out of the back seat and half-carried, half-dragged to her doorstep.

  Her abductor kept one arm around her, holding her in a tight grip while the other was rattling a set of keys. Her mouth went dry, her mind reeling when she realized he had her keys. The keys to her house. That meant he must have her purse, too. Until that moment, she hadn’t even thought about her purse.

  Seconds later, the door opened and she was dragged inside. One of her high-heeled shoes slipped off as it caught on the door frame. The shoe went unnoticed as the door was quickly slammed shut.

  Her abductor set her down, his voice whispered menacingly in her ear. “Home Sweet Home. Now you better think real hard about what you did with my papers.”

  Sam was left balancing precariously on uneven feet, her ankles still tied together. For a split second, she had the urge to scream as loud as she could at the top of her lungs in the hopes that there was the teensiest chance her neighbor might hear.

  Any thought of that was quickly forgotten as a cold piece of metal was pressed against the side of her face – a gun!

  The menacing voice continued. “I’m going to untie you and take off your blindfold but if you scream or raise your voice even just a little, I’m going to blow your head off, you got that?”

  Sam swallowed hard and nodded her head, too terrified to even whisper a reply.

  With that, her abductor untied her feet first. Pain from the rope burns seared Sam’s skin but there was no time to dwell on it.

  After her legs were freed, the ropes on her wrists were loosened and then yanked off.

  The blindfold was the last thing to go. She blinked her eyes rapidly as they tried to adjust. The room was dark – almost pitch black and Sam had trouble focusing. As her eyes finally began registering her surroundings, they moved to the living room window. There was no light streaming in so it must be the middle of the night.

  Without warning, the hallway light was switched on and Sam was temporarily blinded. She reached out to grab the wall and steady herself, blinking several times until her eyes began to focus for a second time.

  When she was able to look around, she almost wished he had left the blindfold on. Her heart sunk. Her home was in absolute shambles, almost completely destroyed.

  Sam closed her eyes, trying to wrap her mind around this unbelievable, nightmarish situation. She opened them again and choked back a sob. Not one single thing in her home was in its place. Everything had either been upended or completely destroyed.

  There was only one place left to look. Her gaze slowly and fearfully turned to the man standing nearby. As her eyes traveled upwards, she could see that her abductor was lean and tall and was wearing a dark jacket with black slacks.

  She slowly lifted her gaze. His face was covered with a black ski mask. The only thing visible were two beady little eyes that peered out at her from small, round holes.

  When he saw she was starting at him, he leaned forward and spoke. “Now go get the papers!”

  Sam turned ashen-colored as the blood drained from her face. “I told you, I d-don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Sam looked at her captor with pleading eyes. “I swear, I don’t know what you’re looking for.” She looked around. “Don’t you think if I had it, you would’ve found it by now? You destroyed my home!”

  That answer only seemed to enrage him as he grabbed her arm and half-shoved, half-dragged her into the living room. When they got there, he pushed her towards the center of the room and pointed the gun directly at her. “You have one minute to tell me where it is or I’m going to kill you!”

  Chapter 6r />
  Inside the station, Lee and Donovan quickly scanned the packet of papers spread out on the table. It didn’t take long before Lee leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Just what I thought.”

  He tossed the picture he was holding across the table in Donovan’s direction. “We’ve been tracking him for some time now. This is the person who has Sam.”

  Donovan glanced at the picture before he opened his mouth to say something. Just then, his cell phone rang and he quickly answered it.

  Lee watched Donovan’s expression as it grew serious. “Yes. Yes, that’s awesome! Give me the address. We’ll head over there now.”

  Donovan quickly scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Lee. “This is where they’re at – Sam and the guy you’ve been looking for.”

  Lee glanced at the piece of paper Donovan had just written on. It was an address he knew all too well.

  He jumped out of his char. “We’ve got to go now! This guy is ruthless. If he doesn’t get what he wants – Sam’s a goner!”

  On their way to the car, Lee turned to Donovan. “How’d they get that address so fast?”

  Donovan grinned like a Cheshire Cat. “We’ve had surveillance on this guy for a while now. We got a lucky break not too long ago when he left his cell phone in his car. We had just enough time to stick a tracer on it before he came back to get it. We’ve been tracking him ever since.”

  He continued, “When you told me who it was, I sent a message to the department so they could pinpoint his exact location.”

  Lee’s expression grew grim. “I just hope we make it in time. This guy is a real nut job. Who knows what he’ll do if he doesn’t get what he wants.”

  The drive to Sam’s house seemed to take forever. Visions of Sam’s lifeless body sprawled out on the floor made Lee want to break every speed limit there was.

  When they finally pulled into her neighborhood, they parked the car a short distance away and made the rest of the trip on foot.