Free Sweet Arrest by Jordyn Tracey Page B

her hearing. Every time she focused on a sound, her mind went blank or the sounds became distorted. Connor in the same situation would take it all in, and be free by now. Then again, he was trained. He dealt with violence every day as a part of his job. She was new to all of this, and didn't want to make it a habit.
    Soon they stopped, and this time, A'isha caught the distinctive click of a car's trunk unlocking. “No, you can't put me in the trunk. I'll run out of air. The bumps in the road will cause me to hit my head. I'll be knocked out and disoriented. I won't be able to remember how to do the code.” She was rambling out of control, but couldn't pull herself together.
    "Oh, you better hope you remember.” She slammed a hand down on A'isha's head. “Now get in the car!"
    "No!” With her arms tied behind her back and the blindfold still in place, A'isha guessed where the woman's foot was and came down on it with brute force. When she doubled over with a shout of pain, A'isha rammed her. They both went over, landing on the ground. The sickening thud of the woman's head hitting the ground almost made her throw up, but A'isha swallowed and rolled to her knees.
    She found the bumper of the car to lean on to stand and took off running, all the while praying there was no drop off somewhere that would cause her to break her neck. Voices in the distance caught her attention. She ran harder. “Help! Somebody help me!"
    "Where are you? A'isha!” The woman had come to. A'isha ducked down and slowed her run. She attempted to steady her breathing so she could hear behind her, but the noise of her panting and the slap of her feet on the road muffled all other sounds.
    Stepping wrong off a curb, she tumbled forward to land on the ground. Now she heard the pounding feet somewhere in the darkness. The voices she had heard were silent. Maybe the echo off the buildings had led her in the opposite direction. Rolling to her knees, she tried to stand, but the pain in her ankle sent her down for the second time. She tried again. This time she rolled down steps to land in a puddle of water. The disgusting stale liquid coated her face. She shook her head to get it off, trying not to think about the germs and single-celled living creatures in it.
    Footsteps clattered past. “A'isha, where the fuck are you!” The woman's voice faded.
    She sighed, laying there half in the water. If she could figure out how to get the rope off, she could make some head way in her escape. The ropes grew tighter. With a sob, she realized that wetting the rope only made it draw up. Now, she wasn't getting it off no matter what she did.
    Instead, she scraped her face along the ground. The blindfold slid up a small way so that she could peek out with one eye. She lay in a narrow alley between two buildings. From the nearby freight storage containers, she guessed she was near the docks. Inhaling the air confirmed it. Where she had been too confused and afraid to pick up the scent earlier, she smelled the water now.
    Flipping to her other side, she scraped her face on the ground a second time. The blindfold shifted to her forehead. Her eyes uncovered, she struggled to sit up. Now that she could see where she was going, she could run faster and get help. There were always people working at the docks, or just hanging out. Come to think of it, there was a club not far. An old boyfriend had taken her there on their second date.
    The shoddy upkeep and wild patrons were not her cup of tea, but her date loved it. She had broken it off soon after.
    Finally on her feet, she sighed. “Never knew I had such strength. Can't give up now."
    Keeping to the shadows and stopping every so often to listen, she hurried in the direction she remembered the club being. Her hands had gone numb, and she had to pee, but she pushed on.
    Around a corner, she came across a woman several feet away. Something made her pause instead of calling out for help. The woman didn't look right. About her