Free A Twist of Betrayal by Allie Harrison Page B

minutes and alert all his friends about me and which direction we’re heading? Forget it.” He put the van in gear and sped off.
    Justine knew there was probably a video camera on the officer’s cruiser. She didn’t break the news that his taser job was caught on tape. Or that Dan and his colleagues all might know as soon as the cruiser was discovered.
    “He’s not exactly in my plan, but I thought what the hell, the more the merrier!”
    They sped away, and Justine’s heart sank as more distance was put between her and Dan. How long before the officer’s abandoned car was discovered? Would Dan find it and know to come in this direction?
    She would have dwelled on those questions longer, but in the falling darkness of the van, she noticed blood on her jeans.
    “His head is bleeding,” Justine said, trying to move to get a better look. Despite her hands still being bound together, she put pressure on the wound with one palm.
    “Yeah, he hit the asphalt pretty hard.”
    Her captor didn’t slow down or even look back.
    “He needs stitches. He probably has a concussion, too.”
    “Hopefully, for his sake, he’ll get over it.”
    “He needs a hospital. He needs a doctor.”
    “He gets you or he gets nothing. You decide.”
    “You are one heartless sonofabitch,” she said.
    “You have to be that way to get what you want in this world.”
    Justine said no more as she continued to press against the officer’s wound to stop the bleeding. She only hoped before this was over she’d get the chance to give her kidnapper a bit of pain and make him bleed, even if it was only a little.
    It was several minutes before the bleeding subsided. Justine said nothing, knowing full well she probably wouldn’t be given a bandage if she asked for one.
    The drive felt endless. With the sway of the van, bouts of nausea touched her like waves, forcing her to breathe deeply and close her eyes until it passed.
    It was fully dark by the time the van stopped. Justine was cramped, achy, hungry, and miserable.
    When her kidnapper pulled the sliding door open to reveal nothing but darkness, she trembled with cold and fear. This is it , she thought. He doesn’t really intend to ransom me. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and he’s going to pull me out and shoot me .
    The officer had moaned and moved a few times, but hadn’t yet regained consciousness.
    So it was only Justine, alone. She would do whatever she had to to keep from letting him kill her. Slowly she patted her belly again, hoping the baby felt her reassurance.
    Standing outside the open van door, he stared at her. Justine didn’t move. She didn’t even breathe. She merely stared back. She might be stiff, her knees sore from landing on the parking lot pavement and working on tile grout, but she was prepared to do something—anything. “Please just let me go,” she tried.
    He ignored her plea. “Come on, sweetcakes.” His words dripped with sarcasm and impatience.
    Dare she test him further? “What about him?” she asked, looking down at the man in the uniform.
    “He’s not going anywhere like that. I’ll get you settled and I’ll be back for him.”
    Justine wasn’t given a chance to refuse as he grabbed her leg and dragged her out of the van. In the dark, she saw nothing but trees, then the shadowed outline of a rustic cabin.
    Nothing looked familiar. She tried to turn and look back at the drive, to search for a familiar highway or landmark, but he tightened his hold on her arm enough to probably cause bruises.
    “No time to sightsee.” He pulled her roughly across a muddy yard. “There’s nothing there anyway.”
    “I’m telling you, this is a mistake.” She needed a bathroom. She needed something to eat.
    “Shut up,” he ordered. “I would have thought getting hit in the mouth and nose would make it hurt enough to keep you from using it. Do I need to hit you again?”
    “No.” She allowed herself to be pulled through the dark and up the few steps to