Chapter 264: Taken in Silence
Slowly, Abby began to open her eyes. A wave of pain washed over her almost immediately. She couldn’t quite tell where it was coming from, was it inside her head like a pulsing migraine, or was it on the outside, aching across her skull?
She instinctively tried to move her hands, maybe to touch her head or rub her tired eyes, but something was wrong, she couldn’t move them at all.
Are they tied right now? she thought, her mind sluggish and confused. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The moment she became aware of her mouth, she realized she couldn’t move that either. A strip of tape had been pressed tightly over her lips, sealing them shut.
Panic crept up her spine like icy fingers. Her wrists and ankles were both bound, making it so the only thing she could do was squirm and wiggle helplessly in place.
Her breathing quickened as she struggled to get her bearings, her mind racing to piece together what had happened. After a few moments, through the haze of confusion, she finally noticed her surroundings.
She was in the backseat of a car, but not the kind she would have expected after being kidnapped. No, this wasn’t a rusty old van or a beat-up sedan. The leather beneath her felt expensive, and everything from the soft hum of the engine to the sleek interior screamed luxury.
Turning her head slightly, she managed to catch a glimpse of the driver. He was built, broad shoulders, thick arms, the kind of physique that suggested power and control. Again, not at all what she would have imagined a kidnapper to look like.
He must have been the one who broke into my house, Abby thought, her pulse quickening. But why would he kidnap me... in my own home?
Wouldn’t kidnappers usually just snatch someone off the street? Not break into someone’s house, unless... unless they knew me.
The idea sent another jolt of panic through her chest, but despite the rising fear, her thoughts were trying, desperatelytrying, to be rational. To find something that made sense.