She jerked.
She fought.
It made no difference. The arm around her waist was a clamp. Tight. Immovable. Strong. Someone huge came into view in front of her.
“Calm down.” It was an order. “No one will hurt you. Frank only wants to talk.”
It took a minute for Jena's eyes to focus on the huge beast of a man. Her eyes went wide. Grunt?
“What the hell do you think you're doing, you imbecile?” she shouted at him. Unfortunately, there was a hand over her mouth, so all he heard was “Urg umph da umph u arumph.” Still, she hoped her fury was clear.
Grunt winced slightly and actually looked ashamed. She frowned at him. Hard. She tried to communicate with her eyes that he was totally dead once this was over.
“We need you to talk to Frank. Once that happens, we'll bring you back. I promise you won’t get hurt.”
Like she’d believe the word of her kidnapper.
“Enough explaining,” the guy holding her said. She assumed it was the other half of the goon duo. “Let's get this over with.”
Jena felt rage vibrate through every tense muscle in her body. He may as well have been transporting a marble statue, she was that stiff with indignation.
Her captor climbed into the back of a van, taking her with him. Grunt sat in the driver's seat. He looked over his shoulder at her.
“I promise, you’re safe with us. We won’t let the idiot harm you in any way, and we’ll bring you back here as soon as he’s done talking. You won’t be gone long.” He gave her a sheepish smile. “You think, maybe, you could avoid telling Claire about this?”
She bugged her eyes at him. Seriously? He was worried what his girlfriend thought of him kidnapping someone.
“Can we not make this about your weird relationship?” Joe said lazily while his grip on her remained vice-like. “Get this van moving. Sooner we're out of here, sooner this is over.”
“You two are so dead,” Jena shouted into the hand. Again, her threat was lost in translation.
The van moved. She’d expected a screech. Instead they drove slowly.
Jena sat wrapped in a coil of muscle, unable to move or call for help. The reality of the situation began to sink in past her fear and anger.
She’d been kidnapped.
She’d been taken.
Where the hell was Liam Neeson when you needed him?
Her eyes narrowed. Frank wanted to talk, did he? Well, she could talk. Oh yeah, she would make sure Frank heard her loud and clear. Then she planned to talk her head off to Matt and Claire. She was going to talk so much she'd run out of words before she was through. Nothing on this planet would keep her quiet. The goon duo, Dumb and Dumber, were in for a truckload of trouble. And Frank, well, she had a whole lot of things to say to him. Things she should have said before she left the States. Things she planned to get off her chest now she had the opportunity.
And when she finished having her say, she intended to kick Frank Di Marco's slutty, cheating balls hard enough to make them fly out his lying, kidnapping mouth.
26
Matt was exhausted. He’d spent a good chunk of the night in the hospital, making sure his mother held it together. His father had a plate and pin inserted in his hip. The doctor said it was a heavy operation, but they had to do it or the pain would have been too much for him to handle. He also told Matt things would be touch and go for a while. The seriousness of the fall, added to his father’s already greatly deteriorated state, meant they were in a “wait and see” situation. His mother was staying by his father’s side in the hospital, and Matt and the twins were taking turns keeping her company. There was nothing else any of them could do—so it was back to Jena duty for Matt.
Matt pushed open the door to the hardware store, spotted Gordon behind the counter and nodded at him.
“How’s your dad?” Gordon said.
“Still unconscious. The operation went well, though. We’ll need to see how he does from here.”
“Aye, it’s a rough time for everyone, that’s for sure. Tell your mother we were asking after her. If there’s anything we can do to help, just shout out.”
“Thanks, Gordon.” Matt looked around the empty store. “Where’s Calamity?” He held up the bag. “I brought lunch.”