Abduction (Killer Instinct 4)

Prologue

“Stay away from him, Jill.” Jillian West’s grandmother pointed toward the end of the long, wooden pier. A boy was there, gazing out at the distant waves, a boy who appeared to be just a little older than Jill. “He’s trouble.”

But he didn’t look like trouble. The boy’s blond hair blew in the wind and his faded T-shirt fluttered in the breeze.

“I’ll only be inside a minute,” her grandmother promised as she patted Jill’s shoulder. “Stay here.”

And then her grandmother was gone. She’d drifted into the little souvenir shop that waited near the pier, her voice drifting back to Jill as her grandmother called out a greeting to her friend inside the store.

Her grandmother had a lot of friends in Hope, Florida. It seemed that everyplace they went she met someone she knew. Jillian’s flip-flops slid over the wooden pier as she stared up at the boy with the blond hair. She’d moved in with her grandmother just a few weeks before, but she still hadn’t gotten a chance to talk with any kids in the town.

Her grandmother knew plenty of people, just no one who was close to Jillian’s age. No other kids around thirteen for her to chat with as she adjusted to her sudden, jarring new life.

Just then, the boy glanced back at her. She stiffened, but then Jill found herself lifting her hand in an awkward wave. She even took a few quick steps toward him. His head cocked as he stared at her.

Her hand fell back to her side.

He’s trouble. Her grandmother’s warning whispered through her mind once more.

But he was coming closer to her. His sneakers didn’t even seem to make a sound as he eliminated the distance between them, and then he was there, peering down at her. He was taller than she was, his shoulders already becoming broad, and he used one careless hand to shove back his overly long hair.

“I don’t know you,??

? he said. His voice was deeper than she’d expected. He appeared to be around fifteen, maybe sixteen, but that voice was so grown-up.

“No, ah, I’m new.” She tucked her hands behind her back. “I’m Jillian, but my friends call me Jill.”

His gaze swept over her—dark brown eyes. Deep eyes. When she looked hard enough—and Jill was looking so hard that she felt herself blush—she saw a circle of gold in those brown eyes.

“You think we’re friends, Jill?” He emphasized her name, just a bit.

She shrugged. “We could be.” She bit her lip and offered her hand to him. “It’s nice to meet you.”

He frowned at her hand, staring at it a little too long and hard, and then his gaze slowly rose to her face. “You have no clue who I am, do you?”

He’s trouble. Jillian shook her head. She felt so silly standing there, with her hand offered to him. Maybe she should drop her hand.

“I’m not very good friend material.” His lips twisted. “Ask anyone.”

She dropped her hand. She felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. He doesn’t want to be my friend.

“I saw you with your grandmother.”

Wait, when had he seen her? She’d thought that he’d been staring at the water the whole time she’d been chatting with her grandmother.

His head cocked. “I’m surprised she didn’t tell you to stay away from me.”

“She did,” Jill blurted.

Surprise flashed on his face. “So you’re not good at doing what you’re told, huh?” He made a tut-tut sound. “What would your parents say?”

Her skin iced. The pain was so raw and fresh—it gutted her. Jill sucked in a sharp breath and took a quick step back. “They can’t say anything. They’re dead.” And she shouldn’t be talking to him. She shouldn’t be so desperate for a friend, for any friend, that she’d disobey her grandmother. Her grandmother was all she had left. If her grandmother got mad at her...what if her grandmother decided she didn’t want to be saddled with a kid? What if she dumped Jill someplace else? What if—

Jill spun on her heel. “I have to go.” She ran away from him, nearly losing a flip-flop in her hurry. She’d go back to the car. Wait there. And she would not talk to anyone until her grandmother finished her chat. Her eyes stung with tears as she fled and Jill heard the boy call out her name.

But she didn’t stop.

What would your parents say?

She wished they could still say something to her. Say anything to her.

The pier ended. Her flip-flops sank into the beautiful white sand of the beach, sand so white it was like sugar. The first time she’d seen that sand, she’d grabbed it, laughing at how light it felt as it ran through her fingers. She wasn’t laughing now.

She swiped at the tears on her cheeks. The first kid she’d met, and she’d started crying in front of him. What a way to get a good reputation in the town. Jillian’s a crybaby. Jillian’s a baby.

Her grandmother’s dependable four-door sedan waited a few feet away. There were only a few other cars in the parking lot. It was late, nearing sunset, and not many folks were still out.

“Are you okay, little girl?”

I’m not little. Those were the words that rose to her lips. But she didn’t snap them at the man who approached her. He was frowning, looking concerned.

Probably because I’m crying.

“Are you all alone?” He seemed horrified by the very idea.

“M-my grandmother is in the souvenir shop.” She pointed behind her. The man stepped closer to her. “She’ll be out soon.”

The man nodded as if that were a good thing, then his hand clamped over her shoulder. Hard. Hard enough to hurt and he leaned in toward Jill and whispered, “Not soon enough, Jill.”

How does he know my name?

She opened her mouth, but Jill didn’t get to scream. He slapped his other hand over her mouth and yanked her against him. She kicked out, struggling, but he was big and strong. So much bigger than she was. And he was running with her, heading toward a van a few feet away.

No, no, this can’t happen!

“Don’t make me kill you now,” he growled.

Jill froze.

He opened the side door of the van. He threw her inside, but Jill lunged forward, ready to jump back out again.

He hit her. A hard punch right to her face. It was the first time in Jill’s life that she’d ever been hit. For a moment, she was dazed. Her gaze slid away from the man before her—a monster—and...

She saw him...the boy from the pier. The boy with the too long blond hair. He was running toward her.

“Jill!” the boy yelled.

But the man who’d grabbed her...he jabbed something into her neck. Something sharp. A needle?

She fell back into the van, her head hitting the side panel, and darkness flooded Jill’s vision.

* * *

“JILL? JILL!”

Her eyes flew open and Jill sucked in a quick breath so that she could scream.

“No, don’t.” A sweaty hand flew over her mouth. “If you scream, he’ll hear you and he’ll find us.”

Us?

Jill blinked as she became aware of her surroundings. She was in a room with no furniture, just wooden walls. Her hands—her hands were tied together and so were her feet. She was on a dirty, dusty floor. Light burned from overhead, too bright, too stark.

“We can’t let him find us, Jill,” the boy said.

Boy. It was the boy from the pier. He had scratches on his face and his eyes were wide and intense as he stared down at her.

“I’ll untie you, and then we’re going to run. We’re going to run as fast as we can, got it?”

She nodded, tears stinging her eyes.

His hand slipped away from her mouth and he began to work on the ropes that held her. The ropes at her feet gave way quickly, but the ones that bound her wrists—they were knotted, stuck.

“Forget it,” he said and yanked her up to her feet. “We’ll get them later, after we’re out of here.”

She didn’t even know where here was, but she wanted to leave. She wanted to leave right then.

He pushed her toward the window. It was open and the scent of the salty ocean blew in toward her. “I’ll give you a boost. You get out, and you go, got it? You move. You don’t look back at me. Trust me, I’ll be coming. I’ll be right behind you. You just go.”

Jill nodded. She’d go.

He pushed her through the window and she fell out on the other side, hitting her shoulder with a jarring impact, but Jill pounced back to her feet and she started running. Only...there didn’t seem to be anywhere to run to. It was dark and there were trees shooting up all around her, a marshy-like area and she looked back, scared—

He was there. The boy with the too long hair. He grabbed her bound wrists. “Come on, Jill.”

She didn’t see the man who’d taken her. She was afraid he was out there, watching them. That he was going to attack them. Going to hurt them both.

Kill them.

They ran into muddy water, and it was cold, chilling her. Her teeth started to chatter, not from the cold, but from the terror clawing at her. “H-he...hurt me.” Her jaw still ached. “He...took me...” Kidnapped her from right out in the open. A parking lot.

“I saw him.” His fingers fumbled with the ropes that bound her wrists. The knots came free and he rubbed at her skin, being so careful with her. “I wasn’t going to let you vanish.”

Vanish.

That’s what would have happened to her, Jill knew it. She just would have vanished without a trace. “I want to go home,” she whispered.

Home...

The house she’d shared with her parents in Georgia. Her haven. Her safe place. She wanted her mom. She wante

d her dad. She wanted this to be a terrible nightmare.

But the boy wrapped his arms around her and he held her tight. “It’s okay. We’re going to be okay.”

She believed him. He’d found her, someway. Gotten her out of...there. He saved her. “I don’t... I don’t even know your name.”

He pulled back and stared at her. “I’m Hayden. Hayden Black.”

Hayden. Such a good name for a best friend.

They ran until they reached the road. They ran and ran, but each time a car came by, Hayden made her hide.

He was afraid the kidnapper was coming for them.

Hours ticked by and then they finally made it to the small sheriff’s station. Lights blazed from inside the square building and patrol cars filled the parking lot. Hayden’s fingers were laced with hers as they walked up the wooden steps that led to the station. He opened the door, and they slipped inside.

There was instant silence. Every eye turned toward them.

Jill looked down at herself. Her clothes were torn and muddy. She’d lost her flip-flops. Her feet were raw and blistered.

And she was sure her jaw was bruised. It still hurt so much.

“Jillian!” Her grandmother ran to her and yanked Jill close in a crushing hug. “My little Jilly!”

Jilly. Her mother used to call her that, too. Jilly went up the hilly... Her own version of the rhyme.

The tears were falling again. Jill couldn’t stop them. Her grandmother wasn’t mad. She wasn’t going to send her away. Her grandmother smelled like sweet vanilla. Like apricots.

Like home.

“What in the hell did you do, boy?” It was a man’s voice, rough and demanding. And that voice...the man...he was nearby. A big, bearlike man wearing a sheriff’s uniform and sporting a gleaming badge. “You took that poor girl? You hurt her?”

No, no, of course Hayden hadn’t hurt her. Jillian struggled out of her grandmother’s desperate embrace. That big man had grabbed Hayden. His face was angry as the sheriff snarled, “You’re just like your father.”

All of the color bled from Hayden’s face.

“You pulled the wrong stunt today,” the man snapped. “You—”