Marked in Mexico (6 page)

Megan and Ashley were scared and desperate to trust someone with their safety. Unfortunately, at the moment, that was Gilbert. They were young and naïve, so Jack supposed they saw Gilbert as some sort of father figure. Somehow he and Jessica would have to shift their allegiance.

“So, do you have any ideas?” she asked hopefully, jabbing him in the ribs again to get his attention.

“You’ve got to quit doing that. You’re bony elbow hurts like heck.”

“Sorry. Think about it and think fast. I feel like there’s a ticking time bomb buried under this shack, set to explode at any minute.”

“Believe me, I’m working on it. Now go sit somewhere else. Not that I’m not enjoying your little excuse to get close to me, but if they think we’re anything more than two people thrown together by circumstances, they’ll use us against each other.”

* * * *

Jack scooted away before she could elbow him again and watched her huff off toward the window. He never lied. He
did
enjoy the feel of her so close to him and he was determined to not let it happen again. So far she had been rude, unapproachable, and at best, cool to him, but she was feisty and he liked that trait in her a little too much for his own good.

He had only known Jessica for a few days and already felt accountable for her safety, which terrified him. For the past three years Jack had been trying to avoid that feeling of responsibility at all cost. He had even quit guiding the difficult ascents and had taken over the beginners climbing school, which equated to showing first-timers how to use the equipment and practicing basic moves on climbing walls or over boulders, activities that posed no more risk than an occasional pulled muscle or twisted ankle. Dave and Zach had been patient with him and were trying to get him back out there, but Jack still wasn’t sure he could ever guide the technical climbs again. He couldn’t bear the weight of anyone’s safety again.

Jack’s mind filled with images of Elaine and thunderous snow barreling down the mountain, following a noise he would have sworn was a gunshot, which no one else heard. The avalanche that carried her off the cliff had come out of nowhere
¾
the predicted avalanche danger that day had been low. Jack usually led, but that one time he’d been far behind and helpless as he watched her body being swept away in a sea of white. He’d scrambled down the mountain, knowing he was too late, and he just couldn’t shake the guilt. It should have been him. Some days he still wondered how he could live the rest of his life knowing he had led Elaine to her death and he’d vowed to never put himself in that position again. But, here he was. Lives were at risk, including his own, and there was no way he wouldn’t do everything he could to save them all.

It had been quiet
¾
too quiet—and that made Jack nervous. As long as he could hear the men outside the door in the other room, he knew where they were and what they were doing. For the last four hours, he’d heard nothing.

He moved to the door and pressed his ear to the wood. Nothing. He wiggled the knob and heard the legs of a chair scrape across the wood floor and footsteps rushing toward him.

“Back! Sit!” the man shouted as he slammed the butt of his rifle against the heavy wooden door several times.

Jack walked across the room. There was still at least one man in the house and he was awake and armed. He doubted the other two were close by or they would have come running as well.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to get us killed?” Gilbert demanded as he moved toward Jack.

“I’m looking for a way out of here. Do you think they’re just going to let us go? Whether they get what they want or not, they have no intention of ever letting us live to tell about this.”

“You have no right putting the rest of us at risk. I will buy myself out of this mess and anyone who’s with me.” Gilbert looked over at Jessica.

She turned her back on him, but could feel his eyes boring into her flesh. When the sensation eased, she glanced up and could see Gilbert’s focused had turned to Megan and Ashley. The young women stared at him with wide, wet, terrified eyes and nodded frantically, indicating they would follow Gilbert.

“You don’t know they’ll kill us, so don’t piss them off,” Gilbert said as he poked Jack in the chest.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I do know their type and I know how they operate. They
will
kill us if we let them.”

“How do you know anything?”

Jack’s mind raced through his past, but he had no intention of sharing any of it with Gilbert. He forced his thoughts back to the present and glared at Gilbert.

“You’re going to have to trust me on this one.”

“Trust you? Like hell I will.” Gilbert spat between clenched teeth.

Jack shook his head and wandered toward the window near Jessica. If he were alone, he would have already tried to escape, but he hadn’t wanted to put the others in danger. Gilbert had no idea how small the chance was they would ever be released under any circumstances. The only one who seemed to understand was Jessica. If they had to go alone they would, but that would be even more difficult emotionally than physically dragging the other three with them. He didn’t care much about Gilbert’s fate, but Ashley and Megan didn’t deserve to suffer because of the man’s arrogance.

Jessica grabbed Jack’s arm. Without saying a word, she pulled him toward her. He looked out the window and could see a lantern bobbing erratically in the distance. As it moved closer, they could make out the sound of voices and the figures began to come into focus. Two of their captors were swaying as they walked, laughing, stumbling and cursing. They were drunk.

“This can’t be good,” she whispered.

“Come on. Curl up like you’re sleeping and as far away from the door as possible. If they come in, don’t make a noise or look up. The less you’re noticed the better.”

Jessica slouched in the furthest corner and pretended to be asleep. Jack sat down about six feet away, close enough to help if anyone came for her, but not close enough to look like he cared.

“Get away from the door and pretend to be asleep,” Jack ordered to the three sitting across the room.

“Why? What good will that do?” Gilbert asked.

“Just do it,” Jack hissed as he rested his head against the wall and pretended to be asleep.

The voices grew louder until they could hear the men right outside the door. Jessica squeezed her eyes shut and hoped they’d go away. A chair fell to the floor and the sound made her flinch. She fought to calm her nerves and get her breathing under control.

Laughter boomed from the room outside. Glass shattered and she could only imagine the two men had brought their buddy back something to drink as well, but had been too drunk to pass the bottle. She heard what she assumed were curses and a body falling against the door, and again laughter shook the room.

As the noise began to level off, Jessica thought maybe the intoxicated men would decide to sleep it off, but before her hopes could rise too high, the door flew open. Light spilled in from the outer room, silhouetting three figures in the doorway.

Jessica sat rigid and still in the far shadows, willing herself to be invisible. With one eye slit just enough to see, she watched as the two men stumbled into the room, while the sober one remained in the doorway with his rifle over his shoulder.

One man grabbed Ashley, who was sitting closest to the door, by the arm and jerked her to her feet. He started dragging her toward the door, but Megan grabbed her other arm and began tugging. The second man pulled Megan off and shoved her to the ground with such force that the solid thud of the young woman’s head hitting the floor echoed through the room. By now both women were sobbing.

Jessica could see what was going on, but was frozen with fear. She doubted she could make her feet move even if she could help. She could see Jack and hoped he’d stay still, but she knew he wouldn’t.

She held her breath as she watched Jack get to his feet and move toward Ashley. His movements were silent like a predator, but didn’t escape their captor’s attention. The man in the doorway stepped in and jammed the muzzle of the rifle into Ashley’s temple and yelled at Jack to get back or he would shoot.

Jack stopped and studied the three men. One had moved to the side, one gripped the trembling, whimpering Ashley, and the third held a gun to her head, never taking his eyes off of Jack. His mind ran through his options as Ashley’s terrified eyes pleaded with him for help.

He glanced over at Gilbert and could see the man would be of no use. Gilbert sat with his knees up and his arms wrapped tightly around them, slightly rocking, and purposely looking away. Megan still lay on the floor, stunned from the violent fall she’d taken. Jack knew if he tried to make a move the only one who would try to help would be Jessica and that would probably get her killed or worse. He put his hands up and took a step away as the three men backed out of the room dragging Ashley with them.

As soon as the door locked, Jessica rushed to Megan. She lifted the girl’s face and could see a large bruise forming where she had hit her cheek on the floor. She pulled Megan to her and held her against her breast. Megan shook, sobbing, while Jessica rubbed her hand up and down the girl’s arm trying to calm her fear.

A chair outside the room hit the floor. There were curses, cries and the sounds of shuffling feet and a series of crisp slaps. It was obvious Ashley hadn’t given up, but Jessica knew her struggle against the three men was useless and her heart ached for the doomed woman.

Jessica spoke aloud, trying to block out the screams. “Stay strong. Stay strong,” she muttered over and over. She didn’t know if she was trying to convince Megan or herself, so kept repeating the words as she rocked.

“You still think we should just sit and wait?” Jack growled at Gilbert as he walked over to him and kicked him with the toe of his boot. “If I had a real man here with me, we could have taken them. There was only one gun and two of the men were so drunk they could hardly stand. What’s wrong with you?”

“I don’t know how to fight and I don’t believe in it. It’s unfortunate what’s happening to her, but she’s not my problem. I’m only worried about getting myself home to my family and the right amount of money will take me there.”

Jack grabbed Gilbert by the shirt and dragged the bulky man to his feet. He was no longer concerned with being quiet since he doubted the men could hear anything over Ashley’s screams. He punched Gilbert in the gut as hard as he could and then let go of his shirt and watched the man gasp for air as he sunk to the floor.

He walked back to the window and ran his fingers though his hair. As the hoots and laughter rose and Ashley’s screams turned to sobs, Jack pounded his fists into the wall. He cursed and shook the bars on the window.

Jessica nudged Megan to the far corner of the room and they huddled together. She stroked Megan’s long blonde hair as she held her head close to her chest. Jessica hoped to muffle some of the noise, but knew there was little she could do to disguise what was happening to the girl’s friend.

The sobbing and pleading mixed with laughter went on for what felt like an eternity. Jessica looked to Jack for comfort, but he avoided her gaze. She could see he was angry and frustrated and hoped he wouldn’t take it out on Gilbert again, since fighting was pointless. How she wished the noise would stop, but when it did she cringed. When she could no longer hear Ashley’s cries, she knew the worst had happened.

The house went silent. They heard a door open and two sets of footsteps left the building. The van started up and drove away and soon one person returned. They heard the clank of pans and could smell the smoke from the cook stove. Soon the aroma of frying food wafted under the door and the smell made Jessica nauseous.

She looked over at Jack and watched as his back slid down the wall toward the floor until he was sitting on his heels. He buried his face in his hands and didn’t look up. She wanted to go to him, but at the moment Megan needed her more.

Ashley didn’t return. They all knew she was dead, but no one spoke about what had happened. When food and water were brought in, no one looked up, and after the men were gone, no one moved.

Megan remained so silent and withdrawn throughout the night that Jessica worried more than she would have if Megan had broken down and cried. Jessica wished she knew how to comfort Megan, but nothing could ease the horror so fresh in all of their minds.

Jack moved to the corner and knelt down in front of Jessica and Megan. He waited until Megan looked up at him.

“I know you probably don’t feel like it right now, but we all need to eat and drink something. We need to keep our strength up if we hope to get out of here. We’ll watch them closely tonight and if they go out drinking again, that’s when we’ll make our move.”

* * * *

Gilbert hated being the outcast, but he knew better than to try to join the group huddled in the corner. His gut still hurt from the hit he took the night before. He’d underestimated Jack. The man was smaller than his two climbing buddies, but he was strong and had obviously thrown a few punches in his life.