North Dakota Weddings (19 page)

Once she reached her truck, Andi turned to face him. “Right, and I also said I don’t really know you. You could
be
trouble. Those guys could have been government agents for all I know.”

What?
“Well, that’s just…” Vance threw his hands up and walked away. Women.

If his brusque manner would make her leave, get her to safety, it was for the best. He didn’t have time to explain or argue. He’d have to find a way to make it up to her later.

Hopefully, there would be a later.

Pain lashed at Vance’s heart as the sound of gravel crackled under Andi’s tires, taking her away from Ground Zero. He wasn’t sure how he expected her to act. The circumstances were unfamiliar to him as well.

As for the two men, the elevator wouldn’t work without the key or communication from underground, allowing them in. As far as he could tell, they hadn’t penetrated the facility, nor the stairs.

He descended into Ground Zero with as much caution as he could muster. The closest he’d ever come to acting the part of hero was in video games. He wasn’t trained in police work of any sort. Then why was he slinking around in ANND’s systems, trying to gather evidence to prove his innocence while proving others guilty?

It had become painfully clear that he’d made a huge mistake. He’d look around the place, then make the call and hope—no, pray—the police would listen to him, hear him out before Peter was brought to the table to distort the facts.

What choice did he have now? He was in over his head.

First Vance looked at his laptop and other electronics—the most likely places they’d search if they’d found a way in. He blew out a breath, satisfied they’d not gained entry. Still, they’d followed him. They’d be back. He checked his e-mail to see if Peter had left him a message.

Nothing.

Making good on his promise to call the authorities was the only logical next step. He had to admit he was scared. What kind of people were these men? He’d never learned whom Peter had gotten involved with—but with big dollars involved and anti-government activity, they had to be dangerous.

Vance dialed information. Call waiting indicated another call coming in. Andi’s number. He abandoned his other call to answer.

“Vance. The men—they have us…” Andi’s voice was breathy and filled with fear. “They’ve got Elisa…and me.”

The tough guy grabbed the phone from Andi, tugging some of her hair with it. “Ouch.” She glared at him. The larger of the two men, he had red hair and looked like a bodybuilder.

Elisa sat on the sofa, petrified. Andi wanted to comfort her sister. Later she’d scold her for answering the door when she’d warned her not to. But Elisa had insisted it was Todd.

Andi could hear Vance yelling her name over the phone.

She attempted to rush to Elisa. The bodybuilder grabbed her upper arm and squeezed. Hard. Tears rushed to her eyes.

He raised the phone to his face and spoke to Vance. “You have twenty-four hours to reverse what you’ve done to the Nitro Project.”

Vance’s voice boomed over the phone. “I need more time.”

“If you want to see your friends again, that’s all you have.” He ended the call, then shoved Andi to the sofa. She righted herself and wrapped her arms around Elisa, who whimpered.

“I’m so, so sorry, sis. I should have listened to you.”

“Shh. Everything is going to be fine.”
Vance is going to get us out of this
. A knot formed in Andi’s throat. She wasn’t sure she believed her own words, but she had to remain strong.

But this wasn’t a part of her normal life, this…was a tragedy. She wished she had called the police herself after all.

“What are you going to do with us?” Elisa asked.

Andi went rigid and squeezed Elisa, hoping her question didn’t elicit a violent response. The men ignored her.

“What’s to drink around here?” the shorter of the two said. Looking slim and agile, he had dark hair and wore a black suit. He moved out of sight and into the kitchen. Andi heard the refrigerator door open and shut, followed by the sound of a soda top pop and the resulting fizz. He reappeared, drinking the soda and looking around the room.

Andi squirmed with irritation at his audacity. Breaking into her home, kidnapping them, and stealing a cola. Who were these guys? An idea began to form. She might know little about them, but…she cocked her head, watching the cola guzzler…neither did the men know anything about her.

They didn’t know about the sledgehammer leaning against the wall in the corner, or the nail gun on the bookshelf, or any of the other various tools lying around the house that could easily transform into a weapon. Andi’s home was a never-ending remodeling project. Potential weapons surrounded them everywhere. If given the opportunity, a good shot of air freshener right in the eyes could give Andi and Elisa the chance they needed to escape.

Andi would wait for the right moment. With her newfound faith and trust in God, she sent up a silent prayer for a chance to get away. A shudder rolled over her body at the thought of using her tools in a violent way.

She chewed on her lip. It might be too risky to try anything. She had to think of Elisa.
Oh Vance. Please give them what they want
.

She’d give anything if she hadn’t left him in a huff. It had merely been a ploy to try and make him call the police. The maneuver had bombed.

“I have to go to the bathroom, sis,” Elisa whispered. “Will they let us go?”

Andi shrugged. “Let me ask, okay?”

“Say, are we allowed to use the restroom?”

Slim nodded to his partner in crime. “See to it.”

After Elisa looked at Andi, then between the two men, she cautiously rose and walked to the restroom, the bodybuilder following. Would he go in with her sister? The best Andi could hope for was they could remain comfortable on the sofa. That this wouldn’t be any more difficult for them. And, of course, that they would be released soon, without harm.

Get real
. They had seen the men’s faces. How could they let them go free? No, she couldn’t wait for this to play out in her favor. Somehow, they’d have to escape.

The bathroom window
. Andi perked up and looked in that direction. Maybe Elisa would climb through and get help.

Lord, please let Elisa—

Bodybuilder appeared in the hallway, shoving Elisa ahead of him. “She tried to escape through the window.”

“All right, that’s it.” Slim set down his soda. “We tried to be nice, but now we’re going to have to tie you up.”

“I thought we were taking them to—”

Slim shot him a warning glare.

Andi’s spirits sagged even lower. “No, please. She’s just a kid. She didn’t know any better. It won’t happen again. I promise.”

“Yeah, well, as far as I know, you put her up to it.” Slim looked around the room. “Aha. Just what I needed.” He found the duct tape resting on the side table. “You’re a regular handywoman, aren’t you?”

Andi turned her face away from him, hoping he wouldn’t discover her tools, potential weapons, lying around and remove them. Still, she or Elisa wouldn’t have a chance to escape if they were tied up. And if the men took them to an unknown location? She’d heard you should never let someone take you away. Fight as hard as you could. But these two guys seemed to fill her living room with their presence. How could she fight them to escape?

The men wrapped Andi and Elisa’s ankles, then their wrists behind them with duct tape. To her dismay, they taped their mouths shut.

“Now, back the car into the garage,” Slim said to Bodybuilder.

The next few minutes played before Andi like her worst nightmare. She and Elisa were lowered into the deep trunk of a car, sprawled precariously side by side, then Bodybuilder, smirking before he shut the trunk, blanketed them in darkness.

Do not panic. Elisa is counting on you
. Andi reasoned that the men couldn’t take them too far or else she and Elisa would run out of air, though she had no clue how long that would take. It seemed surreal. As soon as she falls for someone and asks God to come into her life, bad guys kidnap them.

She sensed the car traveling at a moderate speed, then stopping frequently. They were driving through downtown, no doubt there. If she concentrated, she might be able to make out where they were being taken. This was her town, after all. She counted at least five stops, then felt a right turn, a few more miles, then a left turn onto a bumpy road. The old, abandoned Garrison warehouse? That would make sense, but it made too much sense. Too predictable. Still, these men were counting on a quick job, which didn’t give her much time to come up with a plan if she hoped to save them.

When the trunk opened, Andi and Elisa were tugged out and set on their feet. When her eyes adjusted, she saw the dim lighting of the old warehouse, just as she’d thought. The men had obviously searched for an abandoned location to keep Andi and Elisa while pressuring Vance.

Still wrapped in duct tape, they were made to sit in chairs positioned back-to-back, then secured again with more duct tape.

“Nobody can hear you scream here.” With an evil grin, Bodybuilder ripped the tape from Andi’s mouth.

Pain seared her lips, but she made no sound, not wanting to give Bodybuilder any satisfaction. From behind, she heard Elisa’s yelp as the tape was removed.

For what felt like hours, Andi exhausted herself trying to come up with a possible escape. But she had long since realized that the chance had passed when they were tied up. If they were ever set free, for even a second, it would be better to die trying than to remain here. She leaned her head against the chair back, wondering what Elisa was thinking. She’d heard that people’s lives passed before their eyes as they were about to die. Instead she tried hard to avoid thinking through the events of her life.

But it didn’t hurt to think about the future, did it? Would she ever discover what her grandfather had hidden? Would she even get another chance to look? And what about a future with Vance? Images of his handsome face paraded through her mind. A door slammed, seeming to shake the entire warehouse.
Good gravy
. That’s all they needed was for the old building to come crashing down on them.

“Elisa, what happened?”

“One of the men left.”

Facing the wall, Andi couldn’t see which one. She lowered her voice. “Who’s still here?”

“I don’t know his name.”

Andi huffed. Frustrated, she tried to kick herself, which only shook both chairs.

“Psst. Andi,” Elisa whispered, almost too softly.

“Yeah.”

“My hands are free.”

Andi let the words soak in. “You…What?”

“My nail clippers, I tugged them from my back pocket. Took me a couple of hours, but I cut enough of the duct tape…”

“Okay, okay. Shhh. Let me think.”

Elisa remained quiet.

“I need to know which one is still here. The big one or the small one?” Andi asked.

“The one who looks like a bodyguard left.”

Good
. They had to act now. “We have to hurry. Clip my wrists, then I’ll get my ankles, since he can’t see me as well as he can see you.”

Andi remained as still as a statue in the chair, patiently waiting while Elisa clipped her wrists free. The trick with duct tape was to avoid the ripping sound it made.

Elisa stiffened, signaling to Andi something was up. Footsteps resounded in the warehouse. A pause, then a door shut, sounding more like a door to a room inside the warehouse. Possibly a bathroom or an office.

“Hurry, Andi.”

She clipped and ripped the tape around her ankles with lightning speed and helped Elisa do the same. They ran out the door, hoping they wouldn’t run directly into Bodybuilder.

“Quick. Over here.” Andi tugged Elisa behind some bushes. Though sunset was upon them, they could still be spotted in the dusk.

“What are we going to do now?” Elisa’s voice trembled. “We can’t outrun him, can we?”

Okay, Lord. I really need Your help now like never before
.

The railroad tracks. That was it. “Come on, we’ll follow the tracks.”

Andi began jogging next to them.

“But wait, isn’t town that way?” Elisa pointed in the opposite direction.

“Yeah, and that’s exactly why we’re heading this way.” Once Slim discovered their escape, he was sure to look for them running toward town. “Besides, Freya Emerson lives down here. We can call for help and borrow her car.”

In the dimming light of day, Andi saw Elisa’s smile and something else.

Respect
.

She and Elisa followed the tracks for a half a mile, then jogged down a dirt road for another half a mile to Freya’s century-old farmhouse. Out of breath, Andi knocked on the woman’s door, knowing they’d wake her. Freya went to bed at six in the evening and got up every morning at four.

Once Freya invited them in, Andi quickly explained their predicament. Freya offered her car and cell phone—a Jitterbug.

“Thank you, Freya. We’ve got to run now. Please call the police and send them to Mr. Erickson’s old missile site.” She hugged Freya. “And take care of yourself.”

“You’re not going to the missile site, are you?” Freya crinkled her brow.