Page 89 of Protecting Maggie
“You’re a hard woman to make disappear,” he said almost lazily.
Maggie couldn’t believe he was here. That he had the guts to participate in her kidnapping firsthand. She wanted to claw his eyes out. Leap into the front seat and attack him, make him crash so she could get out of the car and away from his evilness. But there was a metal barrier between the front and back seats. She couldn’t do a damn thing to him as he drove.
“I told you to keep your mouth shut,” he said. “You didn’t. I warned you that if I heard even a peep that your SEAL boyfriend or his friends were asking about me, it wouldn’t end well for you. But they aren’t going to take me down. No one can. I’m untouchable.”
“You’re wrong,” Maggie managed to say.
He laughed. The sound made the hair on the back of Maggie’s neck stand up.
“What are you going to do about it? Looks as if I have the upper hand right now. The back doors can’t be opened from the inside, and you can’t do anything to make me wreck this car. You aren’t going anywhere until we get to where we’re going.”
“And where’s that?” Maggie couldn’t help but ask.
“There’s a nice little beach that I know of. Deserted, out of the way. Not too far from your apartment, actually. It’ll be a shame when people find the suicide note you left behind before you drown yourself in the ocean.”
“No one is going to believe I killed myself,” Maggiesaid, her voice wobbling a bit instead of sounding as firm as she wanted it to.
“Doesn’t matter. Not when your body will never be found to verify anything. Besides, even if they did find it, an autopsy will confirm water in your lungs. Classic drowning.”
Roman really was insane. He was talking about murdering her as calmly as he would discuss the weather.
“You aren’t going to get away with this,” she said almost desperately.
“Of course I am. You have no idea how many contacts I have. In the police department, the Navy, local government, drug dealers…everyone I come into contact with owes me, or I have something I can hold over their heads. Everyone doeswhatI want,whenI want it done. Haven’t you learned that yet?”
Maggie swallowed hard. It was sinking in for real now that she was going to die. “Leave Shawn and his friends alone,” she said in a low voice. She wasn’t above begging. Anything to make sure the man she loved was safe.
“Not happening,” Roman said almost gleefully. “I have plans for them. They think they’re such hot shit. News flash—they aren’t. They might have a no-deploy tag on them right now, but eventually that’ll be removed…and I know just where they’re going next.” He laughed again. A sound so evil, Maggie shivered in terror.
“Sit back and relax, love. We’ll be there soon.”
Maggie was having trouble breathing. There seemed tobe no stopping this man. He was evil incarnate, and she was stuck in his vile web.
Turning slightly to look out the window, Maggie flinched. Her side ached. One of her hands touched the wound there, and she saw blood smeared on her fingers. Instinctively, she wiped them on the leather seat. She watched a lot of crime TV, and it occurred to her if she could leave DNA behind, maybe someday, someone who wasn’t under Roman’s thumb would find it.
Trying to be as sneaky as possible, Maggie put her fingers under her shirt, gathered up more of her blood, then wiped it under the lip of the seat, behind the handle of the door, even on the seat belt she hadn’t bothered to put on. Trying to leave some sort of trace for some crime tech to find that she’d been in this backseat, even if it was a decade from now.
As the streets of Riverton went by, Maggie’s hope that someone would come to her rescue quickly faded. Yes, Shawn would realize she was gone, but it would be too late. And there was no way to track her. His computer friend, Tex, would try, but there was no way he’d find her quickly enough. They were halfway to the apartment she’d shared with Adina. If the beach Roman was taking her to really was near where she’d lived, she didn’t have much longer.
Her emotions were all over the place, seesawing between anger and sorrow. But the longer she sat there, staring at the back of Roman’s neat military haircut, the angrier she got.
How dare he play God like he was! This wasn’t fair! She might not live through this, but she’d do whatever she needed to in order to leave her mark on him. NCIS wouldn’t be able to overlook scratches on his face, bruises on his body. She’d fight. It might not do any good in regard to the outcome of her life, but maybe, just maybe, she could do enough damage to prove that he’d had something to do with her supposed suicide.
“Not long now,” Roman taunted.
Lips pressed together, Maggie went over in her head her next moves. As soon as he opened the back door, he’d find out that she wasn’t the docile, cowed woman he’d manipulated and had sent to prison two years ago. She’d changed. And this asshole wasn’t going to take her new life from her without one hell of a fight.
Preacher looked at his watch. Ten minutes had passed since Maggie had gone behind the door to speak to her probation officer. Barely any time at all…but the longer he sat there, the more uneasy he felt. And he’d spent too many years as a SEAL to ignore his gut.
He’d heard the click of the door lock engaging when Maggie had gone through, so he waited until a man near him was called and got up to follow the officer through the door—then Preacher made his move.
He caught the door before it shut and entered the secure area.
“Hey! You can’t be back here,” the officer told him sternly.
But Preacher ignored him. “Maggie!” he yelled, using his “SEAL” voice, as he and his friends dubbed it. Dominant, harsh, loud.
Heads began to pop out from behind office doors.
