Page 34 of Carter's Battle

She was in the back of a van but that’s all she knew. It smelled like earth. It had to be the landscape van that was blocking Emery’s driveway. She’d tried moving and discovered that someone had tied her hands behind her back. Between the fiery tingles from her arms and, of course, her ribs, any movement stung. Her feet were tied as well, Pain radiated through her jaw as she tried to force the smelly gag from her mouth.

Mia fought to stay calm. Kidnapped was better than dead. If Bobby wanted her dead as she suspected, then he could’ve gotten her in a drive-by shooting or even walked up to her and stabbed her. Instead, he had his goons grab her. That had to be a good thing, didn’t it?

A good thing? God, panic made her think such inane things. She started to laugh, a high pitched hysterical laugh. Here she was thinking that being kidnapped was a good thing.

What the hell had happened to her life? Where had it taken such a wrong turn?

The van made a sharp turn, and she swore again as her right arm pressed against her ribs. The ground they were driving over was smoothish, so it was paved but it had the odd bump here and there. The sound of birds reached her ears as the van rolled to a stop. The clang of metal and engines was loud. She knew the sound, but she couldn’t place it. Where was she?

A door slammed shut. Was someone coming to get her? She tried to come up with a plan to escape but her mind was blank. The van’s rear doors opened, and light came through the weave of the bag. The smell hit her next. Salt?

Then all the pieces fell into place. They were on the docks. It had to be the Port of Hilo by the level of sound. Kawaihae was smaller and not as busy. The feeling of relief at knowing where they’d taken her died as suddenly as it arose. Were they going to put her into a container ship and send her out to die at sea? Mia did her best to not hyperventilate.

Unceremoniously, someone hauled her out of the van. Without a word, she was slung over a shoulder like a feed sack. Her ribs screamed with each jolt as the person carried her into what she assumed was a warehouse. The way the sound echoed, the place seemed to be large. The open weave of the bag over her head allowed her to glimpse pallets, but not enough to see what was on them. Her body crashed on the beefy shoulder with each step as he climbed a staircase. She heard voices and smelled machine oil. Did no one care that she was being carried over some rando guy’s shoulder with her hands and feet tied and a bag over her head?

The guy paused and she heard the click of a door opening before he proceeded. The sound changed, became less echoey. Must be an office. She was dropped unexpectedly onto a hard surface, forcing out a muffled scream as pain from her ribs radiated through her entire torso. She was half-lying, half-sitting with her arms still behind her back. It was too difficult to situpright with her legs still tied. She couldn’t get any purchase to right herself. Someone pulled the bag off her head, and she blinked in the sudden light.

“Mia, I’m so glad you could join me today.”

She turned her face toward the voice. Her uncle was sitting at a large desk with his hands steepled in front of him. “It’s been far too long since we’ve spoken. We’re family, we need to chat more often, don’t you agree?” He gestured to his goon to remove the gag.

Gag free, Mia still said nothing. Her mouth was too dry to form a single word. She’d been thinking Bobby had been behind the attempt on her life but maybe her uncle was the culprit. But why would he want her dead? Did he really believe she ratted out his gambling establishment?

“It’s rude not to speak when spoken to. I know your mother would have taught you that.”

She still stayed silent. Honestly, she had no idea what to say.

“Tea?” he asked gesturing to the tea service beside him.

It was so insane that she wanted to laugh.I just had you kidnapped but you look a little parched. Tea?The cup and saucer were porcelain with a lovely rose pattern, so incongruent in the rough office.

She nodded. “Yes, I would love some tea.” Her voice came out a little raw. She couldn’t give a flying fig about tea, but it would mean she would get her hands unbound, and the cup and saucer were breakable, so maybe, just maybe, she could break them and get a shard of porcelain with a sharp edge to use as a weapon.

Her uncle poured her a cup and gestured toward the milk. She nodded. Then the goon, who was a large man of Samoan descent, cut the zip ties binding her hands. His black eyes were lifeless and terrifying, and Mia had no doubt that if her uncle gestured toward her, the man would snap her neck just as easily as he was handing her the cup and saucer.

She righted herself and took the tea, promptly resting it on her lap. Her hands were shaking which caused the cup to rattle against the saucer. Her uncle took a sip of his, with his pinky thrust into the air as though he was taking tea with Lili’uokalani, the overthrown queen of Hawai’i. Mia fought a hysterical laugh at the incongruity of the situation. Her uncle very deliberately placed the cup back on the saucer.

“I must say, Mia, you look so much like your mother,” his voice hardened as he continued, “which is too bad because I have always hated her. I’m trying not to hold it against you.”

“Big of you,” she blurted. Damn! She needed to keep her mouth shut, now of all times.

The door to the office opened and Donny strode in.

Mia blinked.

Was Donny working for her uncle? Did her uncle know that this man was working with Bobby to take over the business? Was this a possible bargaining chip? Hope rose that maybe she could get Donny to help her escape. Donny met her gaze and her stomach lurched. All thoughts of getting his help vanished. There was no way he would help her, not the way he looked at her. He was more likely to rape and then kill her.

“I see you found her in one piece,” Donny commented. “Glad to see that the accident didn’t wreck your face.” His eyes traveled down her body. “Or any other part of you.”

The nausea rose fast and hot, and she barely held back the vomit.

“Yes, I must say I was surprised that you, of all people, fell asleep while you were driving. I would have thought losing your parents in a car crash would have left a stronger impression on you.” Her uncle sipped his tea.

Mia stared at him and frowned. Did he really think she fell asleep? How would he know? He must have an informant at thepolice department. But that made no sense, because if he did, why didn’t they warn him about the raid?

“I didn’t fall asleep. Someone ran me off the road.” She didn’t say anything else because she was too damn confused about what was going on. She took a page out of her uncle’s book and sipped her tea. It felt good on her throat and slightly warmed her insides which had turned to ice.

“Why would someone run you off the road, Mia?”

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