Page 10 of Being Bold
Approximately One Hour Earlier
Selene
Selene woke up slowly, her brain sloughing through a veil of grogginess. Her ears alerted her to voices, but she couldn’t make out the words. An irritating itchiness radiated from a spot on her neck. Still, confusion settled over her senses like a fog. It weighed her eyelids down, making them difficult to lift.
Where am I?
While she struggled, something jostled her body enough to shake her fully awake. Her head rolled into a hard object, and she opened her eyes to find she was in the backseat of a vehicle. Tan leather separated her from Mr. Dao, who sat diagonally to her in the front passenger seat. The man he’d called Felix drove.
Where are they taking me?
She glanced out the window, where she’d knocked her head. Moonlight bounced off snow, lighting the world around them almost as bright as if it were daytime. It stretched for as far as she could see. A mix of fir, spruce, and pine trees surrounded either side of the road. If you could call the path the SUVtraveled that. Her bottom left the seat as they hit a bump. She couldn’t see any buildings or any lights in the distance. Wherever they were, it seemed rather . . . isolated.
If she had to get out of the car in this, at least she had on her heavy coat and snow boots. A frown twisted her mouth as she listened to the wind battering the window. Her different attire meant they’d dressed her after they’d . . .knocked me out!
Selene’s mind stuttered on the thought, then she registered that her left arm was handcuffed to the door. The drugs in her system had been keeping panic at bay, but as her situation became clear, her chest constricted. She fought the urge to tug against the cuffs, knowing that wouldn’t do her any good. When her breathing wanted to hitch, she swallowed hard to keep quiet. They still hadn’t noticed she’d woken up.
“We’re almost there.”
Almost where?Her mind screamed.
“Excellent, Felix.” Mr. Dao turned in her direction after the statement, the seat leather crackling with his movement. When their eyes met, he said, “Well, look who woke up.” His smile chilled her blood into an icicle. “That makes things easier.”
What have I gotten caught up in? And where the hell is Yumi?
Selene worked to quiet the voice inside her head that screamed in panic. She cleared her throat and asked as calmly as possible, “Where’s Yumi?”
His eyes clouded, but he only said, “She’ll be following you soon enough.”
Whatever the hellthatwas supposed to mean.
“Following me where?” She clenched her hands into fists when they wanted to shake. Her mind had already jumped to too many horrifying conclusions, but she refused to believe them.
“Isn’t that an interesting question?” His teeth flashed in a grin like it was normal to have this conversation when shewas handcuffed. “The great beyond? Heaven? If that’s what you believe, or maybe back here to earth, if you put your trust in rebirth.”
Halfway through his musing, she’d reared back in her seat, a violent combination of shock, disgust, and terror suffusing her limbs. She could feel herself vibrating from the force of it.
This can’t be real.
Surely, she was having a nightmare because the CEO of Saber Tech was talking about killing her.
He shrugged with the nonchalance of a man without a care in the world. “I don’t put stock in any of it. We get one life to live, so I intend to live it to the fullest.” His eyes gleamed with a sinister light. That or it was just the reflections from the dash. “No matter the consequences.”
Mr. Dao turned back in his seat, and silence filled the cabin. Outside, the crunch of snow under the car’s wheels grew louder as they headed up an incline.
She barely recognized her voice, strangled with fear as she asked, “Where are you taking me?”
Dao’s hand clutched the dashboard as the tires slid before grabbing purchase. He gave Felix a sharp look, then answered without looking at her, “We’re in the national forest.” His head swiveled in her direction, and he added, “Plenty of trails here for a hiker to lose her way on.”
So that’s why they’d dressed her in snow gear. His plan was to drop her in the wilderness and hope she succumbed to the elements.
Her stomach jumped at the possibility she’d live through this. Until her brain weighed in. She had zero survival skills and had never been outside in this weather longer than it took to ski down a hill in the snow. Without any gear or something to navigate with, they were right. She’d die in the forest.
Mr. Dao spoke, breaking her out of her thoughts. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”
Feeling extra morose, she barked, “Doingwhat, exactly?”
“What’s that phrase Americans like to use, ‘covering my tracks’?” She detected actual glee in his voice. When he turned around with a quiet chuckle, any hope of appealing to his character shriveled in the cold air. They were going to kill her. And for what?
