Page 69 of Edinburgh Escape
One man caught her from behind, trapping her arms at her sides. “Run, Bryce. Don’t look back!”
Her captor loosened one arm.
Maggie kicked and yelled, trying to remember all the self-defense training she’d taken back in Montana.
The man holding her slapped a rag over her mouth and nose.
His buddy snatched Bryce up in his arms. The kid gave it all he could, wiggling, kicking and biting.
Don’t give up, Bryce! she wanted to yell, but couldn’t.
Maggie held her breath and turned her head side to side, trying to shake free of the cloth. Her lungs ready to burst, she had to release the breath she’d been holding and inhale as the man carried her toward the back of the van. Within moments, her body went limp, and darkness closed around her.
How long she’d been out, Maggie had no idea. Minutes, hours, days? She couldn’t tell. When she opened her eyes, she could see nothing but darkness. She was lying on her side on a hard metal surface. She tried to move her arms and couldn’t. Her wrists had been secured behind her by what felt like a hard plastic zip tie. Her ankles were bound as well.
The last thing she remembered was being carried toward the delivery van. She was probably still in it. But it wasn’t moving and, if the silence was any indication, the men who’d captured her weren’t in the van at that moment.
A slight movement in front of her made her freeze.
A soft, high-pitched moan pierced the darkness and almost broke her heart. The men who’d captured her had taken the boy as well. She fought back a sob, angered by the cruelty. No child should have to be so terrorized. “Bryce?” she whispered.
“Mmm,” he murmured, probably still under the effects of whatever they’d used on the rags they’d held over their mouths.
“Hey, sweetie, are you awake?” she asked softly.
“Mummy?” his small voice said into the dark void.
“No, sweetie, it’s me, Maggie.”
“I can’t move my hands,” he said.
“Me either,” she said, trying to manage a calm, soothing tone when her heart was racing. “The bad men tied us up. Can you move your legs?”
“I can move them.”
“Good. Now all we have to do is figure out how to get free.” A slightly hysterical laugh slipped free. She clamped her lips shut and reminded herself she had to be strong for Bryce.
“I want my mum.” Bryce’s voice wobbled. “I’m scared.”
“Honey, I’m scared, too. But you’ll be back with your mother before you know it. First, we have to find a way out of here.”
“Where are we?” he asked.
“I’m not exactly sure,” she said.
“Why is it so dark?”
“I think we’re in the back of that delivery van.” Where the van sat was an entirely different question, along with how anyone would find them.
“Where are the bad men?” he whispered.
“I don’t know, but while they’re not here, let’s find a way out.”
“How? I can’t move my hands.”
“We need to find something sharp to cut these ties.” She inched-wormed across the metal floor until her back and wrists bumped into the sidewall. Moving all the way around the back of the van, she could find nothing sharp she could use to break the ties.
“We need something sharp,” Maggie murmured.
