The Hostage Heart by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Author:Cynthia Harrod-Eagles [Cynthia Harrod-Eagles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Published: 2017-06-08T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Emma drifted back to consciousness slowly and reluctantly. Something had happened, and she didn’t want to know what. She floated just under the surface of waking, gradually becoming aware of pain: a raw burning around her mouth and nose; a bitter, biting pain in her wrists and ankles; cramped, bruised soreness from every part of her body that touched the hard, ridged surface she was lying on.

The pain focused her mind, and at once the fear came in, like a radio being switched on. Danger, danger, danger! She opened her eyes, but it was pitch dark. As her senses sharpened, she realised that there were voices nearby: two people talking in low, urgent voices. She could hear them strangely muffled, through a heavy, growling noise that transmitted itself through her aching flesh and bones.

“You said it was gonna be all right,” someone was complaining. “You said nobody’d hear us. You said everyone’d be on the other side of the house.”

“Oh, shut your face! We got the kid, didn’t we?”

“Well, I don’t like it. What about her?”

“She must be the kid’s nurse or something. She’ll come in useful.”

“But suppose they come looking for her?”

“Why should they? She’s in her nightie, isn’t she? They won’t start looking till they don’t show up for breakfast. We got hours yet. Now shut up and gimme a fag.”

The voices stopped. Now she understood her situation. The growling noise was a motor engine. She was in the back of a van of some sort, lying on the bare floor, her wrists and ankles tied, and some kind of cloth over her head. She had been kidnapped, along with Poppy. Presumably Poppy was also in the back of the van, somewhere near, probably tied up too. Oh God, what would they do to her? What did they want? Money, presumably. Mr Akroyd was rich. If it was money, they would take good care of Poppy, wouldn’t they? They wouldn’t hurt her. Oh, she prayed not. She hoped it was money. Mr Akroyd would pay to get Poppy back. But what of her own case? Suppose the criminals decided she was expendable? What might they do then? Her stomach curdled in fear.

The van picked up speed, and every time it went over a bump some part of her hit the ridged metal floor. There seemed to be an awful lot of bumps. It was agony; but at least the pain kept her mind off her fear. Then suddenly the front left corner of the van dipped, and the floor heaved up under her. She heard one of the men say, “Look out!” and at the same moment her trussed body was flung sideways, her head struck something hard and sharp, and she slithered sickeningly into unconsciousness again.

Gavin decided to give Emma five minutes, and then go up after her. He blamed himself for the misunderstandings between them. OK, she was very touchy, but after all, as an employee her position was not as straightforward as his. It was up to him to make the situation clear.

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