Her Temporary Bodyguard

(Part 13) Chapter Twelve

She blinked awake, then blinked again. It was dark, wherever she was. Dark and confined. Her pulse began to race, her breath shorten. Panic slowly descended upon her. All she could think of was how closed in she felt. Tara did not do well in small, dark places. Ever since the first time her grandmother had locked her in a tiny closet as punishment, claustrophobia had been a looming fear. Struggling to gain control over herself, she took a breath. Then another. It smelled like an odd mix of bleach and car air freshener. Her head hurt fiercely. After a cautionary movement, she discovered that her ankles and wrists were bound. Tears sprang into her eyes but she blinked them back. It wasn't going to do her any good to burst into tears now. No one would hear her. She was on her own now. Her heart clenched as the image of Logan on the floor of the chapel flashed through her mind. It was her fault. He had died because of her. If he hadn't been doing so much to keep her safe from her brother's enemies, he would still be alive.

Taking a deep breath, needing to stay in control, Tara tried to focus on her surroundings. She listened, heard the sounds of a motor, the whooshing of passing cars. If she was in a vehicle, then she was in the trunk. Hysteria crawled up her throat. Couldn't they have been a little bit more original? Stuffing a victim in the trunk of a car was such a cliché.

The car slowed. Her heart leapt into her throat. This was it. They were going to kill her now. Then Tara would be dead, just like Logan and Jason. Her breath hitched on a sob, but she bit her lip to keep the tears at bay as the lock clicked. The bright light of an outdoor bulb seared her eyes as the trunk was opened. She squeezed her eyes shut, recoiling from the sharpness after being in such a dark hole.

"C'mon, the boss wants a word with you," a rough male voice spoke. Fear spiked through Tara and she struggled, even knowing that it would do her no good. Even in her panic, she could see that they were at a cheap motel. Maybe if she screamed, someone would hear her. Tara opened her mouth. A hand clamped down over her face, heavy and meaty.

"Don't even think about it," the man growled. Tears stung her eyes as she stared at the back of the tall, thin man who knocked on the door in front of them. How was no one seeing this? It wasn't that late. Surely there were people around? Time abandoned her as the door opened. The first man walked into the room as if he owned it. The second man dragged her alongside him, keeping his hand firmly in place. Just as they were at the doorway, she bit down on his palm as hard as she could. He swore and jerked his hand away. She took a deep breath and turned to run, prepared to scream. Instead, his hand came swinging back and struck her across the cheek. Tara fell, sprawling into the motel room and landed hard on her hip, knocking her wig askew.

"We didn't have any problem losing them, but you're gonna wanna gag that one," the man muttered, stepping outside and closing the door behind him.

"Sal." The inarguable command drew Tara's attention to the two men who had been waiting for them in the room. Her throat tightened up on itself when she recognized the older man. He was a few inches shy of six feet tall but was a solid wall, looking as though he had never gone a day without a package of Twinkies at hand. His fingers were thick and meaty, adorned with shiny gold rings. His suit was custom and expensive, giving him a handsome air despite the pure evil that radiated from his dark eyes. Tara barely felt the tall, thin man tie the gag to keep her quiet. She was too busy staring at the man who was going to kill her.

"Now, what do we have here?" he asked, stepping forward and pinching Tara's chin between his fat thumb and forefinger. She gritted her jaw, unfortunately tasting the dirty fabric that had been tied around her mouth, as he pulled the wig off of her head. The pins holding her hair up were pulled out, painfully scraping against her scalp. His beady dark eyes studied her with intent as he moved the hair that fell in front of her eyes.