Cami struggled furiously, but the man was too quick. Too strong. He yanked her hand up behind her, so she screamed in pain, the sound muffled by his palm. And then he shoved her toward the car’s open trunk.
It was a spacious, white car. The trunk looked dark. No way could she go in there, Cami thought, no way. This couldn’t be happening! He was abducting her. In an instant, she’d landed in danger.
He yanked her hand up again so that the pain paralyzed her and the next moment, he was shoving her forward so that she sprawled into the carpeted cubicle.
She kicked out furiously, but he was ready for her. He grabbed her legs and shoved them in, and then as she writhed around, getting ready to face him, desperately trying to get out, the lid slammed.
She was left in the utter darkness, disoriented and scared.
The next moment, with a jolt, the car started up and they were driving away at full speed.
“No!” Cami screamed, hoping someone would hear, but the thick carpet in the trunk swallowed her voice. The ride was a veering, disorienting rollercoaster journey as the car accelerated and swung.
He hadn’t been out waiting for a victim, Cami realized. He’d been out waiting for her. That was why he’d signed off on the game. To prepare. He’d known that they were hunting. He must have recognized her from that brief glimpse he’d had from the camera. He was cleverer and more paranoid than she’d dreamed.
What could she do now? She kicked at the lid, but it was thick and solid, and in the small space, she couldn’t get leverage. There was no way she could break out of here; she wasn’t strong enough. And when he opened the lid, when this hell ride was over, Cami knew it would be too late. She’d be facing death.
For a minute, having lost control of the situation, she was so scared that she couldn’t think straight, and for Cami, whose logical thought was the underpinnings of her whole identity, this felt more terrifying than anything.
But she was not going to let herself be too scared to act. Not for long. Perhaps she was going to die. But she was not going to give up. No way. She had to get out now. It was now or never.
He’d grabbed the phone from her hand.
As her whirling thoughts slowly subsided enough for her to reason her way through the situation, Cami realized that he’d grabbed a phone. He’d grabbed what she’d been holding—looking to disarm her of her weapon, which he knew she could use.
But he hadn’t grabbed her phone. She’d been holding Connor’s phone. She still had hers with her in the inside pocket of her FBI jacket, which he hadn’t checked.
He’d made a mistake and given her an opportunity.
She couldn’t call Connor because his phone was now broken. But she could call somebody. She could call Ethan. She could use what she had.
Cami fumbled for her phone, dragging it from her jacket. In the darkness and on this wild ride, it was difficult to get it out. She had to wedge herself in the trunk to keep herself still, bracing her head against the carpet, her feet against the opposite side, her breathing coming fast and rapid, because she had no idea how much time she had or how soon this would be over.
She dialed Ethan’s number.
He answered immediately. “Cami? We’ve got no sign of our suspect this side. What’s up your side?”
“I’ve been taken,” she said breathlessly. “He got me while Connor was checking his house.”
“What? Where are you?” His voice was urgent.
Cami did her best to work at speed to give him the salient facts.
“I’m in the trunk of a car. I don’t know what type it is. White. And an electric car,” she gabbled. “He took Connor’s phone. I was holding it. He smashed it.”
“We’re on it. We’ll get to you. We’ll track your phone,” Ethan said, but she could hear the undertone of tension in his voice. “I’ll get hold of Connor on the radio. We’re coming to you now, Cami. Just hang in there.”
“I’ll activate my live location,” she said, hoping signal would hold.
With shaking hands, Cami activated her live location.
“Cami, I’m not seeing it.” Ethan sounded desperate.
“Perhaps it’s taking time. Perhaps you’ll start to see it.”
She had no idea why it wasn’t working. Perhaps there was a delay in the interface. Perhaps the GPS signal in the area where she was was bad. There could be tall buildings briefly blocking it and making it more difficult to track.
“I’m going to Connor. I’ll call you when I get to him if I don’t find the signal,” Ethan said. He cut the call.