Christ drank from at the Last Supper?”
“No, it’s Cha-lee-see , but how sweet you are that you care enough to question the correct pronunciation of my name after knocking me unconscious and taking me prisoner. You’re a prince of a guy.” The back of my head throbbed where Lyndell had slugged me. “And now a midnight ride through the Everglades. How romantic. You’re every girl’s dream.”
“You’re a sassy bitch, Cha-lee-see ,” he said in a mocking tone. “Maybe it’ll be your last supper.” He grinned, once again exposing his huge mouthful of teeth, just as he had when he glared at me from behind the wheel of the SUV. He stashed my shield and ID. “Good thing for you the boss wants you alive. Otherwise I’d chop off your hands and feed them to the gator.”
My hands were bound, but my fingers were free. I flipped him the bird. “You really are a good guy. I can’t wait to see you locked up at United States Penitentiary at Coleman.”
“In prison … me ? I don’t think so. They’ll never take me alive,” he boasted.
“Dead or alive. Either way works for me.”
It was hot as hell, and the humidity was about three thousand percent. It was such a relief when he started the engine and we raced forward, the wind caressing my face. I don’t know if the fan boat was GPS equipped, but I had the sense Lyndell didn’t need it. He seemed to know his route by heart because he had the engine flat out as he nimbly zigzagged through an obstacle course of saw grass marshes, cutting in and out of the sloughs at great speed.
Clouds began to roll in as we proceeded farther into the wetlands, and the moon disappeared behind them. He was fast with the wheel and able to avoid collision with obstacles in the water that sprang up in the headlamp beams without notice. It felt like a ride on Space Mountain. Not that I don’t like a good roller coaster ride every now and then.
“Hey, Mario Andretti, you mind cutting back on the throttle a smidge?”
Either he didn’t hear me above the roar of the engine or he just flat out didn’t give a crap because we continued to race forward at breakneck speed.
“Hey,” I screamed, “slow the hell down.” I knew he heard me that time.
“Just settle down, lady cop. Enjoy the ride.”
As if I had a choice. We were moving into a more desolate section of the Everglades, an area that definitely wasn’t on the tourist map. It was haunting and dark. Lyndell finally cut the engine, and I could hear the unfamiliar noises the indigenous animals made. He maneuvered the fan boat alongside an old wooden dock and secured it with a nylon rope. He held a long knife in front of my face, trying to intimidate me.
“Compensating for your small Johnson?”
He pressed the tip to my throat for a moment and then cut the duct tape that secured me to my seat. My wrists were bound with PlastiCuffs.
“End of the line, lady cop.” He grabbed me by the arm and yanked me to my feet. I felt a gun barrel in the small of my back as he guided me forward.
Off in the distance, I could see dim lights from within a small dwelling. “Is Donovan in there?”
“You ask too many questions.” He pushed the gun deeper into my back. “Just keep walking.” There was virtually no light. I watched the ground as I walked so as not to take a misstep. I halted dead in my tracks as a snake slithered by in front of me.
“Don’t get so riled up. It’s just a water moccasin,” he said.
“Is it poisonous?”
“No worse than a rattlesnake.”
“Oh gee, I feel so much better.”
“Man, if that snake wanted to bite you, it would have done it by now.” He shoved me forward just as the snake disappeared into the marsh.
I could now make out the outline of the house in the clearing. As we got closer, I could see that it was small and dilapidated. I’d be at the front door in a moment if I didn’t fall victim to any reptiles or other manner of swamp-dwelling creatures.
There was no lock on the
“No, it’s Cha-lee-see , but how sweet you are that you care enough to question the correct pronunciation of my name after knocking me unconscious and taking me prisoner. You’re a prince of a guy.” The back of my head throbbed where Lyndell had slugged me. “And now a midnight ride through the Everglades. How romantic. You’re every girl’s dream.”
“You’re a sassy bitch, Cha-lee-see ,” he said in a mocking tone. “Maybe it’ll be your last supper.” He grinned, once again exposing his huge mouthful of teeth, just as he had when he glared at me from behind the wheel of the SUV. He stashed my shield and ID. “Good thing for you the boss wants you alive. Otherwise I’d chop off your hands and feed them to the gator.”
My hands were bound, but my fingers were free. I flipped him the bird. “You really are a good guy. I can’t wait to see you locked up at United States Penitentiary at Coleman.”
“In prison … me ? I don’t think so. They’ll never take me alive,” he boasted.
“Dead or alive. Either way works for me.”
It was hot as hell, and the humidity was about three thousand percent. It was such a relief when he started the engine and we raced forward, the wind caressing my face. I don’t know if the fan boat was GPS equipped, but I had the sense Lyndell didn’t need it. He seemed to know his route by heart because he had the engine flat out as he nimbly zigzagged through an obstacle course of saw grass marshes, cutting in and out of the sloughs at great speed.
Clouds began to roll in as we proceeded farther into the wetlands, and the moon disappeared behind them. He was fast with the wheel and able to avoid collision with obstacles in the water that sprang up in the headlamp beams without notice. It felt like a ride on Space Mountain. Not that I don’t like a good roller coaster ride every now and then.
“Hey, Mario Andretti, you mind cutting back on the throttle a smidge?”
Either he didn’t hear me above the roar of the engine or he just flat out didn’t give a crap because we continued to race forward at breakneck speed.
“Hey,” I screamed, “slow the hell down.” I knew he heard me that time.
“Just settle down, lady cop. Enjoy the ride.”
As if I had a choice. We were moving into a more desolate section of the Everglades, an area that definitely wasn’t on the tourist map. It was haunting and dark. Lyndell finally cut the engine, and I could hear the unfamiliar noises the indigenous animals made. He maneuvered the fan boat alongside an old wooden dock and secured it with a nylon rope. He held a long knife in front of my face, trying to intimidate me.
“Compensating for your small Johnson?”
He pressed the tip to my throat for a moment and then cut the duct tape that secured me to my seat. My wrists were bound with PlastiCuffs.
“End of the line, lady cop.” He grabbed me by the arm and yanked me to my feet. I felt a gun barrel in the small of my back as he guided me forward.
Off in the distance, I could see dim lights from within a small dwelling. “Is Donovan in there?”
“You ask too many questions.” He pushed the gun deeper into my back. “Just keep walking.” There was virtually no light. I watched the ground as I walked so as not to take a misstep. I halted dead in my tracks as a snake slithered by in front of me.
“Don’t get so riled up. It’s just a water moccasin,” he said.
“Is it poisonous?”
“No worse than a rattlesnake.”
“Oh gee, I feel so much better.”
“Man, if that snake wanted to bite you, it would have done it by now.” He shoved me forward just as the snake disappeared into the marsh.
I could now make out the outline of the house in the clearing. As we got closer, I could see that it was small and dilapidated. I’d be at the front door in a moment if I didn’t fall victim to any reptiles or other manner of swamp-dwelling creatures.
There was no lock on the
Similar Books
