Midnight Sun (86 page)

Brassert
slammed
the
crash
bar
with
a
loud
bang
and the door burst open
.
Lonnie
’
s
plan
dissipated
almost
instantly
when
they stepped out
.
A
white
utility
van
was
parked
just
a
couple
of
feet
away
in
an
alley
behind
the
hotel.
A
garbage d
umpster
blocked
the
view
from
one
side.
A
thick
cement
safety
barrier
pole
jutted
from
the
pavement
a
foot
from
the
wall
. Someone had stuck a yellow smiley face sticker on the side of the dumpster, the line drawn mouth grinning at her plight as if mocking the reality that there was n
o
one
to
hear
her
scream,
no
place
to
run.
The
quiet
man
shoved
her
toward
the
open
side
door
of
the
van.
Out
of
the
corner
of
her
eye
,
she
caught
a
brief
flash
of
a
sky
-
blue
vehicle,
a
minivan
taxi
passing
the
end
of
the
alley.
No
way
the
driver
could
have
seen
the
pregnant
lady
being
forced
into
the
back
of
a
van
by
two
muscle
-
bound
murderers.

Her
hope
meter
pegged
at
zero.
She
had
done
everything
wrong
,
according
to
the
rules
for
a
hostage
crisis.
As
a
trooper
,
she
taught
women
self-defense
classes
that
emphasized
how
not
to
be
kidnapped
or
raped.
Now
she
found
herself
stuck
in
the
very
same
situation
she
thought
she
knew
how
to
avoid.
Having
been
in
more
fights
and
brawls
than
the
vast
majority
of
women
would
ever
experience
,
she
had
never
imagined
herself
being
caught
in
a
situation
like
this
—locked
in
a
van
with
two
men
intent
on
murdering
her
and
her
baby
,
and
no
one
else
, not her friends, not her fellow cops, not her husband had
any
idea
where
she
was
or what was happening
.

The
middle
row
seats
had
been
removed
from the van
,
leaving
an
open
space
just
inside
the
sliding
door.
A
long
blue
vinyl
bench
with
no
seat
belts
stretched
the
width
of
the
compartment
at
the
rear.
The
front
seat
area
was
closed
off
by
wire
mesh.
All
of
the
glass
,
with
the
exception
of
the
windshield
,
was
tinted
a
dark
shade
that
prohibited
prying
eyes
from
seeing
anything
inside.
It
was
like
a
cage.
Brassert
got
in
the
back
with
her.
The
other
man
climbed
into
the
driver
’
s
seat
and
started
the
engine,
then
put
it
in
gear
and
moved
down
the
alley.

“
Where
are
you
taking
me
?”
Lonnie
demanded.

“
You
’
re
going
to
meet
my
whole
family,
”
Brassert
said.
An
evil
glint
sparked
in
his
eyes.
He
put
the
knife
to
her
chin
,
then
put
his
hand
on
her
plump,
tender
breast
and
squeezed
. She
winced
as
a
sour
pain
shot
through
her
chest.
“
All
my
bros
are
gonna
get
a
piece
of
that
ass
for
what
you
did
to
me
,
you
dink
bitch.
Then
I
’m
gonna
slice
you
and
your
baby
to
pieces,
real
slow.
And
then
I
’
m
tear
apart
your
baby
’
s
corpse
in
front
of
you
before
you
die.
”