Hostage

16

Vaughan knew exactly where she was now. She couldn’t believe that Sozinho had agreed to stay here, although it was obvious why the man in the black leather jacket had chosen the location.

It was the last place anyone would ever think of looking.

Except maybe Jack Reacher.

Only he and Vaughan knew the exact story behind what had really happened in Despair, Colorado.

And it was a secret that they would take to their graves.

Vaughan thought about it as she shifted her weight from one side to the other, trying to ease the pain that had crept into her lower back. Sozinho had switched off the flashlight, maybe about an hour ago. It was completely dark in the room now, and eerily quiet. And hot. There was no ventilation. The outside temperatures had been pleasant over the past few days, but the motel room was stuffy and stagnant and it smelled bad.

Vaughan closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, but the floor was uncomfortable and she was hungry and she was sweating and her foot still hurt and she kept thinking about all the poison that might be floating around in the air.

She couldn’t sleep, so she just stared up into the blackness and tried to think of another way to escape.

But there was no other way.

Sozinho wasn’t going to let her out of his sight again, not even to use the bathroom.

She’d given it her best shot.

But her life was over now.

She was going to die in this wretched abandoned motor court.

There was nothing else she could do. She’d already tried to convince Sozinho that she was on his side, that the man in the black leather jacket was the enemy in this situation.

She’d already tried, but maybe she should try again.

Maybe Sozinho would listen this time.

“He’s never going to let you live,” she said.

The bedsprings squeaked.

“You must want the tape back on your mouth,” Sozinho said.

“Think about it. The man in the black leather jacket wants you to kill Jack Reacher. Once you do that, he’ll have no further use for you. He has treated you badly, first by putting that thing in your neck and then by sending you into this potentially lethal environment, and he knows you’re going to be out for revenge. Why would he allow-”

Before Vaughan could finish her thought, someone came crashing through the motel room door.