Stitch by Jaime Lewis (ebook reader online .txt) 📗

legs over the side. She tried to push the blindfold off her head, but it was tied too tight. She was lucky she had a little bit of vision. When she looked down, she hadn’t realized how high up she was. She estimated she was maybe ten to fifteen feet above the ground. She bit her lip, knowing the landing would hurt, and there was a high probability she could break something. The only thing she had going for her was the cluster of bushes below to help break the fall.

She didn’t give herself any time to think about it as she held her breath and shoved off the ledge. She overshot her intended landing zone, and as soon as her feet hit the loose gravel, she toppled over onto the ground and cried out in pain, immediately grabbing her ankle. In the distance, she could hear the sound of water and realized she was near the river.

She heard the engine of a car, and her heart hammered in her chest. She needed to find cover. Just as she got herself up onto her knees, a set of headlights rounded the corner and were headed straight toward her.

“No, no, no.” She whimpered as she tried to crawl across the gravel. The tiny chards of rocks dug into her skin.

The headlights grew brighter, then suddenly she was blinded by them when the person clicked on the high beams. She felt so weak and was in too much pain to continue, and she collapsed to the ground just as the vehicle skidded to a stop inches from her. The car door opened, followed by heavy footsteps that grew louder with each step. “Oh, dear god.” She whispered.

A hand touched her cheek, and she flinched.

“Fuck!” A guy with a heavy English accent stated.

He was right next to her head. She could feel the warm puffs of air as he spoke in her ear.

“I promise I won’t hurt you. I’m going to get you out of here.”

The rope around her wrists loosened, sending her blood flowing to her numb hands and fingers. She couldn’t see a damn thing because the material had slipped back down, covering her eyes.

“Please, help me.” She rasped out as the man gathered her in his arms and started walking. A burst of warm air hit her skin. He lowered and placed her on what she assumed was the backseat of the vehicle before covering her with a blanket.

She reached up to slide the blindfold off, but he stopped her.

“Sorry, love. You need to leave that on,” He told her, pulling her hands away from her face. She didn’t understand. He had helped her. Why couldn’t she see him? Her body went rigid. Unless he was part of the crew that had kidnapped her. Before she could fully panic, she felt the pinch to her neck, and within seconds she was fast asleep.

◆◆◆

Mia slowly awoke. She felt groggy, her mouth felt like it was full of cotton, and her head pounded, making it painful to open her eyes. Fighting through the discomfort, she pried her eyes open enough to focus on her surroundings. Even though the room was dark, it had a familiarity to it. The blanket covering her was soft like butter, reminding her of the Vera Bradley throw blankets she kept around her apartment.

She laid there for a moment, trying to get her bearing. As she stared up at the ceiling, she focused on a large dark spot that resembled a similar water spot she had on her ceiling when a pipe in the apartment above hers busted and water leaked through. She suddenly realized why this place felt familiar—it was her apartment. Had everything that happened been a dream?

She shot up off the couch and cringed, feeling the pain all over her body. She fell back into the plush leather and moaned. She reached over and flipped on the lamp that sat on the table next to the couch.

She had so many questions—questions she knew she didn’t have the answers to. The last thing she remembered was that a good Samaritan had found her, and being wrapped in warmth. How had she ended up back in her apartment?

The fear she had experienced before came roaring back. Could the person be in her apartment right now? Who were they, and how did they know where she lived? She had lost her cell phone when she was picked off the street, and she didn’t have any identification on her. Her body trembled in a combination of fear and adrenalin.

With no landline and no cell phone, she had no way of calling anyone. She looked at her watch and saw it was three o’clock in the morning. She hadn’t been too far from her building when she had been abducted. Not knowing the range of operation between her phone and smartwatch, she tried to send her brother a text through the watch. It just spun, indicating she was out of range. Then she spotted her laptop on the coffee table. She could send a message to him through his email and send a private message to Alex through Facebook.

She reached for the laptop and noticed there was a note taped to it. Handwritten was a warning for her to get out of town as fast as she could, that she was in danger.

Fighting through the pain, she stood up. Where was she supposed to go? Her flight wasn’t due to leave until ten o’clock. Could she go to the police? Another option was to leave for the airport and just wait until her flight left. At least she would be in the public eye. Police were always stationed at the airport; she could seek help there.

Her ankle was bruised and swollen. She could hardly put any pressure on it, but she managed to limp to her bedroom. She needed to change out of the wet clothes and get shoes. And she needed to do it as quickly as possible. After