Chapter 43: Hostage, Part 3

James

The message from Charlotte's abductors...

Finchby...

Baxter...

... replays in my head...

Marsh Street under Barnbridge Road overpass 9pm

Bring the money

No police. No other people or she dies

If late she dies. So does the baby

Brandy and rage burn inside me.

The bag containing the ransom money swings heavy in my hand. I'm the decoy and at some level, I know I may not come out of this alive. Klempner's Kevlar vest gives me a little comfort, but it's the fury inside that warms me against fast falling temperatures.

I should be afraid...

But I'm not.

Jade-Eyes...

My beautiful Jade-Eyes...

And Cara... Your gift to me...

Since the day I met Charlotte, my Virgin, we have helter-skeltered from one crisis to another...

Her past has constantly pursued her, ruling her, robbed her of what she deserves. None of it her fault, she has simply been the survivor of everything life has dealt her.

Would I change any of it?

No. Nothing.