CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Mercy could hear footsteps walking outside, and then the sound of a car door opening and closing. She was pretty sure there was a woman driving it. Moments ago, she’d thought she’d heard a woman’s voice, very faint as she spoke to her captor.
No, Mercy thought. Please. Help.
She tried to actually give voice to these thoughts but the tape was too tight over her mouth.
Don’t start the car, Mercy thought. Don’t leave, don’t go…
But then Mercy heard the engine start. She closed her eyes and screamed against the tape. The muted sound rattled in her head until it ached, until it felt like her head would split right in two from the force of it.
Mercy tried to make sense of what was going on. Her captor must have some sort of plan for her, a plan that he kept changing. La
