Chapter One - Abducted
Jane Howell panted into the foul gag. Reeking of sweat and tasting of dust, the black and blue checkered neckerchief cleaved her lips, teeth, and jaws like a horse bit. Thick black cable ties around her wrists and ankles bit to the bone. Bathed in sweat, she strained against her bonds until her sweaty face turned the colour of beetroot. Crushed in the moving car’s cramped, sweltering, boot, she needed more space to slip her tied hands underneath her rump. Giving up, she went back to counting the car’s turns and noting their direction. The car careened left and her world quaked and jerked.
Red lights exploded across her field of vision, the boot lid slamming down to meet her from above. Jounced up and down, side to side, forwards and backwards, she assumed the car h
