Charlie
Slowly, I come to. There's clear air washing over my face, alternating with blasts of diesel fumes. There’s a gag stretching my mouth and I’m tied tight with my hands behind me, lying on my side. Sharp pain radiates through my head from a spot in my skull. When I try to open my eyes, I retch a little into the dank wad of cloth filling my mouth.
Oh God, the baby. I hunch as if I can protect my abdomen. My insides feel fine—as fine as they can feel with me tied up and desperate for water. The ropes tying me bite into my skin and my sides throb with a collection of bruises I didn't have before I woke, but I’m alive. For now.
What happened? My head throbs as I review… the shop, the strange men, a blow to the head. Did I interrupt a robbery? What is going on?
I wonder for what feels
