Revenge is Sweet (A Samantha Church Mystery) by Betta Ferrendelli Read Free Book Online Page B

had taken several long strides and Wilson was inside and in another room.
    Wilson gulped in air when the twins removed his hood. He coughed slightly from taking too much air too soon. Though the room smelled faintly of stale cigarette smoke and another odor Wilson could not immediately identify, he never remembered air tasting as fresh as it did as they removed his hood.
    He looked for Sam, as his captors untied the rope. As he feared, she was not in the room. Wilson gingerly rubbed his wrists, relieved the rope was gone and watched the twins back away from him. Fuzz Face stayed at the door and kept the nozzle of his automatic weapon trained on the center of Wilson’s chest.
    They shut the door and locked it. Wilson heard the sounds of his kidnappers’ retreating footsteps. A sense o f relief to be alone, however small, flooded over him.
    They had set him down on the floor with his back against the wall. The low light in the room came from a dim-watted bulb centered in the ceiling. It allowed enough light for Wilson to scan the room. It was empty and small, perhaps no more than ten feet by ten feet. Wilson took several deep breaths, thought a moment before determining that the strange odor that had assaulted his senses when they pulled his hood off was probably cat urine.
    Cat urine.
    He cocked his head, the thought stirring something deep inside, unsettling him. Fear brushed the back of his throat. He was certain now he knew why they had been kidnapped.
    After an inventory of the room, Wilson guessed he might be here awhile, given the thin mattress on the floor covered with an equally thin blanket. There were two twelve-ounce plastic bottles of water near the mattress. Beside the bottles, there were four packages of orange-colored crackers and processed cheese and an apple.
    Wilson pushed himself away from the wall and opened the water bottle. He took two long swallows, closing his eyes and savoring the cold, refreshing liquid. He went for the cheese and crackers and noticed that the packages had already been opened and the red plastic strips used to spread the cheese over the crackers were gone.
    Wilson ate every bite. He used his finger to scoop out the rest of the cheese in the corners of the package that he could not get with the crackers. It was the first thing he had eaten since being kidnapped. He drank the last of his water, knowing the crackers would make him thirsty, but it didn’t matter. Though he was starved, he decided to save one package of crackers and the apple for later.
    Feeling a small surge of energy, he got to his feet and went to the door. He placed both hands over the knob and tried hard , several times, to open the door. The knob, nothing, would budge. He settled back against the wall and used the blanket to cover his legs. He tried hard to fight sleep, but the urge to close his eyes, if even for a few minutes, overcame him.
    The next thing Wilson knew he was awakened by the sounds of someone opening the door. He tried to shield his eyes from the light streaming into the room, but someone kicked his hand away from his face and the outside light shone directly into his eyes. Wilson squinted. It took a moment to adjust to the sudden flood of light before he saw that the twins were back, standing over him like a pair of angry sentinels.
    “Hey fellas,” Wilson said, casually, as if greeting old friends.
    “Do you have to go to the john?” the twin in the gray T-shirt asked.
    Wilson nodded. They helped him to his feet and this time handcuffed his hands in front of him. They loosely tied the hood over his head and when Wilson looked down he could see the tips of his black dress shoes. The men took Wilson by the arms and escorted him from the room. As they walked Wilson tried to keep his head down to watch for any markings on the ground that could become familiar landmarks to him, should he by some chance be able to escape. He also took several deep breaths to be aware of any kind of scents or smells