The trip back to the highway was quiet. Neither of them said a thing. Both were occupied in their own heads, everything was happening within themselves.
He glanced at the rear view mirror once in a while to find her looking out the window. She was calmed, much different from the day he took her. She hadn’t cried a single tear for the last 12 hours.
They arrived at the designated spot a little before 3 PM. She kept silent but he could see a thousand different things going through her mind.
He was on his phone, “I’m here.”
He hung up right after.
“Let’s go,” he told her.
Her hands were bound, but he didn’t tape her mouth. She wasn’t resisting, she kept walking alongside him into the lower grassy area beside the highway.
They walked into the woods. They can hear their footsteps disturbing the grass. She looked back and the road was getting further and further away.
The people who were going to take her were already there. Deep into the woods. They must’ve walked for 10 minutes until they can see someone. Two men were leaning on a black van.
She stopped at her feet. Her eyes filled with terror. She shook her head. “No …”
He grabbed her arm, “Let’s go.” He pushed her to walk on.
She turned to him, pressed herself against him, “Who are they?”
He was puzzled, she was so calmed the whole trip. “Don’t make this hard for me … just go.”
She was breathing heavily.
The two men spotted them, they grinned.
“Well … well … right on time,” the man with the dark jacket said. His teeth were crooked and charred with nicotine. He dropped his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it.
The other man, the fat and greasy one couldn’t take his eyes off of her. There was a disgusting look on his face, he was sizing her from head to toe.
He observed the two quietly, let out a deep sigh, “Where are you taking her?”
The man in the dark jacket chuckled, “That’s none of your business, pretty boy.”
“How do I know you’re the right person to deal with?”
“Is there anyone else around here to pick up the goods?” the guy laughed.
She held his arm and stepped behind him.
“What’s the matter sweetheart? Don’t be shy … come to daddy,” the fat guy laughed.
“Please don’t leave me here … please …” she whispered to him.
“My transfer?” he asked.
The guy in the dark jacket pricked up his index finger and took out his phone.
They waited awhile until the call was connected, “She’s here.” He made a gesture for him to wait.
The fat guy came over to them and touched her cheek, “Oh I’m gonna have so much fun with you … you’re as pretty as they say you are.”
She looked away and buried her face on Diego’s back.
He pushed the fat man’s hand, “She’s not to be touched until she’s delivered.”
“Oh yeah? Who’s gonna stop me? You? Ha … ha … ha …” he walked away.
“Please, Diego, you have to help me, they will hurt me,” she whispered again.
His eyes widened, he turned to look at her, “What did you say?”
“Hey! Check your account … they made the transfer,” the guy in the jacket said.
He was distraught with what she said. Just like his dream, she knew his name. How in the world did she know that. He took out his gadget to check if the transfer had been made. It has. $10 million was paid in full.
“We’re good,” he said and put the gadget back in his back pocket.
“Nice doing business with ya’,” the guy smiled widely. “Now hand her over to us.”
She was gripping his hand tightly.
He had to let her go.
“I need to know she will not be harmed until you get to my client,” he said.
They laughed.
“Sure … I swear with my life … there won’t be a single scratch on her sweet perky body.” The guy in the jacket pulled her away from him.
He nodded, “I’m done here.”
Ari shot him with a terrified look in her eyes.
“Okay … bye bye, pretty boy … just go back to where you came from … she’s in good hands now,” the guy looped his arm around Ariana’s shoulder. She looked away in disgust.
The fat guy slapped her bottom with one hand and the other was rubbing his own crotch.
Diego turned around and walked away. He walked back to his car and he could hear the men laughing. Thoughts jumbled up in his mind, tangled like a spider web. He picked up his pace.
How did she know his name? It was absurd. What is really going on? Who are those men that he just left her with? There is something that felt really off about the whole thing. But what? Who had hired him to kidnap her?
The two idiots were going to rape her. He knew it in his heart. He ran. He ran as fast as he could to go back to his car. He can’t care about it. His job is done. A new life awaits him. A surge of energy came over him like a thunderbolt, he ran so fast he could win the Olympics.