Chapter Three: Tabby

Tabby was dreaming. She knew she was  dreaming but she couldn’t make herself wake up.  She dreamt that she was in a straitjacket and the  harder she struggled to free herself, the tighter her  restraints became.  

She shook her head from side to side and  realized that something was over her mouth. It was  gagging her and she suddenly felt as if she couldn’t  breathe. She fought the urge to panic and began to  cough frantically. Her tongue protruded from her  lips and she felt something rough and unnatural  there. What was going on?  

As her eyes opened and tried to focus, she saw  blurry images of unfamiliar furniture and she had  the chilling sensation that she was in a strange  place and that someone was watching her.  

Suddenly it came back to her in a flash. She  remembered leaving work and her missing car. She  remembered the black Mercedes and then…and  then she remembered nothing.  

Where was she? How had she gotten here? Who  had grabbed her out of her office parking deck and  what were they going to do to her?  

She felt panicked again and her stomach rolled  with nausea. Her eyes darted around the dim room  and then she saw him. She saw a beautiful man  sitting in a chair across the room from her. He watched her with a mixture of curiosity and  something else. What was it? If Tabby hadn’t been  such a social recluse the last few years she would  have been more certain but still she thought he  looked at her with lust.  

She blinked her eyes rapidly to help clear the  remaining fog that seemed to be blocking her  vision. She tried to reach up and rub her eyes and  realized her arms were bound behind her back. She  looked down to see that she was still wearing her  work clothes, which felt like only a small relief  when she saw that her ankles were also bound to  the legs of the chair.  

She shook her head from side to side and felt tears  begin to well up in her eyes.  

“Settle down now.” She heard the smooth  voice of the mystery man. Something about his  voice did seem to calm her slightly but those words  weren’t enough to stop the tears from spilling over  her eyes and down her cheek.  

* * * *  

He rose slowly from his chair and reached out  to her with just one finger. She felt herself  automatically flinch as his hand reached for her. He  stopped his hand in midair and her dark green eyes  looked up at him with what she knew was a look of  pure fear.  

He seemed to consider her look and then said  softly, “I won’t hurt you. I promise.” 

In her mind, she knew this was a promise she  shouldn’t believe, but something in her heart  ached to try.  

He began reaching for her again and touched  her cheek delicately with just his fingertip. He  wiped the tears from one cheek and then the  other. As he leaned over her, she could smell his  scent and it smelled like evergreen trees. It  smelled like back home in the country, where she’d  spent her childhood. It smelled like home.  

She shuddered.  

He took a step back and his eyes moved over  her. “I’ll take the gag off your mouth if you  promise not to scream.”  

She nodded.  

As he began to untie the piece of cloth that  was knotted around her head, thoughts raced  through her mind. She knew she didn’t belong  here. Wherever she was and whoever had brought  her here was wrong. She didn’t know why she’d  been targeted, but it just seemed too odd to be  some random act of violence. Until she could find  out more, she’d try to be cooperative and try not  to overreact.  

As he finally removed the rough cloth from her  mouth she felt unbelievably thirsty and tried to  swallow. Her mouth was dry and parched, and she  unsuccessfully tried to lick her lips.  

She knew he was watching her. He seemed to  be waiting for her to scream or make some other  ruckus. If he only knew how terrified she was and how she was being very cautious not to do anything  that could jeopardize her life or safety.  “Thirsty,” she said in a raspy voice that she  didn’t recognize as her own.  

He gave her a small smile and walked over to a  credenza that had a crystal decanter and glass set  placed there. He poured her a glass of water and  returned to her side. He pressed the glass to her  lips and with his other hand he held the back of her  head as she tilted it back to take a sip.  

Just then the door to the room crashed open  and an older man with a beak-like nose and salt and-pepper hair came dashing into the room with  two big hulking body guard types following closely  behind him.  

He stopped as soon as he saw her and smiled wickedly.