Claiming What's His (34 page)

             
Both Alex and Sam whirled around, dropping the ball in its pit and ran to the man who shouted.

             
Bzzz!
  The time was up. 

             
Ah, shit.  Better luck next time
, he told himself sarcastically.

             
Refocusing with the matter at hand, he called, “What’s going on here?”

             
“Someone stole the money box.  It was sitting right here next to me all evening and now it’s gone.”  The man in the squirt gun station was pointing in the corner on the ground where it was now empty, but there was an indentation where the box sat from the flatten grass.

             
“Are you sure someone stole –” Sam began but the man interrupted her before she could finish.

             
“Yes, I’m sure!  I’m the one who put the box in
that
corner so that I don’t trip over it.  I only have a few bucks in my apron to keep in case people come up with big bills and I need to give them change.  But other than that, that box stayed down there at all times.”

             
Alex walked around the tent as Sam continued asking him questions.  He took out his flashlight, turn it on and used the light to glare on the ground, looking for any clues as to what could have happened. 

             
So far, all he had found were popcorn, empty wrappers, candy sticks, straws, soda cans, and water bottles.

             
Damn, people are such fuckin’ slobs,
he thought.

             
Alex turned the corner to the back tent and immediately he noticed something that wasn’t right. 

             
In the lower right corner of the tent, the bottom straps that were used to tie the two material panels together untied, the flap pushed inward where anyone could have easily grabbed the box and pulled it out.  Lifting up the flap, he saw the flatten grass where the box sat.  Nothing else was out of place there.

             
He stood up and walked around toward the bushes behind the tent and he found a wooden box tossed in with the lid wide open.  He picked it up and walked it to the squirt gun man.

             
“That’s it!  That’s my box,” he exclaimed  as he rushed to Alex and snatched the box away.  Then he clipped, “Fuck!”

             
“Obviously, the money is gone.  Do you know who could’ve done this?” Sam asked.

             
“No.  No idea.  Maybe the same guys from the fundraiser.  That’s my best guess.”

             
“I’ll be right back,” Sam said as she rounded the side of the tent.

             
Alex then finished, “Okay, we’ll send PD over and you give them a statement.  We’ll continue searching the grounds to see if we can find something.”

             
“Thanks,” squirt man muttered.

             
He got the man’s information down and worked his way back to the bushes for a few minutes.  Finding nothing further, he wrapped up and went to find Sam.

             
When he turned around, she was nowhere in sight. 

             
He scanned the area and when he found her, she was slumped over the passenger side of an unknown vehicle, her forehead pressed against the glass window and her eyes closed as the dark sedan sped away.

              The heaviness of exhaustion clouded Sam’s head as she tried to open her eyes.  And she really tried.  She knew why.  She was blindfolded with that seemed like a bandana or rag, from the smell that Sam got from it. 

             
Gross.

             
The texture of the mattress was unfamiliar to her as there was a spring that jabbed her in her lower back.  The mattress was stiff as a board and there was a heavy smell of cleaning products that disguised the odor of fungus. 

             
She seemed to be in a cheap hotel.

             
And from the lack of light that Sam was (or wasn’t) sensing, the curtains were closed.

             
But the question was: why?  And how did she get there?

             
“I see you’re just coming out of your sleep.  About time.  Seemed I used a little too much chloroform.”

             
Chloroform?

             
“You kidnapped me?  And then you drugged me?  What’s all this about?  Who are you?  What do you want from me?” Sam was practically shouting but had to stop. 

             
The numbness in her head was quickly escalating to a headache and she didn’t need that at the moment.  She needed to keep her head clear and pain free in order to plan an escape.  She tried moving her hands but couldn’t.  Her hands were bound together behind her back.  She was on her side and assumingly facing away from the door.

             
This was really starting to get ridiculous for her. 

             
First, who used chloroform anymore?  Now these days they used date rape drugs, not to give the man anymore ideas. 

             
Second, he took her to a cheap motel, or at least that was what the bed felt like.  He didn’t have to take her to the Ritz Carlton but he could’ve at least sprung for a Holiday Inn.  But, it might be best to toss out this little detail for now. 

             
She had been drugged and her hands were bounded.  She needed to think of a way to get out of there.

             
It was then she realized that no one found her yet. 

             
No one had come to rescue her.

             
Why hadn’t Alex come to rescue her?  Did he even know she was missing?

             
The last thing she remembered was that she left his side at the tent to search around some more, in case he missed something. 

             
Her head was bent down facing the ground when, the next thing she knew, a cloth covered her nose and mouth and she was out like a light.

             
And here she was in an unknown room that smelled with an unknown man who would do God knows what to her.

             
This was the one time she really needed Alex, now more than ever. 

             
She couldn’t predict what this man would do to her.

             
What if this was her last moment on Earth?  What if he killed her today and she never had the chance to do all of the things she wanted to do in life?  What if she never got her chance to tell Alex that she loved him and she had for a long time?

             
“You just couldn’t keep your nose where it belonged, could you?” the man said as he brought her out of her thoughts.  “Because of you, I lost everything – my wife
and
my unborn son.  She kicked me out of our home, filed for divorce and not leaving me a single dime.”

             
This explained the cheap room.  And when he mentioned ‘wife’ and ‘unborn son’, it clicked on Sam who this person was and why he seemed to be doing this.

             
Revenge.  But what was his plan for her?  Kill her there in the hotel room and leave her until the maid service (if there was one) to find her rotting body?  Or stuff her between the box and the mattress?

             
“Sounds like you did get what you deserve, Mr. Tinker.  You cheated on her and your child.  She’s moving forward without you in it.  How is that my fault when you stepped out on her?  Did you expect her to forgive you with open arms?  If you did, then you’re more delusional than I thought you’d be.”

             
He viciously tugged off the fabric covering her eyes, revealing his huge, angry eyes.  He tossed it behind him, landing on the other bed in the room.

             
From what Sam could make out in her peripheral vision without her eyes leaving his, it was a hotel room with two queen mattresses (she being on one of them), a night stand in between, and an older television with the wide back that sat on top of a dresser.

             
“
Shut up!
  Fuckin’ shut up!  You don’t know anything about us, about me.  You don’t know what goes on in my marriage –”

             
“I know enough to know that your wife, who loved you, had her suspicions about you for a while.  She followed her instincts, hired me to do my job where I confirmed her thoughts.  The one thing I gave her was closure, for her.  With her carrying a child, she didn’t need the burden of knowing or not knowing what her supposed-husband would or wouldn’t be doing, or in this case,
who
he was doing.  Now she knows and can focus on her and her baby.  Not everything is always about you and your needs.  That shipped sailed the day you married her and it sailed even further when she told you she was pregnant with your child.  So don’t give me this bullshit about you or anything of yours!”

             
Ugh!  It was official.  She had a headache.  She now needed to plot to smash something against Jim Tinker’s head for causing her headache.

             
Guilt crossed his face as Sam aired her thoughts.  She never thought that a man like him would be capable of feeling guilty for his actions. 

             
Being able to get an up-close look of him, she noticed that he was a very good looking man, tall and lean with masculine features, strong jaw and a five o’clock shadow.  He had on blue jeans, a black polo shirt, and sneakers.

             
He seemed to have been in pure agony, not have slept from the look of dark circles under his bloodshot eyes that had been staring back at Sam not long ago.  He sat down on the edge of the other bed and put his elbows to his knees with his face buried in his hands, solemnly shaking his head, probably out of pity.

             
Sam took this opportunity to observe her surroundings.  She saw the curtains pulled close with a small crack that didn’t show any light.  This meant it was still dark outside.  The only source of light was the soft glow of the lamp on the nightstand.  Without her weapons on her, she had to improvise and use whatever she could readily get her hands on.  But, with her limited choices, she wasn’t sure if she could make due with a lamp, TV remote or a Bible.  The Big Man above might frown upon that; but he may not if it was a life or death situation. 

             
Sam kept her body as still as possible and started working on her hands.  She wriggled her wrists and tried loosening the knot.  The knot tightened, the friction causing her skin to burn.  With slight force, her hand jerked free.  She kept her hand hidden from sight in case Tinker didn’t take it too well that she managed to free herself from his poor work of craftsmanship. 

             
Sam worked to get the rope off her other wrist as she glanced at the lamp sitting on the night stand next to her.  That lamp would be her best weapon of choice as of now.  But she had to think quickly.  When he moved she needed to use it to knock him out and get away.  Then she would need to call Chuck in and report this.  No way was she going to let him get away with this.

             
“How about some sympathy sex?” he asked.

             
She blinked.  “What?”

             
“Sympathy sex.  You know, sex because I’m feeling bad.  You make me feel good, I make you feel good,” he shrugged as he promptly nodded.

             
Sam jerked her head back at the ridiculousness of that question.  He must have been out of his mind.  He
kidnapped
her and he wanted
sympathy sex
from her?

             
“You have got to be kidding me!”

             
“What?  I see it as a win-win here.  You can’t say you don’t want any.”

             
Her reply was instant, “I don’t want
any
.”

             
“Awww, come on!  I lost my wife and kid, thanks to you.”

             
“Mr. Tinker –” she started.

             
“Jim,” he insisted as he leaned back with his hands behind him on the bed.

             
Then she continued, “Fine, Jim.  It wasn’t my fault you cheated on your wife.  She caught on to you and she hired me.  You need to man up and accept the consequences.”

             
He casually shrugged.  “Or, I could take advantage of this on my own
without
your consent.  You are at my mercy, and from the looks of it, there’s really nothing you can do.

             
That bastard!  Not long ago he had been upset that his wife was leaving him and he was blaming her.  But now, he wanted sympathy sex and when she wouldn’t give it to him, he was going to force himself on her.

             
Oh shit.

             
Now she really needed to think of something before this cheating bastard raped her and from the look in his gleaming eyes, he’d do exactly what he said.

             
Panic shot to her eyes as he slowly got up from the bed he sat on and moved his hand to unbutton his shirt, one by one.  He inched closer with every step as he crossed the small space between the beds.  When he got all of the buttons, he peeled back his shirt and let it slide off his shoulders and down his arms to the floor. 

             
Then he moved and right when he was about to come down on top of her, the door burst open. 

             
Cops darted in, followed by hot guys of all sorts, working their way in and shooting streaks of lights and laser beams in the room and on the suspect.  They all barked for the suspect to “put your hands up” and “get down on the ground.”

             
Tinker immediately surrendered, keeping his eyes on her, lifting his hands to his head and bending down to his knees.  An officer fiercely pushed him down to his stomach using his knee to press against Tinker’s back and twisted his arm back to handcuff him.  The other surrounding cops closed in and kept their guns pointed downward.

             
“Sam!”                Her head jerked back and she saw Chuck barging his way through and up to her.  Her body slumped with relief and her throat began to clog.  He stopped by the side of the bed that was closest to the door and worked the rest of the rope around her wrists. 

             
She brought her hands to her front and rolled to her back, slowly rubbing her wrists to work out the pins and needles.  Then she heard her name called again.

             
Her head jerked up again and this time it was Alex as he dodged the police officers taking the suspect out.  He made it to the side of her bed, sat down on the side of the bed and his hands immediately went to work, roaming her body for any signs of injuries, taking over rubbing her aching wrists.

             
Then they moved to cup her face and he murmured, “Babe.  Fuck, I don’t know what I’d do without you and this may be the wrong time, but I’ll say it now so I don’t waste anymore time.  I love you.”

             
Her breathing grew heavy, or she should say, heavier.

             
He just declared his love for her after she had been drugged and kidnapped in a dingy motel room.  Or was that the second declaration?  It was probably the adrenaline that kicked in, but it still wasn’t the best way to do so. 

             
She was drugged and kidnapped and he panicked.  He must’ve felt as if he needed to tell her things like it was last chance.

             
She was glad he told her because she felt the same way.

             
Her mouth opened but before she could return the sentiment, he brought his finger to her lips.  “Shh, you don’t have to say anything right now.  How are you feeling?”

             
“I’m fine,” she lied then shared, “He only used Chloroform on me.  But, Chuck, you can add attempted rape to his charges.”

             
The room immediately got thicker and she saw the raging, hard faces that both men had on their faces as they took in her words.