Davis, Keyonna - Faceless Enemy [Pine Valley 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

FACELESS ENEMY

Pine Valley 2

KEYONNA DAVIS

Copyright © 2012

Prologue

How many days had it been since she was locked in this damp basement? Kerri couldn’t remember. There were no windows in the basement to tell time by, and she had no watch or her beloved cell phone. The only reason she could see was because of one small, bare bulb lit over the steps that led to what she guessed was the first floor of a house. It seemed like she had been down here forever, but she really didn’t know. All she did know was that she was cold, hungry, and scared out of her mind. She had been that way since she was shoved up against her car leaving the mall and had a cloth with a foul smell held to her mouth and nose. When she woke up she was in this basement lying on a cot, naked, and covered with a thin sheet. She had the worst headache and a very dry mouth. There was a plastic cup with water sitting on the small table next to the cot, but Kerri was too scared to drink it. She was terrified that it could be poisoned, and she was not about to find out.

Kerri sat up on the cot and had to fight off dizziness and nausea. She saw spots and had to blink several times to clear her vision. Once she was sure that she wasn’t going to pass out, she was able to explore as much as a person could in an open basement and found no way of escaping or her clothes. The door at the top of the stairs was locked, and it was the only exit that she could see. She went to the small bathroom located under the steps that had only a toilet and a sink in it. After letting the water in the sink run until it turned clear, she quickly gulped the cool water down until she couldn’t drink anymore and went back to her cot, listening to her stomach growl. Kerri felt like she hadn’t eaten in days, but it could have been only hours as far as she could tell.

Kerri cursed her stubborn, independent streak. She was twenty-four, and she decided that she needed to move out on her own. She wanted to make a name for herself and know that she accomplished something on her own and not because of who her dad was. She loved her dad with all her heart, but she felt the need to be on her own and live without his “eyes” as she called his bodyguards constantly watching her.
Why did I not listen to dad and accept the bodyguard that he insisted I have?

The sound of footsteps overhead and the basement door opening snapped Kerri out of her thoughts. She tried to remember the exact position she had been in when she woke up and imitated it. She tried to be as still as possible and not flinch when she felt a hand on her forehead. Barely cracking her eyes and looking through lashes, she could see that whoever had kidnapped her was male from the body size and muscles. Whoever it was dressed in all black, including black gloves and a ski mask. The only thing she could see was his eyes, and they seemed to be as black as tar. She had never seen eyes as lifeless as those and never wanted to again. Her kidnapper sat on the side of the cot, and Kerri tried her best to remain still. Her dad made sure she was trained in self-defense by the best ex-military guys when she learned to lose her bodyguards as a teenager, so she was not worried about what this guy would do to her. She just had to wait for the right time to make her move, and she could escape this idiot.

“I know you are awake so you might as well stop pretending.”

Damn, so much for the element of surprise, Kerri thought and opened her eyes to look at her kidnapper full-on. “You know you will never get away with this don’t you? My dad will find you, and he will make you pay for taking me.”

Daniel MacGregor owned MacGregor Inc., one of the best security companies in the world. They did everything from security systems for homes and businesses to bodyguard services for the rich and famous. They also did services that the public did not know about. The main breadwinner of MacGregor Inc. was the many government contracts they held. The easiest way to describe what they did was to say they were in the mercenary business. No, MacGregor Inc. did not do contract killing. They mainly specialized in protecting foreign dignitaries and rescuing political kidnap victims. For any mission that the government wanted pulled off in secret or did not want certain countries to know the U.S. was involved in, they came to her dad. Her dad didn’t run a Fortune 500 company specializing in search and rescue for nothing. If anyone could rescue her, it would be him.

Her kidnapper just laughed. “No, your father will be the one paying if he ever wants to see you alive again.”

Why did his voice sound so familiar? Kerri tried to place the voice and the strange eyes, but came up with a blank. Up close she could see that his eyes weren’t really black but midnight blue. You would think you would remember if you had ever seen eyes like that before, she told herself. Kerri watched as the guy stood and began pacing the room.

“The way I see it, dear ole dad will pay just about anything to have his precious little girl returned unharmed. How much do you think I should ask for? Ten? Twenty million?”

Now it was Kerri’s turn to laugh. “You can’t be serious. If you know my dad so much, then you know that he has never paid a ransom, and he has no plans of starting. Now I suggest you let me go if you value your life. That is probably the best offer you are ever going to get.”

“Shut up! He will pay, or I will give you back to him piece by piece. He will live the rest of his life not knowing when he will receive the next piece of you.”

Wow, this guy has really lost it, Kerri thought. Can somebody say psycho? The crazy gleam in his eyes told her it was time to be truly scared now, and she knew she needed to get away from this guy as quick as possible. From the look in his eyes, she had no doubt that he meant every word he said and would have no problem carrying out his threats.

As Kerri watched her kidnapper pace the floor, she slowed her breathing and cleared her mind so the she could come up with a plan. She knew that she couldn’t depend on her dad to rescue her in time, so she had to take matters into her own hands. She thought back to all the things her dad taught her.
Okay, step one, assess the situation.

She could hear her dad’s voice in her head.
Always be aware of your surroundings. Entrance and exit points, potential weapons that you can you use, and what can be used against you.

Well, Kerri thought, the only exit was at the top of the stairs, so that narrowed down her choices considerably. The only potential weapons she had were a thin sheet and the bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. Oh, and the lid off the back of the toilet. Kerri tried to remain calm as a plan began to form.

She could hear her dad’s voice in her head again.
Remain calm. The only thing panic will do is get you killed. Keep your head clear and follow through with what you plan. Don’t second-guess because even the slightest hesitation could mean the difference between life and death.

That seemed like a harsh lesson to teach a twelve-year-old girl at the time, but Kerri was truly grateful now to have those lessons drilled into her head. Ever since her mother died when she was six, it had just been her and her dad. He was very protective of her, and although he constantly surrounded her with bodyguards, he also taught her how to fight and protect herself. It looked like she was about to test those skills. She had to just bide her time and wait for the right moment to put her plan into action. If—no, when—she made it out of this situation, she would never doubt her father’s need for security again.

Kerri didn’t notice her kidnapper leave until she heard the door at the top of the steps slam.
Damn
. She had to pay more attention and focus if she was going to be able to do this. Okay, no more daydreaming. The next time the psycho came in, she would make her escape. Now that she had a plan, there was no use in waiting around for him to decide she was not worth the effort and fulfill his promise of chopping her up into tiny pieces. She would take the first opportunity she could to get away from him.