The Game Has Changed (3 page)

Jaime shrieked with surprise as the man
collapsed into the booth across from her. She began to
hyperventilate when she saw his piercing brown eyes gazing back at
her. She saw something else flicker across that face, the
beginnings of a smile.

“Do you think you . . . might be able to help
me?” he asked of her. She was the first person he’d come across so
far since the accident.

Jaime gulped. Her heart raced as she realized
that he was British. His accent was quite strong and deep and so
very lovely. Her first thought was that he was a homeless person
wanting a handout. “I don't . . . I don't have much money,” she
sputtered, hoping he would be discouraged and leave without
incident.

Evan shook his head, his exhaustion making him
appear a tad inebriated, although he knew he hadn't touched a drop
of alcohol for quite some time now. “No, I don't need money from
you,” he replied as he noticed how she shivered at the mere sound
of his accent.

He decided to play it up even more. He had been
born and raised in London, England, and had only lived in the
States for about four of his twenty-six years, so his accent was
still very strong. However, he was well aware of American girls'
affinity for British boys and their accents, so it was a common
pick up trick he employed when he met a woman that he fancied, to
lay it on even thicker in hopes of scoring.

“I'm rather well off, you see, but I did have a
bit of an accident. The sort of assistance I need from you is some
form of transportation.”

Jaime was totally thunderstruck. She sat there
enveloped in silence as she tried to formulate what she wanted to
say to him.

He smiled broadly as he witnessed her reaction.
“All right, then, Luv. Do you happen to have a car?”

She seemed to have no control over her motor
skills, then and there. Normally, she wouldn’t have told a complete
stranger, “Yes, I have a car,” but this totally charming and
compelling British stranger had caught her by surprise and she
found herself nodding in the affirmative.

Despite the fact that he looked a mess with a
bloody gash across his forehead, torn clothes, and very dirty and
messy long brown hair, she said, “Yes!”

“Oh, that's lovely!” He smiled and nodded. “Do
you suppose you could drive me somewhere?”

Drive him somewhere?
she thought as she grabbed a hold of her senses.
What are you nuts? Don't say yes. Don't say
yes!
“Um . . . I don't . . .” she replied at
last.

“Well, of course,” he said, understanding. “I'm
a complete stranger to you. Sorry. That sounded horrid, didn't it?
How about if I offer to buy your car from you, then?”

The first thing that crossed her mind
was,
It's Daddy's car!
She
couldn't let it go, not for all the money in the world. “I'm
sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “I can't help you.
Sorry.”

“What sort of car is it?” he asked, feeling
hungrier and weaker as the minutes passed by.

“Acura,” she answered, immediately wishing she
hadn't. Her heart leapt into her throat when she saw him gaze out
the window as if he were looking for the car. It wasn’t hard to
miss as it was sitting right there, plain as day.

“That blue one there?” he asked and pointed to
it.

Jaime gasped again. “Please, don't steal it!”
she cried out.

Evan's eyes widened. “No, I didn't plan on
stealing it. I’m paying you, remember?” He became a tad
contemplative and then replied, “They're worth about thirty
thousand dollars, I think.”

He reached into the inside pocket of the fine
black leather jacket he was wearing. Jaime's heart raced. She was
unsure as to what to expect of him as he pulled a black wallet out
of his jacket pocket. When he opened it, she could see that he
really didn't need money from her. There was a huge wad of cash
stowed within it.

“I can pay you about twenty thousand now,” he
said. “When I get home, I can give you fifty thousand more in cash.
How's that sound?”

Seventy thousand dollars for a
five-year-old car?
Jaime's eyes were wide with
surprise. Yet, the more he talked, the harder it became for her to
believe him.

“How on earth would you get the rest of the
money to me, then?” Jaime asked boldly, yet still very softly. “I
would never in a million years give you my address.”

“Well, yeah. That is a problem.”

Evan shrugged. He didn't really want to waste
any more time. He suddenly realized he could go round and round
with her fruitlessly, but at the same time, he didn't want to try
again with someone else. He felt a sudden desperation and knew that
she would have to do, whether she liked it or not. He had no other
choice but to take the only course of action that was now allotted
to him.

“I guess if you won't take the money now . . .”
Before finishing his sentence, he slowly drew his jacket back to
expose the gun tucked under his arm. “You'll have to come with me
to get it.”

Jaime gasped with horror. He was kidnapping
her! All her fears about him were now very, very real!

“Come on, Luv. Let's go now,” he whispered,
looking around to make sure that no one else was watching
them.

To Jaime's dismay, there was absolutely no one
taking note of her abduction. She had no choice but to do as he
asked of her. He was standing now, reaching out for her. When she
didn't move because of her fear, he grasped her arm tightly, making
sure that she could see his other hand pressing on the spot where
the gun was hidden. She let him pull her out of the
booth.

Outside, they stood beside the car, both of
them looking about. Evan hoped that no one would notice anything
unusual, while Jaime was praying that someone would. Unfortunately,
the street seemed to be deserted.

“Open the door,” he said in a forceful whisper.
“Then give me the key and climb into the passenger
seat.”

She did as he’d asked. He grabbed her backpack
before she climbed in. She yelped with surprise, thinking that he
was taking her treasures from her as well, but he threw it into the
backseat instead as he hopped into the driver's side.

“Don't try to jump out or do anything foolish,
okay?” he told her as he revved the engine.

Jaime didn't answer. She couldn't find it
within herself to do so and could only tremble with uncontrollable
fear.

***

As Evan drove down the slightly busy city
street, he gazed at her once in a while. He really hated the fact
that he was terrorizing her as he knew he really wasn't a bad
person. He hadn't wanted to get to this point of desperation, but
he really needed the car. She was just the first innocent victim
he’d come across. He would make it up to her. For now, he knew he
would have to be coercive in order to keep her in line.

He soon began to get hints as to what city he
was in as he drove along. The city of Philadelphia spread out
before him. It made him sigh with annoyance as it was such a long
way from Malibu, California. He gazed over at the girl again. She
was quiet, leaning her head morosely upon the window as she stared
out of it. She was obviously trying very hard not to make eye
contact with him. He felt sorry for her once again and decided to
try and ease her fears just a little bit.

“By the way,” he began gently. “My name's Evan.
What's yours, Luv?”

She didn't answer. A deep sigh escaped her
instead.

“Am I gonna have to just call you Luv all the
time, then?” he teased affectionately. “I wouldn't mind at all, but
since I told you my name, you have me at a
disadvantage.”

When no response came, he laughed a little.
“Are you gonna make me guess, is that it?”

“Why do you need to know?” she spouted testily
and looked at him at that given moment.

Evan stared back at her. “Cuz it's usually what
people do when they first meet. They exchange names. Wouldn't you
agree?”

“Most people don't meet under these
circumstances,” she mumbled.

“True, but if you tell me your name, I'll tell
you a secret.”

“Please, don't. I don't want to know anything
about you.”

“It's about why I chose you.”

She looked at him with immediate affront. He
managed a very sexy grin.

Jaime's heart leapt. “Oh my God! You're going
to rape me, aren't you?” she gasped.

“Well, I actually wasn't thinking about that at
all,” Evan laughed. “But if you'd like . . .”

“Please don't hurt me!” she interrupted with a
squeal.

“I wasn't planning on hurting you.”

“But you threatened me with your
gun!”

“So that you'd come with me.”

“I don't understand. Why can't you just take my
car and let me go?” Jaime had finally found her voice, almost to
Evan's chagrin.

“I will let you go,” Evan continued, his voice
gentle. “Soon.”

“Why not now?”

“I can't. Not yet. Not until I'm far enough
away from here.”

“Then what will happen to me?”

“I'll take care of you,” he answered sincerely,
not realizing that his words were perceived much more ominously
than he had intended them to be.

“Take care of me?” she squealed.

“Jesus!” Evan finally lost his temper with her.
“Just shut the fuck up now, okay?”

Jaime let out a horrified gasp at his profanity
laced outburst. She clamped up then, the wheels spinning inside her
head. He was easily annoyed. Maybe she could use that as a weapon
against him. It might backfire on her, but then again, she was
desperate.

“I need to get some food,” Evan said after
several minutes of tense silence between them. “I'm gonna use a
drive-thru so you won't find a way to escape, but don't you dare
alert them about anything.”

“My name is Elizabeth,” she said in a sudden
lie.

He looked at her with confusion. “No, it's
not.”

“Of course, it is! How dare you say that to
me?”

“And I'm the king of England,” he laughed. He
wondered if reverse psychology would work on her. It wouldn’t hurt
to try, he surmised, and promptly found that it did. “Listen, you
don't have to tell me your real name. I don't give a shit
anymore.”

Jaime sighed deeply. “If you must know, it's
Jaime.”

He pulled into the parking lot of a Burger King
and smiled at her. The sweetness of that smile momentarily took her
breath away. “Would you like anything then, Jaime?”

“Why do you believe me now?” she whispered with
confusion.

“I'm good,” he replied as a matter-of-factly.
“Don't ever lie to me again. I'll know.”

CHAPTER 4

As the afternoon sun began to sink low on the
horizon, Evan began to have a troublesome time staying awake long
enough to drive. He felt himself nod off every so often, only to
jerk awake again. Shaking his head to rid himself of the fatigue,
he continued on, gazing at Jaime, every now and then.

To make matters worse, he saw that she had
fallen into a light sleep, pressed against the window as she sat
beside him. He knew he had to get some rest very soon, but how
could he do it and secure her at the same time? He had a sudden
epiphany, but knew that he would need to stop at a store in order
to achieve an end to his own means.

The setting sun crept across the back country
roads as he headed west through Pennsylvania. It wasn’t long until
Evan pulled into a convenience store for the purpose of filling the
Acura’s tank and buying a few supplies. He pumped the gas first.
Luckily, Jaime was still dozing as he did so, but he didn't trust
her to still be there if he went into the store. Once he was done
with the gas, he hurried toward her side of the car and yanked the
door open, jolting her awake.

She looked dazed and disoriented, at first;
temporarily forgetting about the situation she was in while she
napped. It all came back to her as she saw Evan standing above her,
his hand extended toward her. When she didn't move, he bent down
and tightly grasped her upper arm.

“Come into the store with me,” he demanded
softly. “And don't say a word once we’re inside!”

Once out of the car, Jaime noticed as he let go
of her upper arm and clasped her hand very tightly. It actually
felt good to her, feeling her hand in his. She had often daydreamed
of such a thing, except in her mind it was with a boy at school
that she had a crush on and the two of them were walking hand in
hand. It was a favorite fantasy of hers, although she never
fantasized about anything more than that.

She was a virgin and wasn't even sure she could
fantasize any further. She truly had no clue as to what love-making
would be like, so she didn't think about it at all. She had never
felt the arousal of sexual sensations before, either, but this felt
good. A real man other than her father holding her hand! Yeah, he
was her kidnapper, but still . . . And then she remembered, with
terror, what if he raped her?