Chapter 16

Raina had a good night. She was still grinning as she got out of the Uber, hugged Cass and Noah good-bye and headed to her dorm. She'd done exactly as she wanted for her birthday. She ate hot wings in a pub, drank a beer, shot some pool. Then the three of them moved onto a nearby nightclub where they did sour whiskey shots, drank rum and coke and danced until 2am. Raina had a good head on her. She knew when to stop, knew she couldn't push her fragile body past its limits. She stopped at four drinks, but encouraged her friends to imbibe, have a few shots for her. They toasted to her one good kidney.

Raina skipped toward her dormitory, singing the new Cardi B song and two-stepping her way down the walk. She glanced around for security but didn't see anyone. They were probably around the corner checking on the other building. She frowned, weird though, usually there was always a security guard somewhere in the big square leading to the dorms.

She was rounding the corner of Hastings Hall, stepping through the shadows, when someone grabbed her from behind. She opened her mouth to scream but a hand covered her face and yanked her back against a hard chest. She didn't think twice; she started fighting for all she was worth. She slammed an elbow backwards as hard as she could. She wasn't sure what she hit, but her elbow met something solid. The guy 'oomphed' and stumbled back a step. He still had a good grip on her though and she wasn't able to cry out, get someone's attention.

Raina frantically dug in her purse while her assailant struggled to get a better grip on her wiggling body. She finally found what she was looking for, a can of bear spray. Gripping it hard in one hand she twisted to the side and swung her closed fist down, aiming for his crotch. She missed but got a solid hit on his thigh. He grunted something that sounded like "motherfucker!" and loosened his grip for a second. Just long enough that she was able to slam another elbow into his stomach.

He swung her around to face him, which is exactly what she wanted. But when she was face-to-face with her attacker she froze. He wasn't some college kid out to get his rocks off, he didn't look like some peeping Tom pervert either. No, this man was big and mean-looking, completely outside of anyone she'd ever met. He looked Latino with darkly tanned skin, black hair and blazing dark brown eyes. Before she'd had a good look at him she had been only pissed off that someone would try to grab her, now she was utterly terrified. What did a man like this want with someone like her?

"You need to calm the fuck down, chica," he snarled, his hands hard on her arms. "You're coming with me. Up to you if you do it dignified and nice or knocked out and tied up."

"You expect me to go along with my own assault? Not fucking likely!" Raina raised the can of bear spray and took aim.

Before she could deploy the painful mist into his face, he moved, so fast she couldn't understand what he was doing until her feet were swept out from under her and she was falling backward onto the pavement. She let out a yelp and cringed, knowing she was about to hit the ground hard. But she didn't. Her attacker controlled her fall, coming down on top of her, making sure she had a soft landing. His grip on her wrist was not as soft though. He had her in a crushing hold, her arm over her head.

He landed on top of her, straddling her waist, his legs pinning hers, his hand over her mouth. He lifted her arm and slammed it into the pavement until her hand opened and she lost the bear spray. She was stunned that he bested her. She thought her karate skills should protect her from would-be attackers. She was fit, strong-ish and thought she was pretty fucking good in hand to hand combat. But this guy made her feel like a baby kitten going up against a tiger.

A chill shiver ran through her body as she was forced to lay immobile, staring up at her captor. How many times had he done this? Was she about to become the victim of a serial killer? Another in a long line of women that disappeared, never to be seen alive again?

Hell no, she was not! And with that thought she began fighting again, twisting, struggling until her legs were free then slamming her knees into his back. He might be big, he might be solid, he might be better than her in combat situations, but he wasn't small and wiry, with a deep thirst to hurt those that hurt her. Raina had never been one to take sleights lightly. She had a mouth on her and wasn't afraid to tell people what was what, call a spade a spade. She was the first to participate in rallies, shout her political opinions at the top of her lungs. She was especially passionate about women's rights and freedoms. And she was definitely anti-kidnapping.

She quickly became aware that he wasn't trying to hurt her. In fact, he was actively trying to do the opposite. Make sure she didn't bruise herself too much in the fight. What the fuck kind of a serial killer-rapist was she dealing with? Didn't matter, his 'gently subdue the girl' approach was going to work to her advantage. As soon as she had a hand free she went for his eyes. He moved his head, dropping it against her chest so her nails raked down the side of his neck. She was gratified to hear him grunt in pain.

Then he decided to get serious. He used his legs to pin her flailing limbs, gripped her hands together in one of his and slammed them over her head. He twisted her face to the side, a large hand wrapped around her jaw, and he leaned in until his lips were just over her ear.

"You need to stop fighting me, Raina. Right. Fucking. Now."

His use of her name immobilized her better than anything else he'd done or said. He knew her name. He fucking knew her name! So, this wasn't just some random kidnapping. She was his intended victim. Somehow, that thought made her situation even scarier. Had this been a random attack, a crime of opportunity, then he truly wasn't invested in her. Maybe she could've fought until she escaped and found a security guard. Instead she was being held in the arms of a man who knew her name, knew she would be walking home alone tonight. A man who seemed determined to take her. He was invested in her kidnapping.

Once she quit fighting he eased his grip on her chin.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, trying to make her voice a hard demand, but it sounded more breathless and frightened.

"I was charged with finding and acquiring you," he said, shifting until they were both sitting. He moved her hands to the front of her body, still clasped in his hard grip. "My boss wants you where he can keep an eye on you, baby."

She stared at him like he was insane. "I'm not going anywhere with you! I have midterms next week."

"I think," he drawled, his dark eyes gleaming under the dim campus lighting, "you'll have to take a pass. In fact, probably best to take the year off. I suspect you won't be back for awhile."

"Like fucking hell!" she snapped and tried to kick out at him. He shoved himself between her legs and yanked her up against his chest, holding her in an unbreakable embrace. She went with her last resort, the death glare.

He opened his mouth to say something, his fingers tightening around her when a voice interrupted them. "Hey! You okay over there?" She twisted around to see, thought it might be one of the security guards, but the man holding her yanked her fully against his chest. He pulled something from his jacket and pressed it against her side. Not into her body, but pointing away, toward the person who was striding toward them.

Then he kissed her. Full on the mouth, lips pressed against hers. She gasped, accidentally breathing in his scent, a mix of spicy cigar and man. She was too shocked to push back or struggle. She lay frozen against him, accepting the strange moment for what it was. Her first kiss. She wasn't like other girls. Hadn't had a chance to grow up normal. Though she loved to do normal stuff like everyone else, her illness had stopped her. As a result she'd become sheltered as a child, overprotected by well-meaning parents.

Before her brain could fully engage and tell her she needed to snap back to reality, the stranger kissing her lifted his lips a fraction of an inch from hers and whispered, his warm breath rushing over her, "If you say anything, I will kill him. Do you understand, Raina?"

She stared at him in dazed fascination. Who was he? Where was he from? And why were some serial killers so damn attractive?

Apparently she didn't answer him quick enough, because he gave her a little shake, tightened his already hard grip on her arms and said, "I have killed before, chica, many times. You want the death of this man on your conscience?"

His words snapped her back to reality, made her realize the severity of her situation. He'd killed before! The thought made her heart thunder against her ribcage and another surge of adrenaline to rush through her. She shook her head in a quick, no.

"Then you need to follow my lead. I was walking you back to your dormitory when we got carried away. Nothing else, understand?"

She nodded and held her breath as he leaned in to kiss her again. She felt the press of his gun against her as the guard approached. Her eyes filled with tears as she fought the desperate need to cry out for help. But she couldn't. She didn't want to be the cause of anyone getting hurt. Gripping her hair tightly, as though to warn her, the man turned to the guard, his entire demeanor changing from sinister to lovestruck.

"Good evening officer. Was just walking my girl back to her dorm when we started messing around. Sorry to bother you!" His voice took on a flawless American accent, losing his smooth Latin accent. She barely registered what the security guard said in response. Something about moving along. He nodded, his hair brushing her forehead, his grip still painfully tight. "Of course, sir. I'll just see her back to her room safe and sound and be on my way."

The guard said goodnight and moved away. Raina let out a choked sob as she watched her hope of rescue stride quickly away from them and disappear around the side of a dormitory. Her captor eased his grip and maneuvered her face away from his.

His eyes were hot on her face when he spoke. "Now, you want to stop fighting me, baby girl, or do we do this the hard way?"

She thought about her options, thought about the various possibilities involved in her kidnapping. "Fuck you!" she hissed angrily.

He chuckled and ran his thumb down her arm, where he held her. "You are just like your mother, aren't you?"

She knew her eyes were bugging at his words. Not for one second did she think he meant her adoptive mom. No, he was talking about the woman that birthed and abandoned her. The woman Raina had spent years trying to track down. How did he know her mother? Was he going to take her to the woman?

Before Raina could ask these vitally important questions he stabbed something into her neck. "Ouch!" She reached up to touch the spot. "What did you do?"

He stood, pulling her to her feet. She swayed as dark floaties swarmed her vision. He held her tight against him, his arms wrapped around her back. Her brain was becoming fuzzy and she was starting to feel like she was floating. He turned them around and began walking, too swift for her to keep up.

"But seriously dude, what did you give me?" she asked, her voice drifting through the night. She giggled as she realized how odd her voice sounded when it was coming through a tunnel. Slurred and garbled. She doubted he even knew what she tried to say.

She stumbled against him and reached out to grab his leather jacket. He held her against his side, protectively, she thought. Which was a stupid thought. He was kidnapping her, which was hurting her to begin with. Why would he want to protect her? She tripped over a curb as they entered a parking lot and he caught her before she could fall, swinging her legs out from beneath her and holding her in his arms. She reached out to grip his shoulders, hold onto something solid and stop the spinning, but she accidentally clipped him in the jaw.

She thought he might get mad, but when he looked down at her he was grinning broadly. Both of his heads floating in her vision were smiling.

"You're going to be a handful, aren't you princess?"

She sighed heavily and allowed her eyelids to close, shutting out the weird floaties and his scarily handsome face. "Probably," she whispered before passing out.