Chapter 3

Shawna rolled her eyes, "Just drop it. How long do we have until we are done driving?" She asked. Her arms were folded against her chest.

Giancarlo chuckled at her obvious annoyance with him. "A few more hours." He replied.

"Hours!" She exclaimed.

"Get comfortable." He suggested. His tone was wry.

"That's hard to do when handcuffed to a dashboard." She retorted.

"It's for your safety." He informed her. 

She rolled her eyes and scoffed loudly at his admission. They drove in silence for the duration of the trip. The sun overhead seemed to get much hotter the further they drove. It was all desert now. They came upon a toll booth.

They were about 1/2 a mile away when Giancarlo spoke to Shawna, "Let me handle this. Don't do or say anyhting stupid. Got it?"

Shawna was hoping she would be able to get help as soon as someone saw her handcuffed. Surely seeing her like this would trigger them to call the American Embassy. She would be rescued and sent home. She would be out of this madman's grasp. All she had to do was strike like a snake, fast. 

She looked ahead, and within minutes Giancarlo was slowing down the Jeep to a complete stop directly in front of a candy cane-striped barrier. Two uniformed soldiers appeared from inside of the booth. One was holding an assault rifle. The sight of the gun made her instantly feel scared and vulnerable all over again. She was surprised when the guard spoke to him in French. 

Shawna's French was rusty, but she was able to figure out their conversation. The guard asked Giancarlo where he had just come from and why were they headed in this direction. Shawna couldn't deny Giancarlo spoke excellent French, but his beard, coupled with his deep voice, made it hard for her to understand what he was saying. The guard that held the gun slowly walked around the vehicle assessing it, Shawna held perfectly still as the guard looked her up and down. She saw a hint of something in his eyes. 

She noticed his line of vision was staring at her exposed partial bra and bra strap. His gaze then shifted back to her handcuffed wrists. He looked back at Giancarlo. His voice was deep. His lips were hidden under the dark beard. 

As the guard spoke in muddled French the other guard was walking back to the booth with both of their passports. Shawna heard Giancarlo reply to the guard who stood watch over them. She didn't speak fluent French so she was lost. Suddenly the guard switched to a language she was not familiar with. She was stunned back in silence when Giancarlo replied in a perfect dialect.

 Shawna watched the guard chuckle. It was not reassuring to her. She knew by that laugh he had won the guard over and he would never help Shawna. Shawna's gaze fell to the floor of the Jeep as they bantered back and forth in the native tongue. Their banter was cut short when the other guard came back. 

He handed Giancarlo their passports and lightly banged on the hood of the jeep, signaling his partner to return with him into the booth. Shawna watched both guards walk away without so much as a glance back at them. She heard a loud buzzing noise. The barrier lifted, no longer obstructing the road and without hesitation, Giancarlo drove off. Shawna was startled at how fast he was driving now. 

The fast acceleration had made her head jerk back. She was thoroughly annoyed at his behavior. "Hey! Slow the hell down!" She shouted. 

He didn't say anything. 

Earlier, Shawna had been too annoyed and angry to feel any other emotion but now the fear was slowly creeping in. Shawna thought about it, Giancarlo hadn't spoken to him since the airplane. Shawna had no idea what he was thinkin. they were strangers She was utterly helpless. A feeling she fought against her entire life. She looked forward once more. 

"You thought that guard would help you." 

Shawna had barely heard him.

"W-what?" She looked at him then. He was still looking forward. His jaw was clenched.

"No one is going to help you, but me." He said as if he were stating a fact.

"How is kidnapping me, drugging me, and taking me across the world helping me?"

He chuckled low as if he had told a funny joke.

"What did I say that was so amusing?"

"You didn't want to marry him." He told her.

Shawna was shocked by his blatant accusation, and even more frustrated now. She fiddled with her handcuffs. "What do you know! I love Harper."

He slammed on the brakes. The Jeep came to a hard, screeching halt, The tires smoked . Shawna shifted her body sideways. Her shoulder slammed hard up against the dash. She let out a squeal of pain, "Ouch! Hey!" She yelled at him. 

She quickly regretted it. The look on Giancarlo's face was very intense. If looks could kill Giancarlo would have killed Shawna on the spot. 

"Don't ever say that again, understand." It was more of a command than it was a question. Giancarlo's voice could have cut stone. 

Shawna instinctively sat back in her seat. When she said nothing he continued.

"So glad we had this little chat." He put the Jeep back in gear and they were once more driving off into the vastness of the desert.

 Who was this man? Shawna wondered. The more she thought about him and how they met, it made her even more she thought about his background. They continued driving until it was dusk. Giancarlo went off-road and shifted gears as the tires acclimated to the new terrain.

 Shawna was becoming more and more scared the further they drove away from the highway. The gnawing feeling in her gut hadn't gone away. In fact, it was drivin gher crazy. Shawna was essentially helpless. The Jeep came to a stop, and Giancarlo switched it off. 

He tooke the handcuff keys out of his shirt pocket leaned over and unlocked them. The metal cuffs flung free . Shawna;s delicate wrists were chaffed and slightly bruised. She looked around the cast desert in both directions. The desert wind felt good on her skin. 

She closed her eyes as it danced in her hair. 

"We don't have a lot of light left. We have to set up camp." He informed her.

Surely Giancarlo did not think Shawna would be of any use. She had never been camping (Not even as a child). What purpose would she serve? Shawna wondered.

"Help with the tent while I make the fire." Giancarlo delegated, as if they were on friendly terms and he had not kidnapped her hours ago. Right now, shawna wanted to punch Giancarlo in his nose. She knew that owuldn;t help he situation or happen, so she decided to get out of the truck and help put up the tent. Giancarlo was digging a shallow pit in the sand 20 feet away from the Jeep. 

Shawna walked over to him and saw there was a small, hunter-green bag. Giancarlo saw her and then pointed to the bag. 

"This is the tent. Take it out of the bag and follow the instructions given." He told her as pulled wood out of a long, black military issued duffle bag. 

He stacked them in a neat circle inside the pit he had made. 

Shawna was upset, but her anger did not blind her to the fact that Giancarlo was proving himself to be full of surprises. Good and bad ones. She had done as he ordered and took the disassembled pieces out of the bag and read the instructions. It was simpler than she had expected. 

She was connecting the thin metal rods when Giancarlo came over and began helping her. Within minutes, they had both set the ten up. Shawna was proud of herself for sticking to the task at hand. Building the tent had felt like an accomplishment, but it had also helped her keep her mind busy and off of the dire situation she was in. She sat down by the fire and watched as Giancarlo filled their tent with essential items such as a lamp, pillows, and sleeping bags. 

Shawna's thought drifted off to Harper once more. She just needed to know if he was alright. Her anger was re-ignited every time she let her thoughts drift. She had to keep it together. Giancarlo had told her on the plane that she would be his wife. 

Shawna had no idea how her and him hiding out in the desert had any correlation to that. Maybe Giancarlo was crazy and had lost touch with reality, Shawna rationalized. WHy else woulf he do this to her? She wondered. Giancarlo sat down next to. His knee brushed up against hers intimately. Shawna had a feeling he was purposely sitting close to her. 

She looked at him then. A tear escaped...