Another day had passed, Holly thought as she left the shopping mall. She’d always loved to go shopping. But nowadays it was only a way to kill time. Holly stared at the darkened parking lot. She’d spent a few hours more than she’d planned and now it was getting dark.

She remembered where she’d parked her car and headed for the darkest corner of the vast area. It was nearly pitch black. Were the streetlights broken? She found her car keys and pressed the button. A red car over to her left announced its presence. The red cabriolet was her favourite. It was perfect for narrow parking lots and a few shopping bags.

She headed straight for her car. Just when she opened the driver’s door, a pair of strong arms grabbed her and pulled her back against a hard body.

“Not a sound!” a man’s deep voice hissed into Holly’s ear. He covered her mouth with his palm.

She froze instantly. He towered above her. She felt his strength when she tried to move. His body enveloped hers, making her feel smaller.

“Don’t move!” he commanded.

She whimpered in distress, unable to prevent the small sound from slipping through her lips. He tightened his grip on her. Oh my god, she thought. What did he want? Her husband had repeatedly warned her against kidnappers demanding ransom. But she’d always ignored his warnings. Believing it to be more fiction than reality.

She felt the man’s chest against her back. Her head only reached his shoulder. She wriggled and tried to slip away. His only response was to tighten his grip around her waist. It felt like her ribs were about to crack. She moaned in pain.

“Don’t make a sound!” he repeated.

She took a deep breath. She had to get away from him. But how? She thought of all the bad things he could do to her. Panic clogged her mind. She tried to figure out what she needed to do. How could she escape?

She watched as he closed the door to her car and pulled her backwards. That woke her up. She kicked and fought his grip. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and lifted her effortlessly before he pushed her into the rear of a van parked beside her car.

She kicked and punched him blindly. In the dim light cast by the van’s interior light, he predicted and blocked all her attempts. But she wasn’t going down without a fight. He pushed her facedown on the hard surface and leaned his weight on her. She felt like a bug trapped underneath a predator.

“Relax, wildcat,” he said, sounding smug.

Holly cursed and kept fighting.

He forced her arms behind her back. She heard a click, feeling cold metal against her wrists. Oh no, she thought and felt her chances diminish. He’d handcuffed her. She screamed out loud, but the sound was quickly muffled by a piece of cloth he pushed inside her mouth. She bucked wildly, trying to spit out the cloth. But he secured it with a band around her head. She kicked against him and her foot connected with his chin, making him groan in pain.

“Fuck,” he cursed.

He sat on top of her and quickly strapped her legs together. He lifted her onto a bunk. Having control now he quickly released one wrist, rolled her over and swiftly handcuffed both wrists in front of her. He leaned over her, holding her arms over her head as he towered above her. She stared at him. It dawned on her how much larger he was compared to her. How easily he controlled her. He could do exactly what he wanted, and she wouldn’t have any chance to stop him.

“Behave, or face the consequences,” he said icily as he ran his eyes in a telltale manner from her throat and down to her breasts.

She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. She knew her eyes widened as reality hit her. If he wanted to, he could rape her. And she couldn’t stop him. He was too strong. She lay completely still, watching his every move while she waited for the moment he would pounce on her.

He turned away from her. She heard him move some stuff around. What was he doing? She looked around her. But it was too dark to see much of anything.

He returned, grabbed her hands and fastened them to the wall beside the bunk. She whimpered in terror for what more lay in store for her. Was he going to rape her first and then kill her afterwards? Hide her body so that her family would never know what happened to her?

She cursed herself for not fighting back sooner. How could she just freeze at such a critical moment? If she hadn’t, she might have got away from him instead of lying trussed up like a Christmas turkey.

If she’d been tougher, she could have survived this. She was too meek, too polite to act like the banshee that was required in such a situation. Stupid. Incredibly stupid. She should’ve paid more attention when the security guards had taught her how to defend herself.

Defeat overwhelmed her. Her eyes teared up, and her body lay slumped on the mattress. She listened as he locked her car and placed her handbag beside her.

Her mobile was inside that bag. A flame of hope flared through her mind. If only she could reach it. But the man returned. He rummaged through her purse and retrieved her precious phone. She stared at him as he turned it off and placed it into his back pocket.

“You won’t need this for a while.”

He gave her a triumphant smile as if congratulating himself on besting her so easily. She’d never believed her life could turn upside down so quickly, without any warning.

What did he want with her?

She wasn’t rich even if her husband was. And if he planned to rape her, there were more attractive women out there. She was just an ordinary woman.

She watched as he stepped out of the van. Judging by the sounds, he got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. She tried to scream, but the gag prevented all sounds from escaping.

Then it dawned on her. He didn’t wear a mask. She’d seen his face. It was dark but she’d still seen parts of it. That could only mean one thing. She would never get out of this alive.

‘Oh my god,’ she thought. Now she was in deep trouble.