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  Trapped

  by Dean Murray

  Copyright 2012 by Dean Murray

  Also by Dean Murray:

  The Reflections Series

  Broken (free)

  Torn (free if you sign up for Dean's Mailing List)

  Splintered

  Intrusion

  Trapped

  Forsaken

  Riven

  The Greater Darkness (Writing as Eldon Murphy) (free

  A Darkness Mirrored (Writing as Eldon Murphy)

  The Dark Reflections Series

  Bound

  Hunted

  The Guadel Chronicles

  Frozen Prospects (free)

  Thawed Fortunes (free if you sign up for Dean's Mailing List)

  Brittle Bonds

  Shattered Ties

  Chapter 1

  "So help me, Kristin. If I have another junior high loser show up and drool over me I'm going to walk out. I don't need this job that bad. Nobody needs a job that bad."

  I was tempted to tell Beth that normal people put up with a lot worse just to make ends meet, but I bit my tongue instead and added water to the dehydrated beans. It wasn't that she didn't have a point about TacoHut not being the greatest place to work, but Beth's problem was more along the line of parents who were entirely too permissive rather than a crappy, dead-end job.

  Sure, the junior high boys could be kind of annoying, but it was flattering to know that half the reason they came to the TacoHut was because we were there. Not that there was much else to do in Idaho, especially not in the tiny town of Ridge. Kind of sad when the most happening place in the entire town was the TacoHut attached to the gas station.

  Beth tossed her short blond hair and then stretched out her long, skinny legs that her jeans somehow managed to accentuate more than hide, and sighed.

  "Luckily we're not that far from midnight. Maybe someone interesting will drive through between now and then."

  I shook my head and added the contents of some Mexican Rice Seasoning packets into the rice as a sports car pulled up to one of the station's two gas pumps. "Beth, the kind of guys who drive through a town this size after eleven aren't really the kind of guys you want to get to know."

  "Come on, Kristin. Don't you wonder, at least a little, what it would be like? Some rebel guy, a one-night fling, or not a fling, an actual chance to get out of this stupid town."

  "Right, something like that isn't your ticket out of Ridge. It's a one-way ticket to pregnant and living with your parents forever."

  "I don't know. I think for some guys it might be worth the risk."

  I shook my head. "No guy is worth that."

  "Really, not even him?"

  I almost responded without looking, but it was like something reached out in that instant and pulled my face around so that I could see who had triggered such a breathy introduction from Beth.

  He was astonishing. Blond, with a muscular but slender frame that was only partly hidden by the well-worn leather jacket that he wore despite the fact that we were closer to summer still than autumn. I'd always liked my guys dark and stocky, but something about this guy had my insides rearranging themselves.

  It was all I could do not to lean up against the windows like a toddler being driven past their favorite park. I could make out enough from here to tell that he was gorgeous, but all of the parts of me that I usually kept tightly locked up wanted a better view.

  "Whoa, girl. Did we actually find a guy able to catch your eye? I have to be honest, I wasn't really even sure it was possible until I saw it with my own eyes. Maybe he's some kind of alien with special, Kristin-attracting powers."

  "Shut up, Beth. He's just a guy. A very attractive guy, granted, but still nothing to get too excited about."

  Maybe if I said it a couple more times inside my own head I'd start to believe it. He'd finished a walk around his car and now he was headed towards us. I felt my heart flutter as I realized that not only was he going to come inside, but that Marge had stepped away from the cash register, so either Beth or I would need to help him if he purchased something before she got back.

  "Wow, I think you're actually about to faint. What are you going to do when he hits on you while you're ringing him up?"

  I shook my head and turned back to the rice which was nearly ready to go. "I'm not going to help him—you go do it."

  Beth snorted and threw a hand towel at me. "Right. You're forgetting which one of us really needs this job. I'm just going to sit here until Marge shows up and yells at us. If you want to keep her happy, you'll have to go help him. If you've got any guts at all, you'll get him to ask you out."

  I gritted my teeth and headed towards the far cash register. Even if I'd been interested in the kind of guy who drifted through town on his way somewhere else, I wouldn't have wanted to meet him in my TacoHut uniform, hair in disarray, smelling of more kinds of generic spices than I'd even known existed six months ago.

  As he got closer I gave him a really good once over, hopefully without looking like I was giving him the once over. The leather jacket hid a simple blue tee-shirt that hugged his frame in nice ways without looking overdone. The plain jeans and black work boots that rounded out the look somehow fit perfectly with the short, almost military haircut and crisp motions.

  He stepped in the store and absently nodded at me, but it was obvious his attention was somewhere else. For a second I wondered if he was here to rob us. Part of me wanted to believe that nobody quite that attractive could be capable of something like that, but there was no denying the way he moved. Like he was casing the joint out. That, or worried he was going to be ambushed by a gang.

  Beth's giggle was just audible from over at the TacoHut, which triggered a wave of heat that started in my chest and worked its way up to my forehead. I tried to put her out of my mind, but the damage was done. Once I blushed it was too late. I looked like a tomato. Maybe some redheads could manage a blush that wasn't super obvious, but I'd never had that ability. My face always lit up like a stop sign.

  I covertly watched Mr. Hottie wander through the store. He stopped in the snack aisle and browsed through a bunch of different options, all of which were pretty much guaranteed to destroy that incredible body.

  A couple of minutes later he walked up to the counter with two bags of sunflower seeds and some water.

  "I need some gas too—fifty bucks ought to do it."

  Not trusting my voice, I nodded and scanned his items. We'd actually just finished upgrading to honest-to-goodness electronic scanners for all of the convenience store items.

  He pulled a crisp hundred-dollar bill out of his wallet, but then paused before handing it to me. I was so preoccupied trying not to make eye contact that it took me a second to realize he was looking at me.

  I opened my mouth to ask him if something was wrong, but he nodded, as if coming out of a daze, and handed me the bill. As soon as the door had safely swung shut behind him, I sighed. Marge came walking out of the back room just in time to see me looking longingly out towards his retreating figure, but I waved her question away and headed back over to the TacoHut.

  Beth was snickering into her hand, and I refrained once again from saying something I would regret later. I was stuck with Beth, both in the short term and the long term, and pissing her off would just make life miserable for both of us. I spared a moment to wish Marge was still in the back as some yuppie in a BMW pulled up, but since she wasn't, there was no way to delay taking my lumps.

  "Oh, my gosh, Kristin. That was like the funniest thing I've seen in ages. You were sitting there drooling over him, and he was too preoccupied to notice."

  I felt the blush returning. "More like too nice to make me feel bad by visibly noticing how pathetic I was."

  "No, d
efinitely too preoccupied. I know because when he did notice you he totally did a double-take. If you both hadn't been too shy to actually carry on a conversation then something might have happened there."

  I felt my blush deepen, but she'd set her hook. I leaned in despite myself. "Right. His type totally looked to be bookish and awkward."

  Beth hit me gently on the arm. "I'm telling you, Kristin. Guys dig you. If you actually gave guys the time of day and tried not to make them look stupid, I think you'd be surprised at whose type you would turn out to be."

  It wasn't the kind of comment I could just shrug off. I really didn't give people the time of day. I wanted to, but I just couldn't seem to bring myself to put people higher on the priority list than everything else I needed to be doing.

  I had one chance at getting out of Ridge on my own terms. I needed a scholarship to the kind of college that opened up real possibilities once you graduated. Harvard, MIT, Yale. It didn't necessarily matter which one I got into, any of them would advance me towards the goal of finally having enough money that I'd never need to worry about what kind of curve ball life was going to throw me.

  I needed more than just good grades, I needed to show community involvement and the kind of raw ambition that would give me a chance compared to the spoiled brats that pretty much had their way greased into the school from the moment of conception. It made for a brutal schedule that didn't have much leeway for boyfriends or parties.

  The bit about making people feel stupid was easier to shake off actually. Most people weren't really stupid; they were just ignorant, which was all about them being lazy. I didn't have much sympathy for lazy.

  I washed my hands, pulled a package of tortillas out where we could get at them more easily, and then realized we had another customer. Beth was already making eyes at him, despite the fact that he was too busy looking at the overhead menu to have noticed her yet.

  I almost couldn't blame her for the way she was gearing up to throw herself at him. The other guy had been muscular but lean. This guy was built like a full-on body-builder, which normally was a big turnoff for me, but with him, the sense of raw physical power got my heart beating just a tad faster.

  He absently smoothed back a stray lock of dark hair, and I thought Beth was going to melt into a puddle right then and there.

  "I'll take two number fours."

  His voice was smooth and deep, but what really got my attention was his accent. I didn't have a great ear, but I was pretty confident it was Columbian.

  My get-into-college 'project' had been to get involved with one of the microloan programs. It had the benefit of being something I was sort of interested in, and gave me a chance to practice my Spanish, but the downside was that I was expected to do lots of translation into English, and while I loved spoken Spanish, translating written stuff was a complete drag.

  Whenever I could, I spoke directly with the people requesting the loans over Skype or something similar, but I still couldn't keep up very well, so it always seemed to come back to written translation. It was the only way to put the loan requests in a form that Americans could understand and agree to fund.

  We spent a lot of time working with loans for people in Columbia and Bolivia, and I was pretty sure his accent was Columbian. I wandered back to the front of the TacoHut and cleared my throat.

  "Disculpe, Señor. Usted es de Columbia?"

  Beth kicked me, but the customer turned and smiled at me.

  "Yes, I am from Columbia. That's a very keen ear for someone in this area. Have you ever been to my country?"

  Beth was headed back to the food preparation area, and I realized I'd screwed up. I'd wanted to practice my Spanish, but he seemed to be one of those who was less than interested in wading through my halting attempts at communication. It was too late to bow out gracefully and now Beth was going to be super pissed.

  "No, I haven't ever had the chance to visit, but I've talked to several people from your country through one of my school projects."

  "Ah, your accent was very good for someone who's never visited. What project do you do there at your school that gives you such broad exposure to South America?"

  "I help originate microloans."

  As soon as the words left my mouth I realized that I should have lied. His posture had gone stiff, and his smile had slipped. He drove a freaking BMW. How was I supposed to know he was going to be touchy about the fact that his country was one of the poorest in the western hemisphere?

  I let the silence stretch for a couple of seconds and then pointed back at Beth. "I'll go help Beth get your order pulled together. It was nice to meet you…"

  "Anton. Anton Perez. And your name?"

  "Kristin, Kristin Madison."

  Two minutes later Beth and I put the finishing touches on his tacos and she took them over to his table. Marge was in the back again, probably counting inventory, and there wasn't anyone else in sight, so Beth sat down and talked to Anton while he ate.

  I watched the two of them out of the corner of my eye while I started cleaning up. He seemed much more relaxed with Beth, smiling and even laughing occasionally at her jokes. On the one hand I was relieved; this should mean I was off the hook for having ruined her chance, but seeing them flirt prodded once more at the empty spot in my own life that Beth had so casually highlighted earlier.

  Soon enough our shift ended and Marge came back out front to relieve us. I could tell by the way that Anton and Beth were hanging around each other that each was trying to find a way to leave together without scaring the other off. I put my jacket on and pulled my keys out of my pocket as I walked around the counter, but Anton stopped me before I made it past the two of them.

  "Kristin. Beth tells me that there is a delightful view of the sunrise from a nearby hill. Why don't the three of us go watch it?"

  My jaw nearly hit the floor. It took a special kind of arrogant to think you could string along two girls at once. Even if that hadn't been enough to turn me off instantly, I could see Beth's frown. The trip up to the Overlook had obviously been her idea, but she hadn't factored a third wheel into the plan.

  I shook my head. "Sorry, my family will be wondering where I'm at, and I've got some tests I need to study for tomorrow so I'll need whatever sleep I can salvage out of what's left of the night. I hope you two have fun though."

  Beth's expression relaxed slightly, but Anton picked up a slight tremble as if fighting some kind of consuming rage. I smiled at Beth and tried to walk past, but Anton reached out and grabbed my arm with a grip that was physically painful.

  "Don't be so anxious to miss out on this…opportunity."

  I was so astonished that for a second I couldn't even speak. I tried to twist away, but he was just too strong.

  "Let go of me!"

  The only response I got from Anton was a sardonic smile, but Marge started walking over to see what was wrong. She only had to take a couple of steps; my flailing attempts to escape made the situation pretty obvious.

  "Leave those girls alone or I'll call the police!"

  The world went crazy all at once. Anton stood, moving faster than anyone I'd ever seen, and ripped the table from the next booth over free from the wall. He'd let go of me, but everything was moving too quickly for me to respond.

  Marge had just enough time to backpedal slightly, and then the table went screaming by her, flipping end over end before slamming into the cash register and the only phones in the building.

  Anton was still moving almost too fast for my eyes to register individual motions, but somehow I had an impression of unhurried leisure as another table took flight and then crashed into the far end of the store, clipping Marge on the shoulder and knocking her against a display.

  I took a step, more because I needed to check that Marge was OK than because I was trying to get away from Anton, but the steel grip was suddenly back around my arm.

  He had ahold of Beth now too and was effortlessly dragging us towards the front. I kicked, clawed and punche
d, but he always seemed a step ahead of me, manipulating my body by applying pressure to my arm so that nothing landed with any real force.

  I had a split second to register that Marge was still motionless on the floor and then Anton dragged the two of us out into the cool evening air. Beth had started to wake up to the fact that we were in trouble, but she was even more useless than I was.

  We were almost to the BMW now, and I realized Anton was muttering, sliding back and forth between Spanish and English so quickly that I caught only parts of what he was saying.

  "Stupid whores…ruin everything…have my fun…"

  Somehow Beth got in a decent kick. I heard a solid thunk as her boot connected with his shin, but he casually threw her into the side of his car. She hit hard enough that I practically saw stars.

  I took advantage of his momentary distraction to rake my fingernails across the arm holding me, and he released me with an oath. Acting on adrenaline and instinct, I managed a couple of steps away from him before he turned to follow.

  I was still looking back at him when the first splash of red appeared on his chest. The sharp crack of a handgun firing at close range slammed into me with almost physical force and then repeated three more times. I slowed down in astonishment as Anton not only didn't die, he didn't even fall to the ground.

  The impacts had staggered him, but he reversed direction back to his car with something nearly his normal speed.

  "Keep moving, damn it."

  The hunk from earlier was standing at the corner of the car wash, and yelling at me hadn't slowed him as he squeezed off two more shots. My ears were ringing, but I thought I heard a grunt as one hit, and the whine of a ricochet as the other missed and zipped off into the night.

  Nothing about the night made sense, but I found myself running again, this time towards the car wash.

  I lost count of the shots as my blond hero calmly tracked Anton while backing away, matching each step with another shot. As soon as I reached him, he pulled me behind him, reloaded and emptied his pistol into Anton's car so fast it sounded like a single long shot.