Songbird

Chapter 17 ~ Reckless

The ride in the SUV was uncomfortable to say the least. Under the black cloth that was hiding his vision, Jace tried to use his other senses to get a general direction of where the SUV was heading. But after about 10 minutes of this, Jace realized there were too many stops, turns, and straightaways to memorize. He could only hope his friends would figure out something...

Jace was still wedged between Craton's two men. No one spoke in the vehicle on the entire drive, and Jace didn't dare say anything. He wanted to make absolutely sure that he wouldn't jeopardize Felicity's condition by giving Craton any excuses to cause her harm. Anything Jace said could be held against him and her.

At one point, Jace heard Craton from the from seat muttering instructions to the driver, most likely where to turn or park once they got to their destination. Jace tried to keep his heartrate down as the ride continued a good 20 minutes.

With nothing to distract himself from his thoughts, he couldn't help but think of Felicity. What was he doing? Was Craton really going to let her go if Jace turned himself in? The more Jace thought this over, the more he realized he should have thought through this plan first. Craton was not a man to cross. It was more likely that Craton would go against his word than keep it, and Jace had just fallen right into the trap.

But what would've happened if Jace hadn't gone with Craton? Would Felicity have been disposed of? With a pit forming in his stomach, Jace realized he didn't have any reason to think she was even still alive at this very moment. What was stopping Craton from giving the word right now and killing her, now that they had their precious Songbird?

Jace tried to quiet his thoughts, but it wasn't until the SUV slowed down and then jerked to a stop that he began to clear his head. He had to think this through: should he just give in and not fight against Craton's men, for the possible safety of Felicity on the line?

His mind was already made up when he heard the doors fly open. Craton's men shoved Jace out with such a force that Jace couldn't find his footing in time. He fell from the SUV, the wind getting knocked out from him as he hit the rocky, snow-covered ground.

Rocky. That meant they were outside the city limits, at the least. The snow was freezing to the touch, of course, and Jace got a full face of it.

"Stand!" commanded one of Craton's men. He kicked Jace hard in the side, and Jace felt the air leave his body harder than it did when he had fallen from the vehicle.

The other man clearly thought this treatment was entertaining, because he soon joined in kicking Jace on the ground. Jace curled up and protected his head as the blows continued. He felt at least a few ribs bruise already under the kicks. But if he got up and fought back, Felicity might be put in more danger. So, he took the pain, kick after kick, just like he was trained to do.

"Get him up," called the voice of Craton a few feet away. The kicks stopped, leaving Jace breathing in the snow, his sides heaving as he struggled to catch his breath again. He hadn't been beaten without being able to fight back in a very, very long time – since he was a defenseless kid.

The two men who had just been kicking Jace now helped him up, each grabbing an arm roughly and jerking him to his feet. Jace still couldn't see because of the black cloth over his eyes, but he was soon being pushed down a rocky dirt path.

Jace strained his ears for any kind of noise that would tell him where he was. In the far-off distance, he could hear cars roaring past, as though on a highway. He could also hear wind passing through dead, unharvested wheat fields to his right, so he knew they would be on the outskirts of the city.

Craton was walking with two other men just ahead, the snow crunching beneath their feet. The icy cold wind burned Jace's skin as they continued walking down the very short path.