You Are On My Mind

I Saw Their Faces

Linda's eyes felt heavy and her head ached. She groaned as she shifted, slowly realizing she wasn't at home in the comfort of her warm bed. She forced her eyes opened and took in her surroundings. She was in a dingy old basement that reeked of blood and piss.  Her vision was very fuzzy, rendering her nearly useless if she ended up testifying against whoever put her there.
Linda was nodding off when she heard the door open. A tall man with a mangy beard walked in. The blonde couldn't understand him what with the ringing of her ears and the closing of her eyes. If I could just sleep for five minutes....
"Hey! I'm talkin' to you!" The bad guy grabbed Linda's hair and yanked her head back.
She opened her mouth to say something snarky, but realized her mouth was covered with duct tape. She moved her hands, realizing they were tied together. Although vision was blurry, she could somewhat tell his features. He had a slender face, scruffy beard, and brown beady eyes.
"I think we'll..... then may.... you."
Linda tried to piece together what he had said. She only heard a few words, but when she felt a sharp, cool metal object on her throat, she knew what was coming. He lightly pressed the knife to her skin, just enough to draw a trickle of blood. He did the same thing to the other side of her neck, as well as her collarbone.
"Al," came another voice. "We've.... com..."
'Al' gave one good yank to Linda's hair before standing up and walking out. Through the ringing and pounding in her ears, she could hear gunshots going off. Was her mind playing tricks on her? Or did she really hear that voice? Her head started drooping, as her body started to slow itself down.
"Linda!"
"Mm?"
"Linda!"
She heard it that time. She snapped her head up and screamed through her gag.
"Linda!"
The frightened blonde heard footsteps and instinctively coiled into herself as much as she could. When she saw her husband, she relaxed and felt tears form in her eyes.
"Linda," he breathed, walking towards her. Putting his hands on her cheeks he asked, "anyone in here?"
She shook her head.
"Did they hurt you?"
Again, she shook her head. He didn't need to know about the small cuts right now.
"It's okay," he kept repeating as he carefully took the duct tape off and untied her hands. She would never know if he was talking to her or to himself. She hugged him tightly, "I knew you'd find me." She pulled back to look him in the eye, "I knew you would."
After a long hug and multiple small kisses to her face, Danny said almost gruffly. "Come on. Let's get you outta here."
***********
In the darkness, Linda laid with her eyes wide open. Tears started forming, and she desperately tried to quiet the whimpers that were to come.
"Linda?" Danny asked, turning towards her.
"I saw their faces."
"What?"
She swallowed a sob, "I saw their faces, Danny." She rolled to her back so she was looking him in the eye. "They were- they were going to kill me."
Danny frowned; he couldn't argue with that. He always told her that if the kidnappers revealed their faces, they intended on killing the person they kidnapped. "Baby, don't- don't think about it, okay?" He kissed her cheek. "You're safe now, here, with me. And I'll protect you, I swear I will. Even if it's just from nightmares, I'll protect you."
Linda smiled for the first time since family dinner, "I know you will." She rolled into his arms and the tears started coming.
Danny rubbed her back as his heart broke for her. She shouldn't have had to go through that; never again would he trust police men to escort her someplace. He vowed he'd always ask Frank or Henry or Jamie, or even Erin.
It took a long while, but Linda eventually cried herself to sleep in Danny's arms. He held her tightly through out the night, vowing over and over again he'd always protect her, no matter what.