He pondered on this as he and Manda made their way in silence. Manda was evidently in her own state of contemplation and shock. They were headed down the dirt trail that she had traversed earlier. As it turned out, the cause of her initial excitement at seeing her companions had been because she had discovered a new lead.

While performing her search, she had kept to the road, but spotted a cabin in the distance. Smoke from the chimney indicated that it was occupied. Apparently, she conjectured for a while on rather she should keep going towards the cabin, or if she should get her companions. By the time she decided that it was better to have back up, she was late in returning to the Jetta.

After Martin sped off, Roden was forced to give her the play by play on what had just occurred. This, of course, set her off. She yelled and stomped her feet while throwing curses in the general direction that Martin had gone. Her bantering swung back and forth so frequently that Roden couldn't tell if she was more upset that Martin had now kidnapped her poor friend, or if her anger stemmed from the fact that he had used her to get to Ess. God help Martin if Manda ever got a hold of him again, Roden thought. He smiled at the idea. If that ever happened, he hoped he would get to see it.

Eventually, Manda spoke again; pointing out the cabin she had seen earlier. Sure enough, smoke indicated occupation. They turned off the road to make a straight path to the hut. Roden's empty stomach grumbled and turned in knots, as he knew he was nearing the possibility of finding out the rest of the story of Martin's dealings with Max. He prayed that the man had not used that gun on his friend.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Ess grasped the door handle of the car with white knuckles as Martin bounded it ruthlessly over the rocky road. Occasionally she glanced over at the gun, still in his hand while he gripped the steering wheel. That gun was the only thing that kept her from jumping out of the car and attempting another run for it. This man had used that weapon too liberally towards others for her to think that he wouldn't use it on her, as well.

They rode in silence for a while before she summed up the courage to speak. She figured that, since it was her life that was in danger, she had better swallow her timidity and find out what on earth was going on.

So, she started with the best question she could think of: "Who the hell are you, anyway?"

He kept his eyes on the winding terrain, but smiled wickedly. "My name is Martin Voletti, but you can call me Marty. So, do you have some nickname or something?"

"For you? No." Ess was taken aback by his small talk. She just wanted answers. "And where do you plan to take me, Martin Voletti?"

"To Mr. Marcus Angoli. He has a keen interest in you." Then he spared her a devious glance. "I don't know what it is about you – no offense – but you seem to have turned several heads. You are one lucky young lady, though, because the man I'm taking you to is rich beyond your wildest dreams. If you're good to him, you can bet he'll treat you like a queen."

"No thank you. I'm not interested." Ess responded. "You can just drop me off here." Martin's explanation didn't make her feel any better about her situation, though it certainly solidified Max's reasons for kidnapping her. She felt bad for not having trusted him more.

Martin laughed. "Oh, witty, huh? Well, rather you are interested or not, I'm still taking you to Angoli. So, you better decide if you want to be treated like a queen or handled like a prisoner. That's the only choice you've got."

That disclosure made Ess feel queasy. She didn't like her choices, and she didn't understand why this was happening to her. She still held to the assertion that she wasn't anything extraordinary. Her whole life she'd been looked over. And now, she couldn't seem to get herself out of the damned limelight.

When she didn't speak again Martin decided to continue the conversation himself. "So, how about that Manda-broad. She's quite the feisty little bitch. How did you two ever become friends?"

"Manda?" Ess was startled. "How do you know Manda?"

"Part of the plan, my dear. Part of the plan." Martin smiled at his accomplishment. "I was only supposed to play a minor role in this shake down, but fate led me to be the star of the operation." His dramatics and over-the-top display of self-assurance caused an irritated eye roll from Ess.

He paused to grin in self-congratulations, so Ess prodded him to continue. "What do you mean?"

"My job was to distract Manda, keep her away from you for awhile. Let me tell you, that was an experience. That woman is a prima donna. She required a lot of attention. When the abduction was set to go down, I had made sure I had a date set up with her. Something went wrong though, as you know. Max got involved, and Roden was on the hunt to stop him. He thought Max had snapped.

"Anyways, Roden ran into Manda and me, and we went searching for you together. Lucky me. My chances for compensation opened wide up. So, I phoned in the situation the first chance I got, and, as if my luck couldn't get any better, I found you first.

"By the way, I want to thank you or Max or whoever it was, for leaving a trail right to the cabin. The white tissue idea was brilliant. Not obvious at first, and the wind knocked the pieces around a bit, but all in all, it got me to where I needed to go."

Ess turned a deeper red than she ever had before. The entire monolog was an unhappy revelation, but to find out that it was her 'breadcrumb trail' that attracted the enemy had to be the ultimate blow. Max had tried to save her, and in her lack of trust, she betrayed them both. It was her own fault that she was in the car with this evil man right now.

Then, a second thought hit her. "Manda. Where's Manda now?"

"She's back there with Roden. I'm sure they'll be fine. Eventually."

"Who's this Roden?"

"The esteemed Dr. Michael Roden? He's the man who is responsible for discovering you in the first place."

Suddenly, Ess recalled. Max had mentioned a Mike Roden. He was Max's friend, and the gentleman who approached her a couple of weeks ago in the restaurant about the artwork. So, he had tried to find Max? To stop him from making the big mistake of kidnapping her? Apparently, he truly cared about Max; and Manda was with him now. Hopefully, he'd keep her safe. With any luck, they would keep trying to find Max, and free him from his bonds. Then, Max said he would come for her.

She relied completely on that hope now.

* * *

Roden peeked into the cabin's front window. It took a few seconds to adjust his eyes to the interior's dimness, but eventually objects began to appear into view. He saw various items sprawled on top of the small kitchenette, and blankets strung across the couch, but no sign of a person present. Reluctantly, he moved his eyes down to scan the floor.

And there he lay. Not a dead body, but a very much alive Max struggling on the floor. Roden ran for the door, and threw it open. "Max!"

"Mike?" Max looked bewildered, but not unhappy to see his friend.

Not long before Roden's arrival, Max had finally freed his hands from the clothesline. Then, he had begun struggling with his feet. He managed to stand up at one point, intent on finding his knife to finish the job. Much to his dismay, he lost his balance while trying to hop to the kitchenette counter and fell again to the floor, but not before smacking his forehead on the metal edge of the counter. That made head injury number three for the weekend. He was sure to develop brain damage if he kept it up.