Claire Dailey applied just a hint of lip gloss and examined her work in the makeup mirror. She liked what she saw. Tonight was date night. Without fail, every other Wednesday was date night with her husband Ryan. The three or four hours spent together were intended to be a departure from the routine; an opportunity to explore the unusual. The focal point was always sex.
Claire and Ryan took extra care to keep date night as exciting as possible by having sex in unusual places and in unusual ways. Since they both understood that date night might lead them into the unknown, they always felt a sense of heightened anticipation that began early in the day.
Claire had been thinking about their date all day and had been aroused off and on since morning. She didn't know exactly how tonight would unfold, but she knew it would more than meet her expectations. By early afternoon she had worked herself into such a state that she was forced to relieve a little of the pressure with her vibrator.
It was now just past dark. Ryan had called earlier and said he was hung up in a meeting and would meet her at O'Malley's bar. They both liked O'Malley's. It was dark, served great drinks and good pub food, and had several small, intimate, horseshoe-shaped booths.
The last time they had been to O'Malley's, Ryan had sent Claire to the ladies room with instructions to return with her panties in her purse. She had complied and he proceeded to bring her to orgasm with one hand while calmly sipping his martini with the other.
Fortunately, the music at O'Malley's was soft enough to permit conversation but loud enough to distort the involuntary sounds Claire made as her arousal escalated. Even so, the bartender had given her a strange look as Ryan's probing fingers pushed her over the top and she let out a muffled cry. Later that night they had finished what they started on the top row of bleacher seats at the deserted high school football field.
With the O'Malley's incident in mind, Claire had selected tonight's ensemble with great care. She unfastened one more button of her blouse to reveal a little more cleavage and then gave herself a careful inspection in the full length mirror. Claire decided she was properly made up and properly attired for whatever Ryan had in mind. The effect she had created was exactly what she wanted; understated sexuality that revealed just enough to be alluring and held the promise of pleasures soon to be enjoyed.
After a final twirl in front of the full-length mirror, she left the house and climbed into her van. After a quick stop at the market to pick up a few things that she and Ryan might need later, Claire would meet him at O'Malley's and date night would get underway.
****
The stranger couched down in the seat of his car parked across the street and two doors down from the Dailey residence. It was a clear, early fall night. The stickiness of summer was gone and this evening's temperature was moderate. Perfect for what he had in mind. The full moon drove him to select his vantage point with care. He had chosen well and was nicely concealed under a lofty elm tree that extended out over the street. He needed to be able to observe but could not afford to be seen.
He studied Claire in her porch light as she locked up the house and crossed the yard to the van. He had been observing her for a long time. Knew her habits and appreciated her good looks. Tonight she was stunning. And tonight was the night. All his preparations would converge and, with a little good luck, he would bring his plan to fruition. He allowed Claire to get all the way to the end of the block and make a turn before he started his car and followed her at a safe distance. After a few blocks, she pulled into the market parking lot. He parked his car a few slots away and waited quietly until Claire entered the store.
As soon as she was inside, the stranger made his way to the van and climbed inside. He knew it would be unlocked. His observations had revealed that Claire rarely locked her car doors; a dangerous practice that had led him to devise the plan he would carry out tonight. He had been in the van many times and knew his way around. The van had four captain's chairs in front and a bench seat in the back that folded down into a small but adequate bed. He quickly lowered the rear seat into the configuration that best suited his plan and then popped the cover on the dome light to remove the bulb.
After a quick check of the rest of the interior, he left the van and approached the market. He needed to make one last confirmation before he set his plan in motion. If Claire made only a small purchase, he was in luck. She would most likely enter the van on the driver's side and drop her items on the passenger seat. If she bought enough to fill several bags, she would probably load them into the van through the side or rear door and he would have to postpone everything until another opportunity presented itself.
The stranger could see Claire through the store windows. As inconspicuously as possible, he followed her movement down the aisles. He liked what he saw. She had on a modest skirt that ended just above her knees. She was wearing black patterned hose that accentuated her shapely legs. Her blouse was a loose affair worn outside the skirt. From the movement inside the blouse, he guessed she was braless. She had completed her outfit with a pair of serious come-fuck-me shoes that had very high heels and ankle straps. But the best news of all was the hand basket she was carrying. That meant only a few purchases.
Having seen all he needed to see, he walked as calmly as possible back to his car. Nonchalance was difficult to maintain. His excitement that everything was on track was nearly overwhelming.
Inside his car, he removed his outer shirt and the ball cap he'd been wearing. He was now totally dressed in black. He grabbed a small satchel from the seat beside him, locked his car, and crossed the short distance to Claire's van. He entered quickly and removed a handgun and ski mask from the satchel. With the mask in place and his gun at the ready, he crouched down behind the driver's seat to await Claire's return. Several minutes later, the driver's door opened.
"Damned dome light," Claire muttered as she climbed up into the seat, dropped her purchases onto the passenger seat, and began fishing around for her keys. Another bad habit. Most women had caught on to the practice of having their keys ready before approaching their cars in the dark.
After a moment or two, he heard the keys jingle as she pulled them from her purse. Tossing the purse onto the seat with her purchases, Claire started the van. The stranger remained tightly crouched behind her seat. When she looked back over her shoulder to back out of the parking space, she saw nothing amiss. Her final mistake was to point her car toward the exit at the far end of the parking lot. There were very few lights and no other cars at that end.
When the intruder judged Claire was out near the fringes of the lot, he pressed the muzzle of his weapon behind her ear and said, "Keep driving. Don't do anything stupid and you won't get hurt."
Claire let out a yelp of surprise and applied the brakes.
"Keep moving!"
"All right! All right! Claire cried as she let up on the brakes. "What do you want? I'll give you all the money I have!"
Just keep driving," he ordered. "Take the exit to the traffic light and then turn left onto the highway. Don't try to attract any attention."
"What do you want with me?"
"Just drive." His voice was raspy, like he had an old throat injury.
Claire did as she was told and eased the van into the light traffic flow on the highway that was the main artery out of town. Within a few minutes they were in a sparsely populated area north of town with little ahead but farmland and woods.
A filling station and Quick Mart loomed up in the dark.
"Can't we just pull into that station ahead? I'll give you my purse and you can have the van. Just let me go."
"That's not what I have in mind. Keep driving."
"I'm supposed to be meeting my husband for a drink right now. He'll be worried when I don't show up. He'll call the police."
"Where we're going, the police are no threat."
Within seconds the Quick Mart was a fading oasis of safety receding in Claire's mirrors. There were no more streetlights or commercial establishments. Private residences were widely separated and most were situated well back from the highway.
Claire's abductor was still crouched behind the driver's seat. She could see nothing in her rearview mirror except for a gloved hand holding the weapon to her head.
"Pull over here," the stranger ordered. Claire slowed and eased the van onto the shoulder. Maybe he was going to let her go, she thought. When the van had come to a complete stop, her abductor reached around to remove the grocery sack and her purse from the passenger seat. Claire felt the van shift slightly on its suspension and suddenly he was sitting sideways on the seat facing her.
She could see very little in the glow from the instrument panel. He was dressed in dark clothing and had a ski mask pulled over his face. She had the sudden thought that the mask was good news. If he intended to kill her, he probably wouldn't have bothered to conceal his identity. She could see his weapon clearly. It was trained steadily at her midsection.
"Get back on the highway and keep driving," he ordered, "and stay just below the speed limit."
Seeing little alternative, Claire once again did as ordered. There was no traffic, so within seconds she was back up to speed and heading farther out into unpopulated territory. Claire knew that the next town was miles ahead. Perhaps he was taking her there for some reason. They continued on in silence for several minutes.
"There's a dirt road up ahead on the left. Take it."
Claire knew they were not even halfway to the next town. Getting off the main highway was not good. Whatever the stranger had in mind did not simply involve robbing her and leaving her in town somewhere.
"Look. My husband and I are well off. We can pay you whatever you want. Let me call him on my cell and you can decide how much money it'll take for you to end this right now."
"Maybe later. Slow down. Turn here."
Claire slowed and turned onto a narrow track that led deeply into the woods. Her headlights revealed nothing ahead but foliage and darkness. Branches occasionally scraped against the sides of the van. The track wound its way back into the woods for several hundred yards and then abruptly emptied into a small clearing.
"Stop here."
She brought the van to a halt.
"Turn off the headlights and the engine." Claire complied and they were plunged into dark silence.
"Move into the back now. All the way back. And don't try anything."
Claire released her seat belt and edged past her abductor to sit on the edge of the bed. A loud click announced that the child locks had been set and Claire's pulse quickened. She was trapped. The stranger quickly spun one of the rear captain's chairs around and moved into it to sit facing her with the gun pointed steadily in her direction. Only two, maybe three, feet separated Claire from her abductor.
Moonlight bathed the interior of the van in a soft glow and she was able to make out a few details of the stranger. His mouth and eyes were visible through the holes in the mask. His eyes were light. Gray perhaps, or maybe green. He was wearing a black tee shirt, black pants, and black shoes. The unwavering semi-automatic in his hand reflected enough light that she could clearly see the gaping black hole in the end of the barrel staring at her ominously.
"Let me have my purse and I'll call my husband. He can get lots of cash tonight. We keep plenty in a wall safe at home. He can meet us somewhere with the money in an hour and you can be on your way."
"No thanks."
