Chapter 5 Flash was in hell. A hell of his own making, but hell all the same. And the kicker was, he was enjoying every second of it. It was a little difficult to get settled when he and Kelli first got into the tube, but now that they were floating down the river once more, and she'd relaxed against him, he'd never felt anything better than this woman in his arms. She might think she was too heavy, but to Flash, she was absolutely perfect. The sight of her in that black one-piece would be forever etched on his brain. It was a hundred times sexier than the tiny bikinis the other women were wearing. The high-cut sides empathized her soft thighs, making him think about what they'd feel like wrapped around his hips. The back was nearly nonexistent, and it was all he could do not to put his hand on the small of her back and slip it under the material, down to her ass. And her tits. Lord. They were a man's wet dream...which was crude as hell, but Flash was almost beyond being a gentleman at this point. Her nipples were hard from the cold, and every time she moved, the globes shifted. He wanted to pull the material down and suck on her nipples until she writhed in his lap. Forcing himself to think about something else, Flash looked around as they floated, but it was no use. The woman sitting across his lap held all his attention. Every molecule of his body was tuned in to her. Every flex of her muscles, every breath, every time she licked her lips. He noticed. She was sitting on his lap sideways, so they made kind of a cross in the tube. His legs out in front, hers to the side. She had one arm wrapped around his shoulders, and her other hand sat on his leg just above his knee. He thought they fit perfectly in the tube this way and wished he could've had her this close for the entire trip. That rock in the river had surprised him, and he hadn't been able to steer himself away from it. Before he'd known what was happening, it had pierced the tube and he'd gone under. He hadn't panicked, even when he'd hit a few rocks under the water pretty hard. He'd simply gotten himself turned around so his feet were facing forward and rode the current until he could get himself to the bank. He hadn't meant to scare Kelli, nor had he meant to swallow so much river water. He'd almost missed grabbing her as she floated by. Thank goodness he hadn't. The world was silent around them as they rode the now quiet current toward their pull-out point. He couldn't hear anyone from their group ahead of them and realized he and Kelli had probably been standing on the riverbank for longer than he'd thought. "Are you sure I'm not squishing you?" Kelli asked nervously for what was probably the tenth time. "I'm sure. Are you uncomfortable?" "No. You're surprisingly comfy," she said with a shy smile. Flash's dick twitched under her ass at her words. "Ignore that," he told her. "Kind of hard to," she said. "It's hard, all right," Flash murmured. Kelli giggled, and he felt the movement throughout his body. Yup. This was hell. Staring at the woman he couldn't stop thinking about last night, having her laid out in front of him as if she were a buffet and he hadn't eaten in months...Utter torture. But he was obviously a glutton for punishment. Flash hadn't felt this alive in years. He'd gotten into a rut and hadn't even realized it. He did his job, came home, then went into work the next day. Over and over. It was like the movie Groundhog Day. He hadn't wanted to come on this trip, but he was so damn grateful he did. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have met Kelli. Wouldn't be floating down the White River with a gorgeous woman on his lap. Wouldn't be feeling her fingers dig into his leg every time the tube bounced in the water. Flash had been using both hands to steer the tube, but he couldn't not touch her right now if his life depended on it. He put one of his hands on her thigh, and she jerked at the feel of his fingers, cold from being emersed in the water. "Sorry," he said. "I just wanted to reassure you. We're okay. We're going to get to the pick-up point without any issues." "Do your cuts hurt?" she asked. "No." The truth was, Flash had forgotten all about them. "Good. Flash?" "Yeah?" "I'm glad we met. This trip would've sucked without you being here to keep me sane." He wasn't too surprised they were thinking along the same lines. "Same," he agreed. If he had his way, Flash would've floated down this river until it joined the ocean, but like all good things, this too had to end. Ahead, he saw the spot where they would be getting out of the river. But strangely, it was almost deserted. There was one man sitting on a bench and a minivan in the small covered parking area. "Where is everyone?" Kelli asked, obviously having seen the deserted area herself. "Guess they got tired of waiting for us," Flash said. But inside, every nerve was on alert. Something felt off. He tried to reason with himself that he and Kelli had been a ways behind the rest of their companions, and they were the last tour group to enter the river that morning. Still...they couldn't have missed their one o'clock pick-up time by that much. "I guess we should be glad someone actually waited for us. It would've sucked to have to hitchhike back to the resort." Flash shivered at her words. That would've been the worst-case scenario for sure. There was no way he wanted to hitchhike in this country. He was sure most of the people who lived here were perfectly nice humans. But it was the small percentage of people who were desperate enough to do anything for a buck that worried him. He steered them as close to the edge of the river as he could. "I'll help you out," he said. After Kelli nodded, he easily lifted her off his lap and held onto her arm as she got her balance in the knee-deep water. Well, it was knee deep for him; on her, the water was lapping at her⁠- Nope. He wasn't looking there. Wasn't going to stare as the water gently caressed her pussy while she waited for him to get out of the tube. Fuck. Now he was hard again. "Go on, I'll bring the tube," Flash said in a raspy tone. She smiled at him, then nodded before turning and wading out of the water. For a second, Flash stared at her ass, imagining what it would look like as she knelt in front of him on her hands and knees, waiting for him to take her. Moving quickly, Flash rolled out of the tube and into the chilly water. It had the effect he wanted, shrinking his cock. Shrinkage. Thinking about George Costanza and the Seinfeld episode once more, he grinned. Standing, he whipped his head from side to side, flinging water in all directions, before running a hand through his hair to get as much moisture out of it as he could. Then he picked up the tube and followed Kelli onto dry land. She was smirking as he came toward her. "What?" "You totally looked like a hair commercial when you did that." "Did what?" "Shook your head. Water sparkled in the sunlight, and after, when you ran your hand through your hair? If I had that on camera, I could sell it to some shampoo company and make a million bucks." He snorted. "As if." "You two ready?" the employee asked. Flash turned. The man had an impatient look on his face. "Your stuff is over there," he said, pointing at a plastic crate sitting off to the side. Flash wanted to ask what the guy's hurry was but held his tongue. He quickly walked over to the crate and pulled out two towels. Kelli followed him and without a word, they dried themselves off as best they could, then got dressed. Flash could admit he was sad to see Kelli's curves covered up once more. Out of habit, he double-checked his wallet to make sure everything was still inside. The last thing he wanted to deal with was his credit card being stolen. He approved of Kelli doing the same thing with her purse, looking inside to make sure all her things were still there. "Ready?" "Ready," she said with a firm nod. "I'm ready to hit the buffet. Even though I don't think we burned many calories today, I'm still starving." "Me too," Flash agreed, then held out his hand. Kelli glanced at it, then at him, and for a second Flash thought she'd blow him off. But to his relief, she wrapped her fingers around his. They walked toward the minivan hand-in-hand...and any contentment Flash might've felt disappeared as they climbed into the vehicle. He had no idea what it was that had him on such high alert. But something just didn't feel right. It wasn't until the driver pulled out of the dirt parking area that he realized this wasn't the same minibus they'd taken to the tubing place. It was more run-down. There was trash on the floor and the seats weren't nearly as clean as the ones in the other vehicle. Flash sat next to Kelli in the seat behind the driver. He remained ramrod straight as he watched out the front of the minivan. Driving on the left side of the road always seemed a bit disconcerting. Seeing cars come at you from the "wrong" side of the road felt as if they were always two seconds away from a head-on collision. They'd been driving for five minutes when Flash realized they were going in the wrong direction. They were headed away from the resort instead of toward it. The bad feeling intensified. "Hey, where are you going?" he asked the driver. "To the resort," the man answered tersely. "This isn't the right way." "Of course it is. You aren't from here. I know a shortcut to get you back faster." Kelli's grip tightened on his hand, but Flash didn't dare look away from the road in front of him. He did his best to see street signs, to find any landmark he could use later to find their way back. Because he knew without a doubt that they weren't taking a shortcut. His gut churned. Things got worse when the driver slowed down, then stopped for a man standing on the side of the road. The guy climbed into the front seat of the minivan and as soon as the door shut behind him, they were moving again. The newcomer turned around and met Flash's gaze. Then he looked at the driver, frowning. "What the fuck? Why're there only two?" "Everyone else was whining about going back. I couldn't exactly tell them some had to stay behind." "Damn it!" "Stop the bus," Flash ordered. But the men ignored him. "I knew you'd fuck it up." "This isn't my fault!" "The hell it's not!" As the two men argued, Flash once again interrupted to bark, "I said, pull over. Right now!" The man who'd been picked up turned around, and this time he had a pistol in his hand. He pointed it right at Flash's face and said, "We aren't stopping. Shut the fuck up, unless you want a bullet in your head." Flash's first instinct was to reach out and grab the gun, but if something happened to him, Kelli would be left alone with these two assholes. The better plan was to sit tight. These guys would fuck up sooner or later. And he'd be ready when they did. "Give me your wallets," the man ordered, waving the gun at them. This was a robbery? Flash was confused, but he didn't hesitate to say, "I don't have any money on me." "Don't care. Wallets. Now!" the man ordered again. Moving slowly so as not to alarm the man, Flash reached for his back pocket. Kelli loosened her fingers around his right hand, but Flash refused to let go. He felt a crazy need to stay connected to her. Like if he let go of her, he'd lose her. He felt more than saw her fumble one-handed with her bag as he handed his wallet to the asshole in the front seat. The man didn't even look inside it, just threw it to the floor at his feet. He did the same with Kelli's wallet. His suspicions that this wasn't a robbery were confirmed, Flash tensed even more, if that was possible. He could feel Kelli shaking next to him, but he didn't take his eyes off the man with the gun. And the passenger didn't take the gun off him for a second either. He was in his mid-forties, had dark skin and black hair, wore an old, tattered navy-blue T-shirt and shorts that went down to his knees...but it was the blank look in his eyes that worried Flash. He didn't seem to have a soul. He'd seen men like this before. Desperate men who would do whatever it took to accomplish their goal...whether that was killing civilians, setting off bombs, or protecting their leader. It seemed like they drove for an eternity, and Flash's concern grew even greater when they left the city and the roads they took got rockier and more rustic. Soon they were driving through thick trees, the minivan bouncing up and down so hard, Flash hit his head on the roof a few times. Though, he wasn't exactly disappointed with where they were. He had extensive training on jungle survival and evading tangos. If he and Kelli could get away from the men, he had no doubt he could get them back to the resort. They might miss their flights, and they'd have to deal with replacing their IDs and credit cards, but all that was better than being shot in the head and left for dead in the forest. When the man behind the wheel finally stopped, silence filled the minivan for a moment. "Out. And if you try anything, I'll shoot her," the second man said. Fuck. That was the one thing that could get Flash to cooperate. He could deal with a bullet wound, but the thought of Kelli getting hurt because of something he did, or didn't do, made him physically sick. Moving slowly, Flash scooted toward the door, which opened for him. The driver had gotten out and come around to open it. The man with the gun-clearly the leader of their little duo-now aimed the weapon at Kelli's head as they exited the minivan. "That way," the gunman said, gesturing behind him with a nod. Flash followed the driver, his hand clutching Kelli's as they walked into the jungle. He estimated they walked about half a mile before the driver stopped. "Get in." Flash frowned in confusion. Get in? Get in what? Where? "I said, get in!" the leader yelled. Flash turned in time to see his hand swinging but before he could act, the gunman hit Kelli on the back of the head with the butt of the pistol. She let out a surprised and pained yelp, and Flash immediately yanked her hand, pulling her toward him. Far too late to keep her from getting hurt. She whimpered as she put her free hand up to the back of her head. Flash could smell the iron in her blood before he even saw her pick up her hand to look at it. Her fingers were covered in red. Turning, Flash growled at the man who'd hit her. He simply smiled. "I said get in. I meant it. Now...Get the fuck in, unless you want me to shoot her this time." Flash looked where the man was pointing...and saw what seemed to be a manhole cover on the ground. He was even more confused. What the hell was a manhole cover doing in the middle of the jungle? The driver crouched, grunting as he shifted the heavy cast-iron circle to the side, revealing a black hole underneath. "What the fuck?" Flash muttered. "It's your new home," the man with the gun said almost gleefully. "You and your friend are going to spend some quality time together down there. It won't be long...assuming we get what we want." "And what's that?" "Money," the man said without hesitation. "We're gonna contact your families and tell them if they ever want to see you again, they'll transfer money into an untraceable bank account." Flash couldn't help it. He laughed. Which pissed off their kidnapper. "What's so funny?" he demanded. "This. My mom is barely scraping by. And I have no siblings." He was lying, of course, but there was no way he was going to have Nova involved in this shit if he could help it. "Neither do I," Kelli said in a soft voice from next to him. Flash was proud of her for hanging in there, especially with that head injury, but he couldn't risk looking away from the man with the gun. He needed an opening. Just one. And he could get him and Kelli out of this. "Then I guess you'll die down there," the man said, not seeming concerned in the least. "There'll be someone willing to pay to get you back. There always is. The company you work for, friends...someone." The man wasn't wrong. As a Navy SEAL, he actually made a pretty good kidnapping victim. It infuriated Flash that that's what he was. A victim. He wasn't ashamed, but more pissed off. Without warning, the man aimed at the ground and squeezed the trigger on the gun, shooting the ground near their feet, and Kelli's little scream of fright ate at Flash's soul. "The next bullet goes into her leg. How long will it take for her to bleed out, I wonder? Get down that hole. Right fucking now." Turning, Flash stared at the hole in the ground. Every muscle in his body was screaming at him to make a move. To fight the asshole holding the gun. As he prepared himself to do just that, movement in front of him made him look up. The driver was now holding a gun on them too. Fuck! He might be able to stop the first gunman from shooting Kelli, but the driver would easily be able to get a round off before he could take him out. Feeling naked without his KA-BAR knife, or any other kind of weapon, Flash did the only thing he could think of to keep them both alive at that moment-he turned to Kelli and said, "Come on, I'll help you down first." Her eyes were huge in her face, and he was afraid he'd see some sort of blame in their depths. But other than her obvious fear, she seemed calm. And the trust she showed him when she put her now bloody hand in his made Flash mentally promise to do whatever it took to live up to that trust. He'd figure a way out of this. Somehow. He led Kelli to the hole, and she sat down with her feet dangling over the edge. Looking down, Flash couldn't tell how deep the hole was. Glancing at the gunman, he asked, "How far down is it?" "Guess you'll find out. Hurry up, we don't have all day." Turning back to Kelli, his gut clenching, Flash said, "Turn around and brace yourself at the edge. I'll take your hands and lower you down." "Okay," she said, her voice only quivering a little. They maneuvered, and Flash felt like throwing up. He had no idea how far Kelli would drop when he released her. The only thing that gave him the ability to let go of her hands when he'd lowered her as far as he could was the fact that there was no way these assholes could dig a hole in the jungle so deep, it would kill her when she fell. He hoped. "Ready?" he asked. Kelli's head was tilted back to stare up at him. "Do it," she whispered. It felt like a betrayal when he loosened his grip, and he heard her frightened inhalation as she fell. "Kelli?" he called out, crouched on his hands and knees beside the hole, desperately looking down. He couldn't see a damn thing. "I'm okay!" she said a moment later. "It's about ten feet or so from the top, I think." Flash sighed in relief. "Stand back. I'm coming down." He sat on the edge and, before dropping into the hole, turned to the men still pointing their guns. "This isn't the end of this. When I get out of here, I'm going to hunt you down and make you regret fucking with me." "Whatever, lover boy. If I was you, I'd enjoy the little time you have left with your girlfriend. Fuck her good and hard, because it could be the last time you get the chance if your people don't come through with the money." "You have no idea who you're messing with." "Fuck you!" Flash moved a split second before another gunshot echoed in the woods around them. He hit the surface below hard, rolling as his knees buckled, taking the bulk of the landing off his joints. As the kidnappers maneuvered the cast-iron cover, he took a quick look, trying to get the lay of the land. As soon as that manhole cover was in place, he knew it would be pitch black in there, and he needed to see what he was working with. To Flash's shock, he and Kelli were inside what looked like an old bus with all the seats taken out and the windows removed and replaced with planks of wood. Someone had driven the thing out here, somehow placed it into what had to be a massive hole, then covered it with dirt. He had no idea how they'd managed it, but the how didn't matter at the moment. There was a cardboard box in one corner of the otherwise empty space, and that was it. No seats, no blankets, nothing he could see to use as a weapon or a tool to dig themselves out. Just before the light from above was cut off, the man they'd picked up from the side of the road looked down at them. "The plan was to have more of you, so you better hope your people come through with our money and make this worth our while." "And you better hope you've covered your tracks. Because we will be getting out of here. And you have no idea who my people are. They'll never give up. They'll find you. And when they do, you'll wish you'd never come up with this asinine plan." "Fuck you," the man growled again. Then the manhole cover slid across the hole, cutting off all light. It was so dark, Flash couldn't see his hand in front of his face. This wasn't good. Not good at all. Title: A Mother's Rewind Tomorrow In "A Mother's Rewind Tomorrow" by CrushReel, Flora Hayes's life takes a tragic turn after a fatal car accident. However, her final moments reveal a chilling glimpse of a future fraught with peril for her children two decades ahead. Exploring themes of resilience and sacrifice, this CEO drama intricately weaves elements of modernity and time travel into a compelling narrative set within the grandeur of a mansion and the intensity of an office environment. As Flora grapples with the aftermath of her premonition, the story delves deep into familial bonds and the weight of destiny. What sets "A Mother's Rewind Tomorrow" apart is its masterful blend of suspense and emotional depth, captivating readers with its intricate plot twists and nuanced character development. Discover the gripping saga at CrushReel, where this ongoing tale awaits those eager to embark on a journey through time and motherly love.