She could pretend that one of these closer vehicles was hers, but if he didn't immediately go on his merry way, he'd see that she couldn't open the door and know she was lying.

So they kept walking. She actually had her hand in her purse, fingers wrapped around the stun gun, and she didn't care if he noticed.

* * *

What was she reaching for in her purse? Pepper spray?

He'd have to be careful.

"Well, here I am," Gertie said, as they reached a small blue car, about what he'd expect a young waitress to drive.

He opened his arms. "Can I have a goodbye hug?"

Gertie looked very uncertain. "Oh, uh, yes, I guess, sure."

Ken put his arms around her.

* * *

If this creepy asshole was asking for a hug, Gertie didn't care if she was mistaken about him being a mass abductor. She had the right to protect herself.

He squeezed her tight. Too tight for a friendly hug.

She slammed the stun gun into his side.

* * *

It hurt like hell. Ken even let out a yelp.

If Ken believed in God, he'd have to believe that God was looking down and nodding with approval at what he was doing, because this had been one hell of a happy accident. He was wearing several layers of clothing. Not to protect himself against a chick with a stun gun, but to disguise his appearance, so that witnesses would remember him as a guy who could stand to spend a little more time on a treadmill.

His plan had been to hug her and whisper into her ear that if she wanted to see her cousin alive again, she'd have to come with him. If she reacted poorly, he'd quickly slam her into her car and try to knock her unconscious before anybody else came out of the restaurant. It was far from a foolproof plan, but he couldn't just let her leave.

When she got him with the stun gun—and she should not have been able to do that—and the pain shot through him he'd thought that this was it, it was over, he was going to prison. But the padding meant that all it did was hurt. It didn't incapacitate him.

He didn't want to cry out and alert anybody, so he twitched as if he was being electrocuted. He was sure it looked ridiculous, but he only needed to keep this performance going for a second.

He released the hug then grabbed Gertie's arm, the one with the stun gun. He spun her around and twisted her arm behind her back. Not hard enough to break any bones, but hard enough to send a jolt of pain through her.

Ken had to move quickly, before she screamed for help.

He wrenched the stun gun out of her hand then pressed it against the back of her neck.