He noticed her step had picked up and wondered if she had somehow spotted him. Quickly he stepped off the road and into the line of trees that would hide him completely from her. Now he could move quickly and overtake her with no advance notice, no time for her to scream or run for the safety of other people. She was abreast of the park and still walking briskly when he caught up with her. Like an apparition in a horror movie, he stepped out of the shadows and was beside her before she could react, grabbing her arm and dragging her back into the darkness of the park.
"I have a gun to your back, bitch so if you scream I will shoot you right here. Do you understand?"
"Yes," she said in a quiet half-sob. "Please don't hurt me. What do you want? I don't have any money on me. Please let me go."
"Just keep your mouth shut," Marcus said lowly as he led her to an area in the park surrounded by trees and large rocks in a semi-circle. "If you want to see the morning you will do exactly as I tell you. Otherwise I'll kill you right now. If you don't think I will, just try me."
He pushed her up against the rock with her back to him and her face pushed painfully against the hard surface of the granite. Removing a length of rope from his overcoat pocket, he tied her hands behind her with a roughness that brought a cry of pain from the frightened woman.