“None of your business.” He glanced at his watch and then slowly straightened, all the tension leaving his body. “I’ve done it. I waited an entire hour.”
She blinked. “That was your goal?”
“Yes,” he spat. “Delaney told me if I could wait an hour before starting to cut, I could be as good as him. It’s all about savoring the moment.”
Here Mia had thought she’d been tricking him by getting him to talk. “Just think how strong you’ll be if you wait two hours.” She needed more time.
He laughed, the sound free and slightly off-key. “You don’t understand. All I needed was the hour. Now I know I’m as good as Delaney, and I know we’re going to do this.”
He sucked in air, no longer looking out of control. “I really don’t want to start cutting on you until after we’ve had some fun, though. All right?” He smoothly connected the two shackles on her wrists and then leaned down, deftly releasing the locks that bound the chains to the floor. He jerked her up—stronger than he looked. “But I’ll cut you if I have to.” He put the knife to her throat. “Move now, Agent Stone.”
She started to move and then stumbled as darkness drew down over her vision. “What was in the darts?” God, she hoped the baby was okay.
“It doesn’t matter.” He pushed her harder.
She stumbled and then fell against the table, catching herself with her hands, even though they were bound.
“Hop on up,” Rodney said cheerfully.
“Sure,” she muttered, taking a deep breath. She counted to two, pivoted, kicked him as hard as she could in the knee, and then dove for the screwdriver.
Her fingers closed around the handle just as Rodney tackled her from behind, both of them slamming into the tray, which skidded across the table and fell to the floor, losing all of its instruments of torture. The drill smashed onto the cement, and the plastic casing splintered.
Shrieking, Mia flipped around and jabbed the screwdriver into Rodney’s rib cage. He screamed, straddled her, and punched her in the jaw.
Pain exploded throughout her face, and she stilled for a second before wrapping her legs around his waist and then pulling out the screwdriver and stabbing him repeatedly.
Where was that knife? She had to find the knife. He raised it high above her with both hands. Panicking, she flattened her shoulders to the cement floor for balance and then twisted, pulling the screwdriver with her and slashing it into his wrist.
He screeched, dropping the knife. She quickly shoved her head to the side so it wouldn’t stab her. It clattered next to her ear. Blood gushed from Rodney’s wrist and coated her hair. He reached down with both hands around her neck, his knees squeezing her aching ribs. The blood from his wound poured over the side of her face. He started to choke her.
She kicked, but to no avail. Her hands were bound, but she still held the screwdriver. Her vision dimmed and then went dark. She thought of Seth, the baby, her mother, and Aunt Dotty.
Rodney leaned down, his face a bulbous, red mess, snot dripping from his nose. She tried to take a deep breath, but there was no air. Her body slowly relaxed. He smiled. In one surge of movement, she shot up and nailed him beneath the jaw with the screwdriver, pushing until the hilt met resistance. His eyes widened, and he loosened his hold. She swung both shackled hands toward his head and shoved him off her. He fell to the side, clutching his throat, gasping as blood burbled out of his mouth.
She turned and coughed as the blood rushed through her head, making her ears ring. Everything hurt. She rolled to her side and tried to sit, wobbling slightly, and then moved to make sure she was still facing the threat. He was trying to pull out the screwdriver.
“I wouldn’t,” she gasped, her throat swollen to the point where hardly any air got through. Her whole face hurt, but her throat felt like it was caught in a vise. The tissues were swollen and burning, and she put her back to the slab holding the table and tried to force herself to stand. Using both shackled hands on the cement, she attempted to push herself up but couldn’t muster enough strength.
Rodney yanked out the screwdriver. Mia shrank as blood spurted toward her. He dropped to his side, his eyes wide, and convulsed wildly.
The door burst open, and she huddled, pulling her legs closer to her chest out of instinct. Seth ran inside, fully naked. She blinked. Had he shifted and then turned? What was going on?
“Mia?” he called, as if from very far away.
She blinked. “Hey, you’re here.” The whole world was getting blurry. “You’re naked.”
He looked like a deadly, muscled killing machine. Even his eyes glittered with danger. After sweeping her body with his gaze, he looked at Rodney, whose eyes were now wide in death. “Looks like you got him, baby.”
Chapter38
The second they were on his private plane, Seth stripped her down and washed her off in a small shower. The plane had six seats up front, leather and comfortable, a bedroom, and a bathroom in the back. He didn’t use it much, but he was thankful he had it right now. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, her gaze on him as if she couldn’t get enough. God, she made him feel invincible, and she was the strong one.
He wrapped her in a towel and checked out the contusions on her jaw and head. “I need more detail. How are you?”
“I’m fine.” She nudged at a bruise on her jaw. “I shouldn’t have left the Seattle FBI team to process the scene.”
