But…now what? I don’t know where I am. Or where Evianna is. I may be out of that room, but for all I know, the next few vents I encounter could lead to escape—or the big thug with the Taser.
“Think,” Ry says in my head. “You saw the shadow as they dragged Evianna away. Which direction?”
“Left of the door,” I whisper.
“And which way are you facing?”
“Right.”
“So back the fuck up, Sergeant.”
My head pounds, and my entire body aches, so I don’t take time to examine why a man who’s all the way across the country is inside my head. But…maybe he’s always been there. I wriggle backwards until I find a cross-vent.
“Which way, Ry?”
“Think. Remember what I taught you.”
Look. Listen. Count.
The first directive won’t do me any good. Up here, everything’s dark, only the occasional dull glow from a vent. But…when I still my breathing, I think… Oh fuck. I can hear Evianna screaming. Words. Unintelligible. But definitely words. Angry words. Turning my head, I try to isolate where the sound is coming from.
Contorting my body, I choose the left path, and the sound starts to get a little louder.
At another junction, I pause. Footsteps.
“Count them. And listen.”
They’re not rushed. And then I hear Noah’s voice. “Once she’s signed the note and taken the pills, get her out of here. Take her up to Maine. She has a favorite hotel up there. It’s in the file. Barry will handle the reservation system. She won’t be found for three days. By then, we’ll have everything we need.”
“How long you going to let her stew?” the hitman asks.
“Another few minutes should do it. Go get her things.” The two part, their footsteps heading in opposite directions. Which one is which? I can’t tell. I should know this. But Ry…Ry was always better at this than I was.
“Focus. Breathe. Assess the risks, and then act.”
I try, but Evianna’s stopped screaming. Fuck. Another few minutes. I have time. I just need to find her. Squeezing my eyes shut, I concentrate, ignoring the ice pick digging into my skull, the fire in my shoulders, the cramps wracking my muscles.
“This one’s…broken. Damaged. But it’s still beautiful.” I can feel the petals of the fallen flower brush my nose, hear her whispering to me as the last rays of the setting sun warm my cheeks. “It fell, but…it still smells just as sweet as the rest.”
I love her. And if I don’t find her in the next few minutes, it’ll be too late.
Evianna, darlin’…give me a sign. Something. Help me.
Freesia. I can smell her. So faint, it’s barely there. I pray this isn’t my mind playing tricks on me. Straight ahead.
Ryker’s face—what it looked like the last time I saw him—swims behind my eyelids. “You’re a soldier, Dax. A survivor. And the strongest man I know. You can do this.”
I can do this. I don’t need my sight. Training, determination, and love will get me back to her. I just hope a little luck can save us both.
Evianna
After screaming obscenities for several minutes, I haven’t managed to do anything other than exhaust myself. Clearly we’re somewhere Noah doesn’t think anyone will hear me. Struggling against the tape only exhausts me, and I try to contort my free arm to find an end, but Louie was too smart for that.
I have the pen. Oh God. All those old Law & Order episodes I used to watch with my mother come back to me. Post-mortem bruising. If I can’t get out of here…I can at least do something so Noah won’t get away with this. Gripping the pen so hard my knuckles turn white, I press down on my thigh over the tape. N. O. A. Halfway through the H, the pen punches through the thick, gray tape with an audible rip.
Holy shit.
If I can cut through all the tape, I’ll have a chance to get out of here. Flipping the pen around to use the sharp tip instead, I start hacking through the tape. Sweat dots my brow, and my heartbeat roars in my ears. I have to hurry. Noah won’t leave me alone for long.
