Pulling the comms unit from her ear, Dana sank down onto the bed. Hearing Xavier’s frustration had her stomach twisting into knots, and the hope she’d carried since his call the previous night was fading quickly. What if they couldn’t find Micah?
Dana tucked the earbud into her pocket and cracked the seal on a bottle of water from the mini bar. Before she could take a sip, however, the fire alarm started to blare, and a bright strobe light flickered from the corner of the room.
Shit. The tablet was useless now that the team was mobile, so she locked the screen, tucked her room key into her purse, and stepped outside. Before she could search for any signs of smoke, someone grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides and hauling her against them.
“If you scream, it’ll be the last sound you ever make.” The gravelly voice held no emotion, which chilled her to the bone. Peering up at the man, she tried to make out his features, but a baseball cap hid the top half of his face.
They were already halfway across the parking lot by the time she realized what was happening, and Dana slammed her foot down on her attacker’s instep.
“Bitch!” He stumbled, and she wriggled until she got an elbow free to jab into his gut.
Her scream was lost to the fire alarm, and she made it all of four steps before the man tackled her and brought her to the ground. Pain exploded at her temple, and she had the vague sensation of being dragged before she gave in to the tears burning her eyes and the overwhelming desire to let go.
A loud clap reverberated in her ears, and her cheek throbbed. The second time the sound came, she figured out it was someone incredibly strong and pissed off slapping her cheek.
“Wake up, Dana.”
The same gravelly voice knew her name. Shit. This was bad. She tried to lift her hand to her head to ease the pain, but it wouldn’t move. She was sitting in a chair, her wrists bound behind her. Blinking hard, she struggled to focus, but it was too dark. Only a single dull bulb burned above her, keeping the asshole backlit.
“How did you find out about us?” Another hard slap, and everything went fuzzy.
“If…you want…me to answer,” she managed, “stop…hitting me!” She just needed a minute to think. Where was she?
Another voice boomed from behind the asshole. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“Boss—”
“Get the boy.” A door slammed, and the second man approached, leaning down so his face was only inches from hers. “You and your friends got closer than anyone ever has. And you are going to tell me how.”
“Fuck you.” The punch to her stomach made her retch, and she was only dimly aware of the door opening again.
A body hit the floor next to her, and she coughed and sputtered until she could suck in a shaky breath. “Oh, God. Micah!”
Terry
Xavier swore under his breath, and Terry tapped his earbud. “Something’s wrong, sweetheart. They’re runnin’ us around in circles.”
He expected a response. Something. Anything. “Dana? Talk to me.”
“Keep the chatter down,” Xavier snapped, but Terry gave him the side-eye.
“This isn’t chatter. Dana’s not answerin’, and that’s not like her.”
Pulling out his phone, he called her cell. She didn’t pick up, and Terry was close to panic. Until his phone rang five seconds later.
Incoming Video Call - Blocked Number flashed across the screen. As soon as he tapped the button, he grabbed Xavier’s arm. The woman he loved lay on her side, her arms bound behind her. The left half of Dana’s face was swollen, blood drying on her cheek. God, she looked like someone had used her for a punching bag.
“Hello, Terry,” a male voice said. “My name is Otto. I assume you know who I am.”
“Let her go,” he growled. “She has nothing to do with this.”
“Oh no?” Otto asked.
“Micah!” Dana cried, struggling to sit up but failing, and the sound of a fist hitting flesh carried over the line. With a weak whimper, the boy fell to the floor next to her, his hands over his head. “Stop hurting him!”
“Are you volunteering to take his place?” Otto asked. Dana’s eyes widened before thick fingers tangled in her hair and dragged her closer to the phone. A knife pressed to her throat, and she sucked in a sharp breath. “You have two choices, Terry. And whoever else is with you. You can stop your cars right now and let my associates leave the area without surveillance, or you can watch Dana and the boy die. Slowly and painfully.”
Next to him, Xavier rubbed his ear, and over comms, Raine asked, “Is anyone else hearing an echo?”
