“Stupid girl. We don’t have your friend.” The man’s sneer was mocking. “We needed you to believe we did. You fell for it like a stupid bitch.”
Paige felt like the man doused in her ice water. The shock was palpable, and her skin burned.
“You’re lying.”
“You’re stalling.”
His booted foot slammed down on her insole, and she screamed. He stepped away, checking his watch once more. She tried to catch her breath, but the pain was too much. She’d heard stories of people who became detached during times of abuse, numbing themselves to the effects. Perhaps her abductor was right. She was stupid because she hadn’t been able to make that happen.
She could, however, believe the man about Ms. Miller. If he told the truth, then Ms. Miller was safe at home and untouched by the evil that targeted Paige. The idea that her friend was at the mercy of this man or Boyd terrified her, so she chose to believe he said, even if his intent was to mentally wound her and not reassure her.
Paige had been unable to study much of the room she was in. As far as she could see, the only thing in it was the chair she sat on. There were no windows. The area was small, giving the man room to pace, but little space for anything else. The light shining from the single bulb in the ceiling cast a pitiful yellow glow. It was enough to see by, but not enough to cast away the shadows.
The door to the room opened, jolting her. Paige tilted her head, so her one functioning eye could see a man stridingthrough the opening. He paused to shake hands with her abductor.
“How is our guest doing, Mars?” Darius Boyd never looked her way, but he didn’t have to. She never forgot anything about the man she knew as a murderer.
What the hell kind of name was Mars?She watched the two men interact with each other, talking too low for her to hear.
She didn’t like the lighthearted, cool demeanor they showed, as if they conducted a business luncheon instead of plotting ways to hurt her. Knowing her torture would continue had tears welling in her eyes.
She had already pegged Mars as a calculating sadist. Now he was joined by a murderer, and Paige’s time just ran out.
∞∞∞
“Are we sure this is the place?”
Ben tightened his grip on his weapon as he peered through the trees to watch the building in the valley below. He could understand Jackson’s skepticism. As far as hideouts go, the structure left a lot to be desired. Surrounded by high elevations, the targets would have difficulty defending the building against an attack. There weren’t any visible security measures or any guards. The place looked deserted, save for the two vehicles parked out in the open in the front.
“She’s here,” Ben said. “I feel it. My gut senses trouble.”
“Yeah,” Jackson said. “Mine too.”
The coms in their ears chirped. “We breaching or what?”
Jackson and Ben shared a pointed look. “We’re breaching,” Jackson told Easton. “Soft breach. In shifts. I don’t know what we’re walking into, so we have to be smart about it.”
“Copy that,” Easton acknowledged. “Luke and I will take the east side. Breaching in five.”
“Copy,” Jackson returned. “Ben and I will breach from the front. PJ?”
“We’ll approach at the back. Remi, you and Ridge move in on the west side. Cutter, provide cover,” PJ addressed his pilot, who set up a sniper perch with a clear view of the entry and exit points.
“Copy,” Cutter repeated.
Jackson glanced at Ben, and he nodded to show his brother he was ready.
The teams moved in, traversing the hills with skillful precision. They seldom had reason to use the tactical moves they learned in the military, but when they did, their actions were second nature. Their eyes were sharp, their weapons at the ready.
The teams moved in. Ben and Jackson flanked the front door. The windows were boarded, so they had no view of the interior. Jackson used a hand signal to cue his brother. Ben tried the doorknob and found it locked. So much for a surprise entry.
Ben slammed his foot into a soft spot in the door, shattering the locking mechanism. Jackson was first through the door. He went left, and Ben went right.
“Front room clear,” Jackson said a moment later.
The two kept moving with silent steps, as their team reported in.
“Clear.”
