Whatever they’d tried to dose her with hadn’t knocked her out all the way, but she was weaker and couldn’t get out a real scream. She didn’t give up and kept struggling. Even when another man came into the room and held her down, she still fought. It didn’t make a difference because in seconds her wrists and ankles were bound, making it impossible for her to run.
She went from fighting to flopping around. Her struggles weren’t getting her anywhere, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight. She wished Brady were here with her. She didn’t know him well, but she bet he would have kept her safe. Now she would never know what kind of relationship they could have had. Everything was over. Her life would be in ruins now that she’d been captured by these brutes.
Chapter 3
Bean staredat his phone as he made coffee, reading over the words Garnet had written. She hadn’t texted last night because she’d been called away for work. He’d seen her slip out of the event and wanted to go after her, but he’d been trapped talking to a general. He’d wanted to be rude and tell the guy he’d see him later, but he was at basically what amounted to a work function, though it wasn’t supposed to be a part of their work, not officially, though they all knew it was official.
He was glad she’d texted. When she arrived home from her business trip, which he didn’t know when that would be, they could go out. He didn’t know where she lived, but he would find a way to make it work between them.
Last night, after the event, he and his team flew home. He’d arrived at his place close to two in the morning, but it was worth it to be home this morning and not stuck in DC.
After his shower, he sent a reply to Garnet, telling her he would travel for their first date, that he just wanted to see her. The morning seemed brighter, sunnier. He hoped her business trip would be short so they could go out this coming weekend. If not this weekend, then next weekend.
The sun was up, the birds chirping happily in his backyard, when he stepped outside with his coffee and phone. It was a little later than he usually woke up on Saturday, but the late night had taken its toll.
He needed to contact his yard guy and have him start mowing. He would do it, but too often he was called away for missions, and his grass kept growing, not caring that he was saving the world, or at least saving someone’s family member.
Today, he could borrow his neighbor’s mower. His old mower had bitten the dust years ago from disuse, and he hadn’t replaced it. Maybe a deep clean of his whole house was in order. He kept up with maintenance, but life seemed to get away from him, and he had little doubt he would find a few dust bunnies in creative hiding spots.
He checked his messages before going out to work on his lawn, hoping to see a text from Garnet. Disappointment wove through him, but he pushed it away. He had no idea where she was or what her work schedule consisted of. She could be sleeping at this very moment.
The lawn was done before the heat rose too high, and he focused on cleaning the inside of his house during the hottest part of the day. He’d just stepped out of the shower when his phone buzzed. It was a message from Chase, telling him they were needed for a mission.
He changed from shorts and a T-shirt to his tactical gear. His plans had changed. He guessed it was good that Garnet hadn’t texted him back. Otherwise, he would have had to brush her off.
Garnet hadn’t receivedfood or water. The bindings on her wrists and ankles cut into her skin, and a small amount of blood trickled from her arms. She hadn’t been told why they wantedher, but she suspected it had something to do with her work, or it was simple human trafficking.
A noise sounded next to her. Her gaze swung to the side, searching for movement. She didn’t see anything that could have made the noise. That had to be in the next room over. The gag in her mouth made it hard to speak or call out for help.
What kind of attention would making noise get her? Would someone come to rescue her, or would she be beaten for being loud? A part of her wanted to find out. Then there was the part of her that was terrified. What would these people do to her?
She wasn’t military, hadn’t gone through the training they did, but she’d heard the warnings about what happened to women who were captured. There’d been stories in the media for years.
If this wasn’t political or because of her computer skills, then she’d been taken just because she was a woman. She could end up being a sex slave for some rich jerk.
Garnet wasn’t sure which was worse. Working to hack into the USA government sites would ruin her work life, but being taken prisoner by some rich jerk would ruin everything. She hated both options and just wanted to be free.
Did anyone know she’d been taken? Surely the embassy knew. Maybe they hadn’t cared enough to ask questions. She was just a technical nerd who knew how to hack into any system, which meant she knew how to stop hacks.
The door popped open, and a new man, not one of the ones from earlier, waved for her to stand. “Get up.”
The command was barked out without any thought for how she was bound. She blinked at the guy and then raised her eyebrows. She couldn’t speak, so she wasn’t able to tell him why she couldn’t stand. It was frustrating, to say the least.
The man stalked closer. “I said—” He must have caught on to the fact she couldn’t stand and rolled his eyes. “Fucking asshole. He didn’t need to lock you down this much.”
The guy cut the bindings from her ankles and wrists. Blood rushed to her feet and hands, causing prickling pain. She rubbed her wrists, smearing blood over her palms.
The gag was pulled from her mouth and was around her neck. She swallowed, then wiped the spittle from her chin. A shower would be nice, but she doubted she’d get one.
“Use the bathroom, but don’t even try to open the window. The alarm will sound. Just go piss and then get back out here.”
She stepped into the bathroom, dropping her pants and underwear fast. At least she hadn’t peed her pants. She must not have been held long. Maybe a few hours at the most.
As she sat on the toilet, she eyed the window, wondering if any alarm would actually sound. She doubted it, but the window was too small for her to fit through, and it looked like it would only open a few inches, anyway.
Garnet stood on her tiptoes and looked outside, searching for anyone in the alley below. There was no one down there or in the building across the street. If she opened the window, there’d be no one to call out to. She was alone in this and would have to search for an opportunity to escape.
A knock sounded on the door. “Hurry up.”
