A sinister smile spread across Jagger’s tense face. “Goodbye, Jimmy. Oh, and in case it wasn’t clear…” He leaned in closer before whispering, “You’re fucking done.”
Jagger turned and marched back toward the apartment where he and Talia had been staying. To Ryker, he said, “I’m done wasting my time with this prick. I’ll meet you and the others inside.”
Someone had taken Talia, and he wouldn’t—he couldn’t spend another second on Baxter or his excuses. His entire focus had to be on finding his woman. His other half.
My future.
Jagger’s heart ached with fear, his thoughts whirling with worry he’d lose her to the point he felt it might be ripped intwo. There were so many questions, and he didn’t have a single answer.
Things like where the hell is she and who had dared to touch what belonged to him? Had they hurt her? Was she lying somewhere unconscious? Was she already?—
No!
He couldn’t let himself go there. Talia was alive, he could feel it in the very core of his gut. She was still there, in the heart that ached for her to return.
If that wasn’t enough to convince him, Jagger’s operator brain understood what the evidence most likely meant. If whoever took Talia wanted her dead, they would have killed her and left her body in the car along with her purse and phones.
She’s still alive.
It became the mantra playing on loop in his head. She was out there, and he was damn sure going to find her. Come hell or high water, no matter what obstacles came his way.
Hang on, darlin’. I’m coming for you.
And he wouldn’t stop until he had her back safe and in his arms.
17
Natalia woke in stages.Her thoughts were choppy, coming to her slowly at first. The first thing she noticed was the incessant pounding in her head. Next came the dry, desert feel of her tongue, lips, and throat. Like she’d swallowed a handful of cotton, chased with a giant bottle of sand.
What…the hell?
She had no idea why she felt so crappy, or what she’d drank the night before. Whatever it was, it must have been a lot. And it was most definitely not worth it.
Think hard, Foster. What the heck did you and Jagger do last night?
Memories of Jagger staring deep into her eyes as he declared his love for her rushed back to the surface. Her heart swelled with a feeling of fullness so wonderfully complete that it was almost enough to distract her from the throbbing pain covering every inch of her skull.
Almost.
Natalia groaned, and it took multiple blinks for her eyelids to finally peel open. The haze clouding her vision cleared a momentlater. When it did, her confusion instantly morphed into terror as she took in the unexpected surroundings.
Talia was lying on her side in the middle of an eight-by-eight room. The floor was made of cold concrete, the walls formed with stacks of historical-aged stones. Looking around, there wasn’t a single window in sight, and the only door to the room was closed.
It wasn’t until she started to push herself up to her knees that Natalia even noticed the cuffs holding her wrists together.
No!
The rest of the night came back in one fell swoop.
I was at Homeland, and then in the apartment with Jagger. He told me how he felt, we made love, and then we fell asleep in each other’s arms. And after that?—
After that, Natalia’s phone had started to ring. She’d woken up to a call from Ryker. He’d all but ordered her back to Homeland because Lopez apparently had more intel on Sanchez.
A frown pulled at her brow as she recalled bickering with Ryker about waking up Jagger so he could escort her there. In the end, she’d reminded him of the shit-ton of training she’d had over the years. Natalia also remembered assuming someone from Echo Team would be on her tail. Except…
I don’t remember a tail.
She’d kept an eye on her rearview mirror for the first few miles after leaving the apartment. A flicker of recollection struck, and she remembered thinking maybe Jagger had decided to give Echo the night off.
