But now?—
Oh, God!
If someone from Echo had been watching the safe house, and the person after her had spotted them, too, there was a chance they’d been hurt…or worse. All so they couldn’t stop the bastard from going through with his plan.
Please don’t let anyone else be hurt because of me.
That seemed to be a common theme for anyone with the unlucky fortune of getting too close. Three years ago, it was Julian in that damn building in Afghanistan. Not even three days ago, Jagger nearly died feet away, in her own front yard.
At least in Afghanistan, there was someone she could blame. The terrorist assholes she and her team had been hunting had set a trap, and she’d led them right to it.
Natalia had lived with a hefty dose of hate in her heart ever since. For the terrorists and for herself. The last few days, however, it had noticeably eased. The only explanation she could come up with was?—
Jagger.
An image flashed in her mind. Him looking so handsome and peaceful, fast asleep in her bed. It was the last memory she had of the man she loved. Now she was here, wherever this place was, and she’d been taken by an unknown enemy.
Natalia reached up to the left side of her neck when an odd twinge of pain struck as she turned her head. The intense soreness in her muscles made itself known, but that spot on her neck was especially tender.
It took a few more minutes of confusion and struggling to regain the memories of what had happened prior to her abduction. She had to have been fully incapacitated. It was the only way for someone to have kidnapped her before bringing her here.
I was tased.
Natalia remembered that now. Her car had suddenly stopped working, so she’d been forced to pull to the side of the road. Not long after, another vehicle passed by before pulling over. The man driving was alone and had gotten out with an offer to help.
She’d thanked him for the offer but politely declined. She remembered reaching for her phone to call Ryker to come pick her up.
Her attacker chose that moment to strike. She could see it all so clearly, now.
In her mind, Natalia replayed her door flying open and a gloved hand quickly moving toward her face. Only he hadn’t been going for her face, but rather her neck. She hadn’t noticed the taser held tightly in his fist until it was too late.
There’d been an instant and excruciating rush of electrifying pain. Every muscle in her body had seized on contact, incapacitating her long enough for the man to insert a needle into her skin.
Whatever drug she’d been given, it had knocked her unconscious. She’d been taken alive, but the question was why?
Doesn’t matter why. All you need to focus on is finding a way out of here.
Her movements were slow and jerky, her muscles sore and trembling as if she’d spent hours lifting weights in the gym. It wasn’t the first time she’d been tased, and given her profession, there was a good chance it wouldn’t be her last. But damn.
Getting tased hurt like a bitch, and it always took her a while to regain all her strength.
Push through it. Ignore the pain.
Moving with cautious steps at first, Natalia made her way to the door. As expected, it was locked, and from what she could tell, it was one of those heavy-duty, fireproof doors.
Looking completely out of place for the period compared to the building’s other materials, it was made of metal. The kind that would require an explosive device of some sort to breach.
Unfortunately, the bra she’d used countless times before to conceal a smidge of C4 was in her closet back home. Releasing along sigh, she began looking around the room for anything that might be useful.
Her hopes of finding something to use as a weapon or means of escape vanished within seconds, because there was nothing. No exposed pipes to break free or shards of broken glass. The room was completely clear of anything other than a few swirls of dirt and a handful of scattered, dead leaves.
Looking around, Natalia had the fleeting thought that she may as well be in a padded room at this point. She also realized she was utterly screwed.
New plan.
She’d wait until her abductor returned. Kill first, ask questions later.
Sure seemed to work out fine for Jimmy that night at the port.
