They hurried toward the SUV, and Addy put her head down to manage the buffeting wind that threatened to push her back.
As they neared their rental vehicle, a man shot out from behind a wall. He hefted a tire iron.
She opened her mouth to warn Mack, but the guy slammed the tire iron down on Mack’s head.
“No!” she screamed.
Mack and the drone dropped to the ground.
“Mack!” Addy called out, her hand shooting to her sidearm. Her fingers touched the grip.
A strong arm grabbed her from behind and pinned her against a solid wall of muscle. Not the guy who hit Mack, but a second man. He started dragging her backward.
She kicked and fought. Churning her legs. Lifting up on her arms to break free. The iron band held her in place.
“Help!” she screamed. “Help!”
The man clamped a hand over her mouth and tightened theother one. She tried to open her mouth to bite him. His hand was pressed too firmly for her to move her lips. She dug in her heels.
He jerked harder. Her feet scraped along the pavement.
“Mack,” she tried to get out, but couldn’t as he lay deathly quiet on the ground. She watched him for movement. Looking for anything. A breath. A moan.
The man holding her shoved her back against an idling pickup truck. He secured zip ties around her wrists, cutting deep into her skin, then opened the truck door and jerked her gun from its holster. Then he pushed her into the cab next to the first man, who reeked of cigars.
“Nice piece,” her abductor said, admiring her gun as he climbed in beside her and closed the door. He displayed it for the other guy.
“Really nice,” the driver said. “Now put it out of her reach.”
The truck roared off, racing past Mack. She took one final look at him. He didn’t move.
Father, please let him be alive. Please. Please. Please.
Chapter 24
MACK WOKE WITHA SPLITTING HEADand to sirens screaming so loud that he knew he had to be outside. He touched his throbbing head, and his hand came away bloody.
Blood.What in the world? What happened? Where was he?
He was too dizzy to stand so he slowly turned his head and looked around. He was lying on a sidewalk. Cars, streetlights casting shadows nearby. But where?
He pressed his hands against the rough concrete and tried to sit. Dizziness took him back down. He smelled a spicy scent in the wind that howled over him. Okay, a restaurant was nearby.
“You’re in luck,” a male said from above. “They didn’t steal the drone.”
“Drone? What drone?” Mack looked up at the skinny guy with a blond goatee and long hair pulled back in a ponytail.
“The one you just bought from me in the store.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
“I...” Mack glanced at the store, then blinked a few times, still trying to get his bearings. He’d never felt this out of it, other than coming out of anesthesia after surgery. Someone must have really clocked him hard over the head.
“Hey”—the guy pinned his gaze on Mack—“where’s the chick?”
Chick. What chick? Addy.He meant Addy.
“Addy!” Mack pushed himself to sit up. The world spun. “Addy!”
He looked around. He could hardly remain sitting as everything swam around him. His stomach churned. He might hurl right on the spot. “Maybe she went for help.”
