“What do you mean she didn’t answer?” Viper cried through the speaker. “She was fine when I left her. We had no fucking tails either.”
“Just get us back.”
He had forty minutes till they landed, and if Molly didn’t answer then, he’d lose his fucking mind.
Chapter
Twenty
A warm breeze swept over Molly’s cheeks. She groaned and tried to open her eyes, but a dry, gritty feeling made her slam them shut again. Her stomach turned with the need to vomit.
Sweat collected on her brow, and she fought a moan. She took several slow, deep breaths through her nose until her belly settled. She swept her dry tongue over her cracked lips. Her throat ached for water.
Which she probably wasn’t going to get.
As her head cleared, her body screamed with pain. The side of her neck throbbed. She lifted her limp fingers and touched the spot they’d . . . what had they done? Stabbed her?
She couldn’t remember.
No open wound met her fingers, but the skin was tender. She’d passed out. The last thing she remembered was her body being pulled as tight as a guitar string and convulsing. Like the man in her bathtub. Like she’d been electrocuted.
Oh god. They’d zapped her with a stun gun.
Fear flooded her brain and urged her to open her eyes before someone noticed she was awake. Using all her strength, she lifted her eyelids.
She lay on a soft mattress in a bedroom. A sliding door was open nearby, and a warm breeze fluttered into the room, lifting the sheer curtains. Moonlight illuminated the marble floor and pink walls. Different from the walls that’d encaged her before. Nonetheless, traumatic memories swarmed in her head. She forced them down with a shuddering breath.
Where the hell was she?
She surveyed what she could see of the room. Everything was quiet. Desperation rocketed her into a sitting position. The slider was open. She was alone. She could get out—had to.
Her head swam as she planted her feet on the floor. The furniture and walls tilted, and a low buzzing sound called her to lie down. She grabbed the nightstand for support and metal clanked. A handcuff was looped around her left wrist, securing her to the headboard.
She gasped, and her heart lodged in her throat. Her brain was fuzzy. She wasn’t thinking clearly. Of course they wouldn’t have just left her unrestrained. But god she’d hoped.
Tears stung her eyes, but she chased them away. She didn’t have time to cry—but she did have time to contemplate. She stared through the partially open door. It was still dark, which meant not too much time had passed.
By now, Atlas would surely know she was gone. He’d be looking for her. A stab of terror hit her square in the chest. She had no phone for him to trace. No way to reach him. And even if she did, she couldn’t tell him where she was.
There was no way out.
She balled her hands into fists. Damn Rex to hell. Why did he want her so badly? Just to get back at Atlas? It didn’t make sense. He’d been captured by Phantom Ops. How had he even found her? What good would harming her now do?
He’d sent someone to kill her just the other night, but now she was in this comfy bedroom with silk sheets. Why?
A headache beat steadily against her temples. She couldn’t wrap her mind around what was going on and why. She had to focus on escape. Turning her attention back to the handcuff, she tried to slide her wrist from the metal.
At least they’d secured her left hand. Her right was still healing from the restraints Atlas had freed her from days ago.
Gripping the ring, she pulled and turned her wrist left and right, trying to get the loop over her hand. Her skin smarted and she winced.
A jangle of keys sounded at the door. She dropped the handcuff and lay down as soon as the door swung open. Light spilled into the room. A large male figure crossed the bedroom toward her.
Terror pulsed against her eardrums and her mouth went dry. She balled her right hand into a tight fist, facing away from him so he couldn’t see the tension written on her features.
“I know you’re awake,” he crooned. The melodic voice was familiar, but she couldn’t figure out why.
Instinct had her remain still.
