Page 160 of Jay Bird

Then she tried to move her hands, but she realized quickly they were tied.

Panic rushed through her as she pulled against the restraints and attempted to sit up, but the sudden movement sent the room tilting violently around her. She squeezed her eyes shut and dropped back against the pillow, waiting for the nausea to pass as memories began crashing into her.

She had been at the rescue center with Lily. Then she saw Liu. She remembered Lily screaming as Chen’s men attacked.

She had fought them. God, she had fought harder than she ever had in her life, but there had been too many. Then she had felt the sting in her arm and seen Chen standing over her just before everything disappeared.

Willow’s eyes flew open again. Lily!

“Look who’s finally awake.”

Her blood ran cold at the sound of that familiar voice.

She turned her head and found Chen standing near a window with a glass in his hand, watching her.

For one terrifying instant, Willow wasn’t in an unfamiliar bedroom in Virginia. She was back in Chen’s estate, trapped inside the nightmare she had spent three years surviving. Her heart hammered as memories tried to drag her under, but she forced herself to concentrate on what was real.

She had escaped him once. She could do it again.

Chen set his glass down and approached the bed. “I was beginning to wonder how much they gave you.”

“Where’s Lily?”

He ignored the question as he sat beside her. Willow immediately tried to move away, but there was nowhere to go. His hand settled on her arm and slowly traveled upward, the familiar touch making her stomach turn.

“You surprised me today. I didn’t know you had learned how to fight.” His fingers moved toward her shoulder before brushing across the upper part of her chest. “Three men, Willow. You actually managed to injure two of my men.”

“Don’t touch me,” she snapped.

Chen's expression hardened.

Willow’s heart pounded, but she refused to take the words back.

His hand remained against her for another second before he finally removed it. “Someone has certainly made you brave.”

“Where is my daughter?”

“She’s around.”

Willow’s stomach dropped. “What does that mean?”

“It means Lily is safe for now. Whether she remains that way depends entirely on you.”

Every instinct Willow possessed screamed at her to attack him, but her hands were tied, and she still couldn’t move without the room spinning.

More importantly, if there was even the slightest chance her baby was nearby, Willow couldn’t risk doing anything that might hurt her.

“What do you want?”

A pleased smile appeared on his face. “There she is. The Willow I remember.”

She wanted to spit in his face. Instead, she swallowed her anger. “Where are we?”

“Still in Virginia.”

Hope flickered inside her before she could stop it. Jay Bird had to know she was missing. They had to be looking for her. Jay Bird, Riley, Derek, Mia, and every one of those crazy SEALs who had somehow adopted her and Lily into their enormous family.

Chen chuckled softly, and Willow realized she had allowed too much to show on her face.