be patient.

Above me, Iceman told Ramirez, “You deserved it. Now get over here and

get the earpiece.”

Shit, shit, shit. How the hell had he seen it? Thankfully, Kayden was no longer yelling at me. That was the only good thing about this whole screwed-up

situation. Ramirez came close, careful to keep his vulnerable parts out of reach.

Not like I could do much with the cruel grip in my hair that kept my neck painfully extended. Then there was the gun that was too close to attempt anything but breathing.

Ramirez yanked out the earpiece, taking a few strands of hair with it. He dropped it and proceeded to crush it beneath his foot. With my head angled like

it was I couldn’t miss Ramirez’s glare aimed at the asshole holding me. “How long before her backup shows?”

“We’ve got time, they’re tied up with Hobbes,” Iceman answered.

How the hell did he know that? And time for what? Nerves edged out adrenaline, and the dull ache setting up shop in my head took a turn for the worse when Iceman used his grip to yank me to my feet.

Swearing, my hands flailed against that unrelenting hold, trying to lessen the

pressure. Once on my feet, I decided being bald would be better than whatever

they had planned. I swung back, twisting to bring up a knee, aiming for his thigh, even as pain became a white smear across my vision and what felt like

half of my hair remained behind.

The pressure on my skull disappeared, only to be replaced by a sharp knife

of agony over my kidney as Ramirez landed two sharp blows on my back. The

hit sent me stumbling forward where I took another blow from Iceman across my face. The combination sent me to my knees, then my hands. Skin tore, the sting buried under the wash of pain from my skull and face. I lost track of both

men, too focused on trying not to black out.

When things finally came back into blurry focus my arm was wrenched

between my shoulder blades. Every twitch sent a razor-sharp spasm through me.

Incomprehensible words rumbled around me as my brain decided to check out.

A shove against my back, forced me into a stumbling shuffle. Just as my vision

started to clear, Iceman slammed me into something solid, the edge cutting into

the back of my knees. My legs folded, and my ass met a hard surface.

He released his hold and pins and needles exploded along every inch of my

arm. A groan escaped without permission. Both arms were yanked back and the

soft shush of a zip tie preceded the bite of plastic into my wrists. It was nothing

compared to the ache blooming in my head like some vicious flower. Fingers dug into my chin, jerking my head up.

“Ow, dammit!”

“At least you’re awake.” Dark, empty eyes stared into mine.

The dim light made it hard to see, but he didn’t look familiar. There was nothing distinctive about his face, it was the kind that could blend with the general population. His short, cropped hair clung close to his scalp, but I couldn’t make out the color. All I could see was the chilling emptiness in his dark eyes, eyes rife with cruel amusement.

I licked my lips and tasted the bite of iron from a cut. “What do you want?”

His mouth ticked up. “Same as you. Ellery.”

“Sorry, not going to be much help with that.”

His smile curdled my blood. “Don’t worry, Arden, you will be.”

Before trepidation could gain a foothold, I was hit by something solid, and everything turned black.

CHAPTER 18

The bleat of a car horn and the squeal of rapidly applied brakes dragged me

to consciousness. Just as fast as I opened my eyes, I closed them.

Extraordinary pain seared everything away, leaving me blind and nauseous. An

unknown fear held me in place as I sat slumped on the ground, as my pulse thudded with a dull beat. It hurt to think.

What happened?

The air was heavy, hard to breath, and the heat oppressive. Sweat plastered

my T-shirt to my spine and a rivulet trickled between my breasts. The rancid odor of things gone bad competed with dust and baked stone. Everything part of

me throbbed with aches and pains. A hollow crack broke through the white noise

crowding my pounding skull and echoed around me.

Where the hell was I?

My fingers flexed against the rough, pitted ground, different from the solid surface at my back. For a sickening moment, I was back in some godforsaken village with an unpronounceable name in Pakistan. The illusion was shattered by

the shrill song of a siren peeled another layer from my eardrums, allowing the rush of passing traffic to rise to the surface. Awareness seeped in with a careful

cautiousness, as if I was one wrong move away from shattering.