The sounds of a door opening pulled Terra from her nap. She moaned in pain as she tried not to wake up. Her head spun, and her stomach didn’t like the motion. Swallowing hard, she tried to bury her pounding head into the pillow.
“He’s not here,” a male voice called.
Terra froze. She recognized that voice.
“But she is,” another voice answered.
Oh God! Terra turned just in time to see a man in black closing on her. It was the same man who had knocked on her front door the day before. Parker! In this outfit, he looked like the mercenary she suspected him to be. Letting out a scream, she scrambled back across the bed.
Parker laughed and pounced on her. “Go ahead and fight,” he said with a smile. “Makes my job more fun.”
Struggling with all her might, Terra tried to get away, but he was larger than she was. It didn’t take him long to have her pinned to the bed.
“Bring me a rope,” Parker called out.
Brett stepped in with a length of rope in his scruffy hands.
Crying out, Terra fought as the men bound her hands and feet. After a few minutes of her screaming, they ripped a section out of the sheet and tied it around her mouth. She looked on, helpless, as they tossed the house, looking for something. They left nothing untouched.
“It’s not here,” Brett said as he dumped the dishes out of the cabinet to shatter on the floor. “What do we do?”
Parker paused and looked around at the chaos they had caused. He picked up Terra’s cell phone and the note that had been dumped on the floor. “He’ll be back,” he said as he read over the note. “And we can use her for leverage.” He held up the note for Brett to see.
An evil smile crept over Brett’s face as he read the short message. “Right.” There was a glee in his voice that sent a shiver of panic down Terra’s spine.
Clicking into her phone, Parker sent a short text message before shoving it in his pocket. “That should get his attention.” He turned to Brett. “Grab the girl.”
Fear sent Terra squirming against her bonds again. There was no way they were going to take her without a fight.
Reaching out, Brett grabbed for her shoulders.
Terra twisted away from him.
“Come here, bitch,” Brett growled as he placed one knee on the bed so he could get a hold on her.
Seeing an opening, Terra swung both legs up and nailed him in the side as hard as she could. The impact knocked him off balance but didn’t do any real damage.
Brett growled in anger and pounced on Terra, pinning her shoulders to the bed.
She squirmed under the larger man, taking every opportunity she could to drive an elbow or knee into him. Lights danced behind her eyes as he punched her in the side of the head, but she still fought him. She would be damned if she went quietly.
“Stop.” Parker’s voice broke into their fight.
Brett dropped his body down over Terra’s, pinning her to the mattress.
Squirming, Terra rolled her head over to look at Parker. She did not like the look on his face.
“Get off her,” he said. “I have a better idea.”
Slowly, Brett started to move.
Terra took the opportunity and swung her head back and straight into his face.
“Shit!” the man cursed and rolled off her.
An evil smile slipped across Terra’s as he hit the floor with a bang.
“Fucking bitch!” he cursed again as he sat up. Blood ran down his face from where Terra’s head had met with his nose.
Standing up, Brett raised his fist to lay another blow to Terra, but Parker grabbed his arm before the fist could fly.
“Wait,” he said. “We still have that stuff the boss gave us.”
Joy filled Brett’s eyes. “Yeah.” He looked over his shoulder at his partner. “That shit could kill her.”
“And it would be painful.”
Fear raced through Terra as Brett turned to look at her. He rubbed the back of his hand through the blood dripping from his nose, smearing it across his face. “Right…” Brett nodded and stepped out of the house.
Terra wiggled, trying to loosen her bonds. The fight had given her some slack, but not enough to make any real difference.
“It’s all right, there, chicky.” Parker came over and laid his large hand on Terra’s cheek. “Look on the bright side—if you live, you’ll have more power than you’ve ever dreamed of. But, of course, no one’s lived through this yet.”
Terra tried to jerk out from under his hand, but he pressed her head down into the bedding, holding her in place.
Parker laughed at her. “Just be a good little bird, and take your medicine.” He stood up away from her to let Brett in.
“This might hurt… a lot,” Brett said as he held out a hypodermic needle.
Terra lashed out, trying to hurt him again, but he was out of reach this time.
Aiming for her butt, Brett speared her with the needle. The force at which he threw it jabbed the needle through her thin clothing and deep into her muscle. A quick push of the plunger, and the liquid was in her.
“All done.” He said it like she should be proud of him.
Terra glared at them both as the serum burnt its way through her. This one was worse than the last time she had been drugged. She whimpered in pain as it began to take effect. Closing her eyes, she tried to breathe through the aching, but it was too much. Her muscles tightened as the pain spread. Unable to take any more, Terra cried out in agony through the gag as she thrashed. Opening her eyes, she shot her attackers a death glare. Once she was free of these bonds, she was going to share this pain with both of them. That is, if she lived through it.
The phone in Alex’s bag pinged, and he nearly tore the flap off getting into it.
A message from Terra.
His relief turned to horror as he read the text. “They have her.” His voice revealed the fear eating him. After all this time of looking, he had finally found a mate that his dragon wanted, and he had left her unprotected. “I have to go.” Alex reached up and started to pull his shirt off. He could shift to his smaller size and fly out without Daniel having to stop.
“Wait!” Daniel reached out and grabbed his arm. “The men are on their way. Just stay put, and we’ll be there shortly.”
“But they said they would kill her if I didn’t bring them the medallion.” Alex squirmed in Daniel’s grip. “I have to go.”
“And they will kill you both if you give them that thing.”
Alex let out a sigh and settled back into his seat. He’d told Daniel about the necklace and his suspicions. The fact that they had found Terra at the rest house just proved they had a spy in their midst. But who could it be? Obviously, it wasn’t Daniel. He had been with Alex the entire time. They’d told Brigs to call the team and given them the location of the rest house, but it would’ve taken time to get someone out there. Even if they had called the men from his home, it would have taken longer to get there than the ten or so minutes since they had left the bar. No, these people had to have already known where he and Terra had gone. The only answer was the security system alerting the main office. “Who gets notified when one of the houses is used?” Alex looked up to Daniel, waiting for an answer.
“A few of the team heads and the on-call operator,” Daniel answered quietly. It was clear from his expression that he was coming to the same conclusion as Alex. “There will be a full inquiry when this is over.”
Anger flared into life in Alex. An inquiry? They could be killing his mate as they spoke, and Daniel’s answer was an inquiry. “She’s my mate!” Alex exploded. His hands flapped around as he tried to get Daniel to see his concern. “I need to go!”