Page 84 of Unseen Danger

“Hey, B.”

Branson looked over his shoulder.

“Do whatever you have to. I’ll back you.”

Branson met D-Chop’s gaze, the rapper’s eyes filled with a ferocity he’d never seen there before. Branson jerked a nod and left, breaking into a run to reach his pickup as quickly as possible.

Thoughts, images of Nevaeh battered his mind as he ran. He’d find her. But with her PTSD, what would this do to her? Would there be long-term effects, even if they didn’t hurt her physically?

The image of her crumpled body by the fence of the estate loomed in his mind. Paralyzed with fear. Helpless. Vulnerable.

A beautiful woman someone could prey on. Someone like the violent kidnappers who held her hostage now.

No. He’d find her before that happened. And he’d rescue her. He had to.

Twenty-Five

Not Walter. Not Walter. The self-reminders pulsed through Nevaeh’s mind as quickly as the rapid beats of her heart thudded in her ears.

But the burly man who’d dragged her into this room with his buddy was strong enough to overpower any attempt she might’ve made to escape his hold. If she’d been more than barely conscious at the time.

As her consciousness slowly returned, so did the fear. It coursed through her limbs, numbing them more than the drug.

She closed her eyes, struggling to breathe through her nose above the duct tape that covered her mouth.

I am not powerless. Not helpless.

The zip tie on her wrists and the gag called her a liar.

But she could deal with those. She forced the reminder to stay in her mind, hoping it would stop the spiraling panic. She knew how to escape zip ties, and then she could remove the tape from her mouth. She could breathe and be free anytime she wanted to.

Until that man or any of the others came back.

They could do anything to her then. Maybe they’d be mad to see she’d freed herself. Would they—

The image of the biggest thug, slamming his fist into her face flashed before her eyes.

She jerked, wincing as if the blow had been real.

No. She opened her eyes and shook her head, her hair rubbing against the wall the thug had propped her against. She had to stay calm. Couldn’t give in to the flashbacks.

This was different. They didn’t have it in for her. She wasn’t the intended victim. She was convenient, a panicked decision.

They’d be scrambling now, trying to figure out what to do to salvage something from their botched kidnapping attempt. They’d have potentially gotten a way bigger ransom from holding D-Chop’s kids. But if they were like most kidnappers, they’d try to leverage what they ended up with—her.

Would they contact her family? She snorted, instantly regretting it as the action clogged her only means of getting air at the moment. Her family wouldn’t be able to pay a thing, even though they’d want to.

The idea of Pops being contacted by these jerks, told they had his granddaughter, shot hot fury through her torso. They were not going to put him through that. He’d been through enough in his lifetime, and she’d always aimed never to add to his burdens. She wasn’t about to mess that up now.

She’d have to get out of here before they made it that far. At this point, they probably wouldn’t even know who she was. Unless…

She lowered her bound hands to her hip pocket. Her driver’s license and ID were gone.

Right. So they did know who she was. She didn’t keep any next of kin or contact info on her. That should help.

But she had to get out of here before they located her family and asked for a ransom her kin didn’t have.

She took in her surroundings as her vision sharpened.

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