Page 53 of No Good Deed

Joe swore. Tansy and Sam reached him as well, heading down to the side street along the back of the buildings. It was a quiet street, mostly used to access the parking lot for Doc’s, but Lia hadn’t been working today so there were no cars.

Where was Piper?

Did Westerlake have her?

Troy’s knees wobbled. On the phone, Joe swore again. “I can see the front end of a silver car parking. Then someone sprayed something over the camera. It’s blank. I’m sorry, Troy.”

With fear climbing up his throat, Troy didn’t have the ability to reply. Even that horrible day in the Army where they’d lost Shaggy and Marcus had lost his foot hadn’t scared him like this.

He let Sam and Tansy make the calls as he moved down the road, looking for clues. Oreo snuggled into him, whining. “I know, buddy. But we’re going to find her. We’re going to get her back.”

And then there’d be hell to pay.

“What if she was the second person in the car? What if he forced her into it? What if he knocked her out and stuck the hat on her to hide her identity?”

Sam grabbed him by the shoulders. “Slow down, Epic. Breathe. Marcus will have an APB out on the car by now. Every trooper in the state will be looking for her. We’re going to find her.”

They had to.

CHAPTER 19

Fat Lot Of Good

Piper’s head felt like a symphony orchestra was playing inside it, with each section working on a different song. What had happened? Why did she hurt?

Her brain was foggy, and for a long moment, she didn’t try to think. Instead, she focused on breathing. In and out. In and out. Quiet the noise, quiet the panic. In and out.

The next time she woke, the noise had receded enough that she didn’t think her head would explode. The pain was down to a normal headache on steroids.

Could she open her eyes? Move? Should she?

Piper couldn’t think of specifics yet, but she was aware that danger surrounded her. When she felt herself drifting toward the darkness again, she fought to stay conscious. If she was in danger, awake was better than asleep.

Why was she in danger?

She focused on her breathing, keeping it calm and letting the fog dissipate. Suddenly, the memories clicked into place.

They’d been at the saloon, talking to the town about her ideas. The people had been excited about her suggestions. After the meeting broke up, she’d headed to the back to check on Oreo. Her body had been drained from the meeting, so she’d splashed water on her face in the bathroom.

Oreo had barked outside the door, and she’d been talking to him as she’d opened it.

Something had pinched her neck, and her head had slammed against the doorjamb. That was all she remembered.

Panic had her heart thumping, and it took precious seconds to calm down enough to pretend to still be unconscious. In all the books she’d read, it was a good idea to fake it to learn more about the situation.

Except all the horrible things that happened to women when they’d been knocked unconscious ran through her head, and her eyes flew open even as she tried to move her hands and feet.

She wasn’t wearing a blindfold, but she was gagged, and her hands and feet were tied. How had she not noticed that right away? Had he drugged her or knocked her out with a blow to the head? Or both?

Where was Oreo? Was her little dog okay? If this bastard had hurt him, he was going to pay.

The urge to vomit consumed her, and she wasted precious seconds squashing that. It felt like duct tape gagging her. If she vomited, would that stop her being able to breathe?

She checked out the space she could see in front of her, not ready to try moving yet. If he was behind her, he might not have realized she’d awakened.

Where was she? Without moving, she checked out her surroundings. With the dim light, she could see wooden floors covered with dust. Paneling covered the lower part of the wall, and flowery wallpaper was above that. The paper was torn in spots, and the paneling was scuffed and dusty. No furniture in her view. Nothing to use as a weapon.

She hadn’t heard anything since she’d woken. Was he watching her? That caused a full-body shudder she couldn’t stop.

---