Page 56 of Sultry Nights

"I know, but they did that to me yesterday. I didn't have time to get in here. Did Dad tell you he's put me in charge of the barracks project?"

"He sure did. Congratulations. How's that going?"

"It's going all right. I mean, I'm learning the ropes, but I've been watching my dad for years, and he's the best of the best, so I think it's all going to be good. And I know he's right here if I have any questions."

Her heart expanded hearing Jared's pride in his dad. And she thought Quinn was pretty great, too, so... She chuckled. "That he is. He's very proud of you."

"Well, thank you. Happy to hear that. Anyway," he dropped his money on the counter and lifted his coffee and the cinnamon roll. "See you later."

"You bet. I'll see you later, Jared."

He left and a couple more customers entered. Her day had started out in bed with Quinn, which was pretty great, so she had every expectation the rest of it would be wonderful. Unless things went bad with Tisha.

Her mom showed up just after lunch. "Do you need help here today, hon?"

"I could use your help, Mom. Thank you. I have some loaves of bread rising. I need to get them in the oven. And I want to get the dough made up and ready to rise overnight for buns tomorrow."

"Okay, I can get that going."

Hanna cleaned up out front in the store. She wiped down the counter, rearranged the doughnut trays, so they didn't look so empty until she could refill them, and generally made it look presentable.

She put on a new pot of coffee and then walked back into the kitchen. Her mom was already busy working on the dough, but she couldn't resist asking her about Quinn.

"So, did you have a good night last night?"

Her cheeks turned instantly red. Of course, her mom didn't know the extent of how good her night was, but still, the embarrassment was there.

"Yes, I had a good night. Quinn liked meeting you and Dad. Thank you for being so gracious and caring to him. Not that I didn't expect that you would. I know what great hosts you are."

"Well, thank you, honey. And we're just so happy to see you with someone good. I've been asking around about him, and of course, he's been here forever, but boy, nobody has a bad word to say about him."

Hanna smiled. "Well, he's a pretty great guy. He runs a good, tight business. Keeps to himself. Has a tight circle of friends. And he's raised two great kids."

"That's what I hear."

Hanna went out front and emptied the garbage from behind the counter, and checked the kitchen garbage can. She pulled that bag out of the garbage can, too. "I'll be right back, Mama. I'm just going to throw this in the dumpster."

"Okay, honey."

She dragged the garbage bags out the back door, lifted the lid on the dumpster, and tossed her bags in.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind. She struggled and squirmed and tried to kick back. Her hands clawed the hands around her mouth. Then she felt a rag covering her mouth and her nose.

Suddenly, her arms felt heavy. Her eyes felt heavy. Her legs felt heavy. She wasn't able to kick anymore. And then she didn't feel anything.

Hanna woke with a headache. She blinked, but her eyes were so dry, it felt like her eyelids were stuck to her eyeballs. Closing her eyes and rolling them around for a moment to moisten them, she tried again. It was dark wherever she was. She couldn't see anything. And the throbbing in her head was impossible to ignore.

Then she remembered that she was taking the garbage out and someone grabbed her. Her heartbeat increased and panic rose up her body.

She lifted her hands and found them to be tied in front of her, resting on her lap. She was sitting on what felt like a damp cement floor, propped up in a corner.

She struggled around. Her feet moved and weren't tied. That was good. She bent her knees and pushed herself up the wall with her shoulders.

"Don't. You. Move."

She froze. She didn't recognize the voice at all. She couldn't even tell if it was male or female.

"Wh...who are you?"

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