Page 257 of Heart of Frost and Scars

He’s drugging me.

As the reality of what’s happening crashes over me, the room tilts. My vision blurs. Panic sets in.

“What—what are you doing?” I slur, my tongue heavy.

I try to move, but my muscles refuse to cooperate. Every bone in my body quits, and I crumple onto the bed.

Rhett catches me, his face hovering over mine, distorted and smudgy. “I’m doing what’s best for you, Frankie. You’ll understand soon.”

A scream swells inside me, an angry, punching fist full of horror and betrayal, and I’m falling. Falling in and out of the twisting, turning, empty pit in my stomach. I’m going to be sick.

“No,” I say without sound, my strength draining away.

Please, don’t.

He lifts me effortlessly, folding my body into his empty duffle bag. I feel my limbs being manipulated, my head lolling to the side.

“It’s a good thing you’re small.” He strokes my hair. “I love you so much. It’s time to go home.”

The sound of the zipper closing the bag is the last thing I hear before darkness claims me.

59

Monty

—

With an unsettling feeling in my stomach, I disconnect the call with Wilson and dial Frankie.

As the phone rings, I slide out of bed and grab something to wear.

Leo and Kody are already dragging on clothes, their jaws locked down and Adam’s apples bobbing like buoys in a storm-tossed sea.

“She’s not answering.” I leave an urgent voice mail and call her head bodyguard.

“Mr. Novak?” Carl picks up on the first ring.

“Where is she?”

“In the on-call room. She worked twenty hours and needed rest. She advised me not to disturb her for six hours. She’s been in there for forty-nine minutes.”

“She’s alone?”

“Yes. I checked the room. Dr. Howell was on his way out when we arrived. Is everything all right, sir?”

“There’s another missing person. Do not leave that door. Do not fucking blink. Not for a second. And alert me the instant she wakes.”

“Yes, sir.”

I hang up and look at Leo and Kody. “She’s asleep in the on-call room.”

“Fuck that.” Leo stabs his fingers in his hair. “Her guards need to bring her home right fucking now.”

“Calm down.” Kody shoves on his boots, his black eyes distant, hiding his inner turmoil. “She’s safe in that room. Alvis Duncan could’ve had a family emergency, and the phone she has now doesn’t have spyware because Monty just gave it to her. No reason to scare her until we have all the information.”

I call Wilson on speaker.

“Monty,” he answers.

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