Page 103 of Security Breach

Ironic that she’d been willing to use herself as bait, and now she truly was bait. But would anyone mount a rescue?

Hearing faint male laughter, Emma listen to their voices. Were these the men who murdered her family? A few minutes later, she gave up the futile effort. The engine and road noise were too loud.

Emma started to reach for the blindfold, but realized couldn’t move her hands. She scowled. Fantastic. The jerks had restrained her.

After another hard jolt, her head slammed against the floor of the vehicle. She hissed as pain ricocheted through her head.

A soft groan sounded nearby.

Emma’s breath caught. Who was with her? From the sound of the groan, her companion was a man. A member of the Hunt Club wouldn’t groan as though he was in pain, would he? That left another victim. The question was, who?

Another hard thump as the vehicle hit a pothole caused the man to groan again. Emma’s heartbeat increased. She knew that groan. “David?” she whispered.

Emma struggled to sit up on the uneven metal floor. A van. Did the van have windows in the back?

A sharp turn had her slamming against the outer wall. That would leave a bruise, adding to the others she suspected were already forming. Her whole body ached.

Another turn, and the van left the asphalt road. Rocks pinged against the underside of the vehicle. She had a feeling this journey would end soon. She didn’t want to contemplate what happened when the van stopped. “David?”

Nothing.

Rats. Emma needed to wake David. Every second counted if they were to formulate a plan.

The van swung to the right, throwing Emma to the other side of the vehicle. This time, however, instead of slamming up against a metal wall, she fell against a hard, muscular body. Thank God. Now all she had to do was stay next to David instead of rolling around the back of the van like a pinball.

Emma twisted around to face David. “Sweetheart, wake up.” She brushed his mouth with her own. “Come back to me.”

Over and over, she pressed light kisses to his mouth and cheek until finally he responded by nuzzling against her. “David? Are you with me now?”

“You okay?” he murmured.

“I think so. I’m blindfolded, and my hands are restrained behind my back.”

His muscles flexed, then, “Same. Scoot down, and use my shoulder to slide off the blindfold if you can.”

She wiggled down a few inches and located David’s shoulder. Slowly the blindfold shifted upward, but not enough. Emma huffed out a breath. “It’s not working. I can only raise one side a little before the material slides back into place.”

“Stay where you are. I’ll sit up and work the blindfold off with my hands.”

She felt a moment of disorientation as David rolled away from her, then his fingers brushed against the top of her head.

“Hold still.” He worked his fingers under the black band covering her eyes and tugged the material up and off. “Better?”

Emma blinked, praying her eyes adjusted quickly. Epic fail. The van was pitch black inside. “I’m happy the material is out of the way, but we’re in the back of a van without windows.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised.”

David was taller than Emma by several inches. If she stood up in the van to tug off his blindfold, she’d go flying. “Lay on your side with your back to me. I’ll slide off your blindfold, too.”

A moment later, she felt his back against her hands. “Hold still.” After trailing her hands up David’s back to near the top of his head, Emma tugged the material off.

“Thanks.”

“Now what?”

Before he could respond, the van slowed and came to a stop. “Put your back against the wall and get behind me, baby.”

She scrambled to do as he ordered, dread building with every beat of her heart. Would the men shoot them in the van and leave their bodies somewhere deserted?

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