Page 50 of Fast Vengeance

He held on as long as he could. Long past the moment when his hands and fingers froze to the metal and turned so numb he could no longer feel them. But finally, the inevitable happened.

The burn in his shoulders was immediate as his grip gave way, the freezing, unforgiving metal clamped around his wrists biting into his flesh as they held him prisoner. All the while the chain cranked higher, higher, raising him toward the ceiling. Dangling him a couple of feet off the floor.

His whole body shook in the cold, the shivers making the pain worse, the muscles in his shoulders and arms now stretched to the breaking point. He squeezed his eyes shut, clenched his teeth to keep from making any sound, refusing to give this sadistic asshole the satisfaction.

The chain stopped moving. Brock swung back and forth a little, bound and helpless for whatever this asshole wanted to do to him. Terror and dread were like a dark tidal wave growing inside him, rising higher with every heartbeat. He choked it down. Used all his mental strength to make his mind go blank.

Go somewhere else in your head.

“I’ll be back in a while to get started on you,” the man said with a heavy accent, breaking through his concentration. “Don’t go anywhere.” Laughing under his breath, he paused to flick off the light before walking out, plunging Brock back into total darkness.

The sound of the door closing echoed with terrifying finality, the darkness seeming to make the temperature drop another ten degrees.

Hanging there in complete blackness, Brock tipped his head back and prayed. His wrists and shoulders were on fire, the unforgiving metal cutting into his skin as gravity did its job and slowly began to rip his joints and muscles apart.

How long was he going to be held like this? Until he froze to death?

Desperate to escape the only way he could, he closed his eyes, cleared his mind and thought of the only person who could bring him a measure of comfort right now.

Tori. And if he could go back in time, he would have told her he loved her before walking out that door.

Chapter Fourteen

The muggy, tropical air hit Oceane as soon as the aircraft door opened, flooding her with a thousand bittersweet memories. After so many months, she was finally home.

Except this didn’t feel like home anymore. Not after everything that had happened, and especially not with her mother gone.

She followed one of her marshals down the metal staircase they had wheeled up beside the plane, with Victoria right behind her. Security was tight, a mix of DEA and Mexican military personnel on hand to ensure their safety, everyone heavily armed.

She prayed all of them were with the good guys in this scenario, and not planted here by her father’s network. Given what had happened to Brock, however, she wasn’t hopeful on that count.

Taggart was at the base of the stairs waiting for them, a powerful, commanding figure in camouflage tactical pants and a black T-shirt that hugged his muscular frame. “Good to see you both,” he said, shaking hands with her and Victoria. “Thanks for coming.”

“Any word on Brock?” Victoria asked, her voice urgent.

Oceane glanced at her. The question and worry on her friend’s face made it plain that something significant had happened between her and FAST Bravo’s team leader, and at this point Oceane figured Victoria didn’t care if everyone knew it. All she cared about was getting him out of this alive.

“A few tips, but nothing solid yet. No trace of the hostage takers. We traced Hamilton’s phone. Got a signal early on when he was first taken, but they must have disabled it soon after because there’s been nothing since. Mexican police have roadblocks up and they’re monitoring all airports, marinas, train and bus stations. CCTV footage located the getaway vehicle, but it was ditched and they transferred to a new one in a blind spot. Based on the intel we have, we think Hamilton is probably still somewhere in Veracruz city itself, or close by.”

Oceane’s heart sank. So much time had passed since he had been captured, and Veracruz itself was hardly small. How would they ever find him now?

“I’m taking you straight to HQ. I’ll bring you both up to speed on the latest during the drive there,” he said, gesturing to the SUV idling near the small terminal building.

She slid into the backseat with Victoria and a marshal, while Taggart got into the front passenger seat. Her heart leapt when she glanced up to see Gabe turning to look back at her from the driver’s seat.

“Hi,” she breathed, unable to hide her smile and relief. Had he driven Taggart here because he wanted to see her?

For the most part she was getting better at masking her emotions, except around him. He was always contained and hard to read, but now she knew there was far more going on under that calm surface, so she didn’t want to hide her feelings. She wanted him to know what he made her feel.

Protected. Alive. More female than she ever had in her life.

His pale blue eyes warmed, the barest hint of a smile tugging one side of his mouth up. “Hi. Flight okay?”

“Yes, fine.”

“Good.” He turned back around and put the vehicle into gear.

She fastened her seatbelt, still smiling a little. The entire flight down here she’d begun to question everything about her decision to do this. Knowing she might possibly save Brock’s life helped ease her panic. It didn’t matter how afraid she was, she had to do whatever she could to help him. Her life wasn’t in jeopardy with her father. Even if she was taken by him somehow, she could attempt an escape later.

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