Page 54 of Duplicity

“Like a thin attempt at a fake person? Or some kind of fake ID passing as real?” Why would a guy like Justice need to hide his family? It could be that the family wanted him to have a normal high school experience, so no one knew Justice Spears wasn’t his real name. He had to be connected somehow, given that Simon had seen a photo of him at the estate where he’d been held.

Cat stepped outside into the cooler night air. She had no sweater or jacket, and a badge and duty weapon weren’t going to keep her warm even if they made her feel better.

She should go back inside until they actually pulled up so she wouldn’t get cold out here. They weren’t going to be more than a few minutes.

She turned back to the doors. A man stood behind her, far too close. She felt a tug at her hip from someone else. No, no, no! She shoved out with both hands and her phone at the person trying to take her gun from its holster.

Her palms glanced off a forearm. He had the gun already. She’d never seen him before.

The other one moved. It was happening to her. They were going to drug her and take her to this “party,” subject her to the things Alayna had gone through. She was going to be…

He wrapped thick arms around her. Cat kicked her legs, but the struggle was useless. Her phone cracked on the sidewalk. The two men walked quickly to a car that pulled up at the curb. A shiny white SUV.

The back door opened. Someone shoved a cloth bag over her head, cutting off her vision so that all she could do was stare at the woven dark threads in front of her eyes.

She was tossed.

Cat hit the carpet on the floor, her back against something hard. The center console? She started to move away, and a baseball bat hit the side of her head. At least, that was what it felt like.

Punched. She’d been punched.

Cat didn’t try to move after that. Hard, thin plastic wrapped around her wrists in front and was pulled tight before she could do anything that would enable her to break the ties later. The skin of her wrists met together in the middle at an odd angle. She sucked in a breath through her nose.

Doors closed, and she jumped at the volume of it. The vehicle revved, and they set off. Her body swayed with the turns, but she didn’t bother to catch herself. Someone shifted their leg, so she leaned against it. She heard whispered conversation. Snatches of words that didn’t mean anything with no context.

What do you want with me?

She still had her badge. They had her gun. No phone. She couldn’t fight off multiple assailants in an enclosed space all at once. There could be more than two guys in here.

Cat prayed harder than she had in a long time—probably since Sergeant Ellis had been bleeding out. Dying in front of her.

Her breath hitched.Lord.She whispered a whole lot of things in her mind, not sure if any of them actually made sense. God knew. He listened to her heart. Even if she didn’t feel all that close to Him, she knew He always listened to His children. It was why she’d continued to pray.

The car stopped. Her back shifted away from the hard plastic thing with knobs, and then she hit it again. Buttons jabbed herspine. Cat bit back a cry, pursed her lips, and let all the fear and rage and pain show on her face. Because no one saw it.

Only God knew what she couldn’t hide from Him.

Doors opened, then closed.

Silence filled the vehicle—the absence of life. Then she heard the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked. Cold washed over her.

No one removed the hood.

“Do not move.”

His voice caused a shiver to roll over her. As if she’d been doused with an ice bucket.

“If you want to live and remain unharmed, you will sit there silent and listen to what I have to say.”

She bit her lip to keep from making a sound. This guy was steeped in evil. In the quiet of her mind, she could say whatever, and he would never hear it.I already know I don’t like you.

“Nod, if you understand.”

She nodded. Her fingers had started to throb. Her wrists screamed with pain. The plastic ties were cutting into her skin.

“Very well.” Silence seemed to reverberate against her ears before he continued, “There has been entirely too much attention from Vanguard and your police department on my business. I find it…unsettling to be the focus of so much attention.”

Then don’t be a criminal.Of course, she couldn’t say that aloud. It might seem simple, but criminals didn’t grasp the fact that if they didn’t break the law, then the police and people like Vanguard would never worry about them.

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