Page 77 of Guarding Bristol

A faint tingle of alarm ran through her that he hadn’t said anything.“Are you...with CPS?”

He hesitated just a fraction of a second too long.“Yes.You ready to go?”

The warning tingle became a blaring siren.

Her gaze darted to her bat where she’d left it propped against the TV console table.She whipped around and lunged for it.

Too late.Her hand had barely touched the handle when he knocked it from her grip and grabbed her around the torso from behind.

She shrieked and tried to bash him with her elbow.He clapped a steely hand over her mouth and clamped his arms tighter around her, the force compressing her ribs until she couldn’t breathe.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”His low voice was so calm it sent cold corkscrewing up her backbone.

She fought harder.Twisting and thrashing.Trying to bite his palm or fingers, fighting to wrestle free of his hold.

But he was too strong.Before she could even suck in enough air to let out another scream, he had a wide piece of tape across her mouth and her hands wrenched behind her back.

He secured her wrists with more tape, her continued struggles having no effect whatsoever.

The instant her arms were secured, he reached into her back pocket and plucked her phone out, then dragged a hood over her head, plunging her into instant darkness.Terror exploded through her.Blind, bound, and gagged, she kicked at him, lashing out with all her strength.

She missed him, hitting nothing but air.

A heartbeat later, her world turned upside down as he flung her over his shoulder and started carrying her toward an uncertain fate.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

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After what seemed likeat least fifteen minutes of driving, the car finally stopped, and the engine turned off.Bristol’s heart pounded so hard against her ribs it felt bruised.She couldn’t see, couldn’t speak, couldn’t move her hands or arms with her wrists tied behind her, and he’d strapped her legs to the seat.

She had no idea who this guy was or where he’d taken her, except that he had to be with the cartel, and she was terrified that he was planning to use her as bait to lure TJ to him.

He unstrapped her legs, gave a quiet grunt when she managed to plant her foot in his middle, then pulled her out of the backseat.His grip was like iron on her wrists as he forced her to walk with him across the uneven surface, gravel crunching under their feet.Bristol scrambled to keep up with him, the angle he was holding her wrists at meaning any attempt to drop to the ground to try and get free would risk dislocating her shoulders.

The wind whipped over them, rain pelting their clothes.The tiniest hint of gray light filtered through the tiny gap at the bottom of the hood where it fell against her collarbones.She could hear the faint cries of seagulls and a continuous metallic clanking sound in the distance.Like a line flapping against a flagpole.The gulls and the briny scent to the air told her they had to be near the water.

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