Page 28 of Stolen Faith

“Best estimate, it was around dinnertime Sunday when they came to get us. We lost Sunday night to Monday morning,” Rowan said softly. “Which considerably widens the search area. In that amount of time, they could have transported us halfway across the country.”

Izabel closed her eyes for a moment, processing. This was…not good news.

“I’m sorry,” she said after a moment.

“Why are you sorry?”

“Because I was wrong about us being home in twelve hours.”

“Negotiations take time,” Brennon said.

Rowan nodded.

“And I’m sorry because I’m—”

“Shh,” Rowan interrupted. “Listen.”

Izabel fell silent, but she couldn’t hear anything outside. She started to tell Rowan as much when she caught it. The sound of a car in the distance. It was the first sound of life—besides that of wildlife—they’d heard since waking up.

As it got closer and closer, she fought to steady her nerves. This was it. Showtime.

The bastards would come in, attempt to frighten her to tears, so that when they turned on the camera, she would look pathetic and scared for her parents. Then they’d make their demands.

The assholes were about to be in for a whole world of disappointment because she had no intention of playing the role of damsel in distress.

Her gaze slid to the window at the sound of brakes outside. She couldn’t see the vehicle, but after the slamming of car doors, she saw three men walk by, their figures nothing more than shadow, moving too quickly for her to make out their features. Heavy footsteps climbed two steps, then stomped across a porch to the front door.

Izabel watched as three men entered. They wore camouflage pants and black T-shirts that stretched over their chests and arms in a way she assumed they thought made them look tough, but really looked like they’d bought the wrong size.

Two of them wore baseball hats, pulled low over their unshaven faces, and one had a pronounced bulge in his cheek. When he spit tobacco on the floor near where Brennon sat, she had to swallow back the bile that rose in her throat.

The only man without a hat stood in front of the other two. He had a hard cast encasing his right arm from shoulder to wrist, held against his chest by a sling. The cast was camo print. Of course it was.

She held her breath as the leader surveyed the room, bracing herself for what came next. She stiffened her spine, refusing to show him the slightest bit of fear, but he barely spared her and Brennon a passing glance.

All his attention locked on Rowan. And he was pissed off. Furious.

His features darkened even more when Rowan returned his stare, his look steady, almost intimidating, which was no small feat considering he was trussed up tightly in the chains.

The leader cursed, stomping across the room toward Rowan. Izabel had never seen such naked anger, and she found herself leaning back in her chair, away from him, even though she wasn’t his target.

Rowan, however, didn’t blink an eye.

The other men remained by the door, slack expressions on their faces, giving the appearance of obedient lapdogs. Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

“Not so big now, are you, you motherfucking asshole?!” Camo Cast bellowed, backing up his words with a hard kick that caught Rowan in the ribs. Or at least it would have if Rowan hadn’t jerked away at the last second.

His quick motion only served to provoke the leader, who swung the back of his good hand down toward Rowan’s face. He made contact this time, though it was once more mitigated when Rowan turned his head in time to escape the full force of the blow.

Oh God, they were going to beat Rowan.

Rowan was dodging and twisting but he was chained up and stuck on the floor, and eventually a blow would land that would really hurt him. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, just watch this happen.

“Let’s just get on with this.” Izabel made her voice hard and authoritative. “The sooner you make your video, the sooner we can all move on with our lives.”

“Shut your fucking mouth, whore,” Tweedledee shouted from across the room. “You talk when we fucking tell you to.”

Izabel started to correct the asshole of that misconception, but she caught sight of Rowan, who gave a single shake of his head.

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