Page 58 of Tactically Acquired

“And I know him better than any of you. He would never take that shot at Kavanaugh, and he would never take out Kavanaugh’s father. Not under any circumstances.”

It was clear Rae wasn’t going to listen to anything we had to say. Besides, we weren’t here to discuss what might be happening with Cash. We had a job to do.

“I found her. You know, in case you guys want to get back to the actual job we’re working.”

She turned on her heel and walked away. My jaw clenched hard as I turned to Thumper. “That was…”

He nodded. “Best to keep this between us.”

I nodded in agreement. Until we had more than a theory to go on, there was no way we could let this get around OPS. Not only would it divide the company, but it would hurt Eva.

The back door swung open and IRIS walked in with a grin on his face. “You guys are not gonna believe what I came up with.”

16

AUDREY

My eyes drooped as darkness filled the room. My hands were going numb from being tied to the chair and my feet had lost feeling long ago, along with my ass. I was beginning to think this was all they had in store for me.

Was this their version of torture? Could one actually die of boredom and a burning desire to pee? Seriously, I was desperate to use the bathroom, but not one of them would allow me to get up. The first guy watching me had left long ago, replaced by the smelly smoker who only sat in the corner and chain-smoked. The air was filled with a noxious odor, but that was really a blessing. It covered the terrible smell emanating from his body.

Still, even with all of that, I just couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. I was exhausted, and my head was still pounding from the accident. Earlier, it had been easy to push it to the side. There was still a chance I could talk the first one into letting me use the bathroom. I had a purpose, a reason to forget that my head was killing me—along with various other parts of my body.

But that was no longer possible. Those blobs in my eyes had turned to full-on blackout at times, leaving me incapable of even seeing who was in the room. If I centered myself enough like Spencer taught me, I could get most of the headache to recedejust enough so I could see a little more clearly. That wasn’t a long-term answer, though.

Craig still hadn’t come for me, but I wouldn’t lose hope. He was out there. He had to be. I knew it. I just had to ignore my bladder and the throbbing in my head.

But this bathroom shit…I grimaced as pain tore through my lower abdomen. Crap, I wasn’t going to last too much longer.

“What the fuck is your problem now?” the man snapped.

“Oh, I don’t know,” I said angrily. “Just the fact that I haven’t peed since I got here. I’m strapped to a chair, and I’m stuck in a room with a man who chain-smokes!” I shouted. “Did I mention that my bladder is about to give out?”

“Fuck, women are such a pain in the ass,” he grumbled, getting up from his chair.

Hope sparked in me as he walked my way. Was he actually going to let me out of my binds? I thought about making a move. Now was my chance, but honestly, I really had to pee and since I couldn’t exactly feel my hands and feet, now didn’t seem like the best time to try to escape.

The bonds were slowly worked free and tiny zaps fluttered under my skin. With each second that passed, it became a little more painful and a little less comforting. Still, relief was in sight. As soon as my feet were free, I pushed as best I could off the chair, wobbling on my feet. It was odd to try to walk when I couldn’t feel a damn thing.

The man grabbed me by the arm, dragging me through the house to the bathroom. I stumbled along behind him, just hoping to keep my feet under me for long enough to make it to the bathroom.

“You have two minutes,” he said, shoving me through the door.

I sighed in relief when the door shut and I could finally yank my pants down. Sitting on the toilet, I cried out. “Oh, thank God!”

“Hey!” he slammed his fist against the door. “No talking!”

Man, that guy was grouchy. I closed my eyes as I released my bladder. It felt like I peed forever, and when it was over, I didn’t want to leave. But I only had two minutes and I didn’t want to get caught with my pants down.

I quickly finished up just as he shoved the door open, nearly slamming it into my face. I stepped back and glowered at the man. “You know, a few manners would not be amiss.”

“Why would they be miss?”

I rolled my eyes at him and shoved my way past him. At least the feeling was back in my legs. “I don’t suppose you have anything I could eat. I’m a little starving.” I kept my hand on the wall for balance as I walked down the hall.

“Boss didn’t say anything about feeding you.”

“Did he say anything about letting me pee?” I asked over my shoulder.

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