Page 54 of The Prodigal Prince

“Be quiet,” Mr. Villain hissed at her. “Don’t make us hurt you or go hurt your kid.”

Fiona nodded. She wouldn’t do anything to risk herself much less her son.

They didn’t set her down gently, but they weren’t overly rough either. She found herself laying on her side with stone underneath.

Could she manage to sit up? She’d be able to take the blindfold off easily enough, but she didn’t want to do it while Mr. Villain and Lefty were still around.

Whatever door they’d exited hadn’t made any noise when it opened. It probably wouldn’t when it closed.

She needed to wait until she felt certain they were gone.

The time stretched into eternity. Every time she’d convinced herself it would be safe, she decided to wait another minute or two.

But she also had no real concept of the passage of time.

When the realization sunk in that her arm felt dead, Fiona thought it might have been long enough.

“I found her!” A voice preceded the sound of footfalls headed toward her.

Gentle hands helped Fiona into a seated position as she could hear more people arrive at her side.

“Are you all right, ma’am?” Fiona recognized the voice, but couldn’t remember who it belonged to.

She nodded as tears began to fall from beneath the blindfold.

“Will you be all right if I take a few pictures?”

Fiona nodded again. If the photos of her as she was left would be helpful, she could endure another minute or two.

It didn’t take long before three people worked in unison to remove the blindfold and other ties.

“Thank you.” She cleared her throat to get rid of the scratchy voice as she blinked against the sudden brightness. “What about Mac and Gray?”

Thor crouched in front of her. “We haven’t found them yet. Do you know how long you’ve been out here?”

Her arm began to tingle painfully. With her other hand, she rubbed it up and down. A staff member held an open bottle of water and helped her take a sip before answering. “No. It’s been a while, but I’m not sure how long. I don’t think it was light yet, but I honestly have no idea what time it is.”

“We have people reviewing the surveillance videos right now, sir.” One of the men Fiona didn’t know, but who appeared to be a member of someone’s security team, shared the piece of information with Thor.

He looked around. “I don’t think cameras cover this particular spot. That’s likely why it was chosen.”

Before she could share what she did know, someone else picked her up and set her on a gurney.

“I’m fine,” she protested weakly. “I can walk.”

“They’re going to look you over.” Thor’s voice carried a ring of authority Fiona knew not to argue with. “We’ll ask you some questions as we go.”

“I think there’s a hidden passage around here.” She looked around to see how close she was to a building then pointed to a shed of some kind, the only building nearby. “In there maybe? We were only outside a minute before they set me down on the ground. I don’t see how it could be any where else.”

Medical personnel took her vital signs as Thor asked questions about where they’d been held, who had done it, and anything else she could remember.

“We’ve suspected there’s secret tunnels, but we’ve never found any.” Beau crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “We didn’t see a reason to make finding them a priority, but we’re pretty sure they exist.”

“I know we were taken through one immediately. It’s a blur, but we were in the gardens then inside a narrow passage.” She looked directly at Thor then Beau. “Now, tell me what you’re going to do to find Mac and our son.”

* * *

Screaming,yelling, pounding on the door - none of it would do any good.

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