Page 71 of Against the Clock

Panic flooded through me as I tried to get free.It was useless, and I knew it.We were outnumbered and I was unarmed—biggest fucking mistake of my life.

I could hear Rosie scream and turned my head toward the sound right as someone picked her up and tossed her over their shoulder.A black pillowcase was shoved over her head as they rushed out the door.I continued to fight against the strong arms holding me in place, desperate to get to my daughter.My pulse raced and my breathing was erratic as adrenaline pumped through me.

I tried to turn to see where they had gone, the front door still wide open.There was a black van parked right outside that I immediately recognized.Seconds later, the back door was slammed shut before it sped off, the sound of gravel crunching beneath it.

I tossed my head back, feeling the sharp pain as I made contact with a head, eliciting a loud growl from the recipient.It wasn’t enough to knock him out, but it did piss him off to where he tightened his grip around my throat, making it harder to breathe.I brought my hands up and tried to pry his hands away, desperate for air.

Roman will be back any second.He’ll come save me.He’ll take me to get Rosie back.Then we’ll kick ass and take out everyone who’s ever tried to hurt my daughter.She’s only five years old...

But before Roman could get there, a hand reached up and covered my mouth with a towel.Everything turned black, and the voices around me faded.

Thirty-Six

Roman

My body felt like ithad been electrocuted repeatedly.I laid on the ground, feeling the rain pelt my face as I tried to find the strength to roll over and get up.

I knew better than to come outside unarmed but hadn’t expected to be ambushed when I went to turn on the generator.The storm was coming quickly, and Rob had warned me that we would likely lose power; unfortunately, I thought that we had more time than we did.

By the time I got outside to turn on the generator, the lights had already begun flickering in the house.I knew that it would only be a matter of minutes before we completely lost power and had asked Quinn to find the flashlights, candles, and matches that Rob had stored in the cabinet.

I looked around, checking for any signs of movement around me, though I knew they were already long gone.I heard them seconds before the first man approached me but wasn’t quick enough before the second tasered and knocked me to the ground.While I had imagined they wanted to shoot me, I knew they didn’t want to alert Quinn to their presence with gunfire.They needed the element of surprise on their side.

My body felt shaky as I forced myself to a sitting position.The rain was coming down even harder, making it impossible to see anything around me.With what little strength I had left, I pushed myself up and hustled back to the cabin.I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but I hoped I wasn’t too late.

I rounded the corner and found the front door open and tire tracks in front of the door.I scanned the area, noticing another set that appeared bigger than the first.Knowing that they were already gone, I went inside and geared up to go find the two people who now meant more to me than anything in the world.

Once I was in dry clothes, I put on an armored vest and loaded it with extra mags, a flashlight, and a knife before holstering a 9mm to my thigh in addition to the AR15 slung across my back.Out of all of the things that I was thankful for with Rob, it wasn’t the safe house that he had offered us but the gear that would allow me to do what I needed to do to get them back.

I had no idea where I would start looking for Quinn and Rosie, but I knew that I couldn’t afford to waste another second.Time was of the essence right now, and their lives depended on me finding them before it was too late.

I walked down the road, following the tire tracks until I reached a spot where I had cell service.I knew that it would be a while before I could touch base with anyone, so I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text message to Trevor, letting him know that I would be taking an indefinite amount of time off from work.

A few minutes later, I heard my phone ding and checked it.

Trevor: Not a problem.Is everything okay?

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