Page 55 of Fighting His Fate
Brett looked back to the glowing lights of the cabin. “No. I’m going to turn in.”
“Thought you might.” Mac chuckled. “You’ve got this, Champ.”
Was Mac right? Was it as simple as deciding to let Grace in? He’d gotten the distinct impression she wanted out of here, and fast. But what the hell had changed between the time they made love and the time he got out of the bath?
Nothing.
Nothing at all.
He headed for the cabin. She was different than any woman he’d known. Special. Feisty and cranky and sweet and precious, all rolled into one. He just needed her to give him a chance, to prove to her he was better than the side of him she’d seen to date, living right next door.
Feeling hopeful, he reached for the door. It was a crack open, and he pushed it open all the way. Confusion paralyzed him as he took in the empty room. There was no sign of Grace, no sign of his sons.
A single piece of paper lay on the dresser, thick black handwriting filling the entire sheet. BRING ME BACK MY ROCK.
He turned to the doorjamb with fresh eyes. The lock had been kicked in, the metal plate where it should have latched bent and broken, just like the doorjamb of Fleming’s office at Lamont Scientific.
Panic screeched to life inside him, every nerve ending instantly on alert. “Mac!” he screamed, running for the main house at full speed. “Mac! Trace! Razorback! They’re gone!”
30
Grace writhed against her bindings,the rope cutting off feeling to her right hand. She was in a small white room with fluorescent lights and a tall white cabinet, her ankles and wrists lashed to a metal chair.
She’d been lounging in bed feeding Theo when the door came crashing in, the thought of Brett’s gun crossing her mind in the moment before she was hauled out of bed by a muscled white man in a T-shirt and ski mask.
Theo’s shrieks had been instantaneous, her fear for the babies worse than her fear for her own life. “Let me go!” she’d screamed, fighting against the man with futile motions and kicks, the scent of cigarettes and noxious cologne overwhelming her sense of smell. She’d been injected with something that made her black out, awakening in this room, tied to this chair.
What had happened to Toby and Theo? Were they even alive? It was her responsibility to care for them, but she’d been violently ripped from their side. She had no idea where she was, no idea who was holding her, no idea what would happen now.
A prayer circled through her mind like a mantra.
God, please let them be okay.
She tugged at her arm, the force of her movements threatening to pop her shoulder out of joint. She looked around the room, her eyes combing the walls and floor for something—anything—that could help her escape.
There was nothing.
She tried to scream, the duct tape that covered her mouth preventing any real sound from escaping. How long had she been here? Time was fluid and unknown, moments or hours, she had no idea how much time had passed.
Brett.
Did he even know she was gone? When it got to be four in the morning and he still hadn’t returned from his trip to Lamont Scientific, she was starting to get concerned. It was unnerving to think of HERO Force breaking in, hoping not to get caught. They were walking straight into the dragon’s mouth, and she had feared for their safety when she should have feared for her own.
Fleming had found them. She didn’t know how, but he had. Suddenly, she thought she heard the distant cry of a baby, and her ears strained to hear. But instead of a baby’s wails, she heard the thud of footsteps coming her way.
She held her breath as the door opened, a tall, red-haired man in a suit and tie stepping into the room, his disturbing scent all too familiar. It was the man from the hospital lounge who had taken her from the cabin. Fleming. He leaned forward and pulled the tape from her mouth with one quick yank.
She winced but quickly righted her expression. “What, no baseball cap this time?”
He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. “I don’t need it anymore. I’m a fugitive, remember? Thanks to you and Champion, everything I’ve worked for is gone.”
“You did this to yourself.”
He backhanded her, stars exploding in her peripheral vision as her head snapped to the side. “Shut up,” he said, squatting in front of her. “You think you’re so smart. You don’t have any idea who you’re dealing with.”
She sucked in her bottom lip, tasting blood. Making him angry was bound to make things worse for her. She needed to find a way out, a way past this man. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Good girl.”
