She opened her mouth to scream, when a filthy hand was slammed across her lips. She automatically gagged from the vile taste of the disgusting fingers on her. She had to fight to not throw-up. She began shaking uncontrollably as she realized the hopeless situation she was in.
Chad was probably dead. She was being kidnapped to be taken, who knows where, and she may never get to see her family again. What a fool she’d been thinking she was invincible. She should’ve listened to her father.
Bree refused to give the men the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She glared at each one of them as the vehicle quickly sped down the road. Each mile they traveled, she knew the chances of rescue became increasingly more difficult.
One of the men gripped her hair and yanked her head back, a leering smile on his face.
“I’d love to have a little taste of you,” he said, his eyes filled with lust. She shuddered, realizing there were worse things than death.
“Pete, knock it off. You know the orders,” another guy growled. Pete looked at her with frustration. She had a feeling if it were just the two of them, she’d be in a much worse situation than she already was.
Pete leaned closer and inhaled the scent of her hair. She pulled her head back as much as she could, with his hand still gripping her hair, and spit in his face. She’d rather he punched her than lay his lips anywhere near her. His eyes widened in rage and she thought she may have just run out of time.
“Enough,” another man shouted. She felt another hand press over her mouth, but this one was holding a cloth. Suddenly the world started turning black and her last thought, before passing out, was how she hoped Chad made it out alive.
Chapter Six
Chad struggled to his feet. His shoulder was on fire, but it looked like the shot had gone right through. He quickly cleared his mind and refocused, knowing he had to get to Bree. His wound was forgotten as he did a search of the parking lot.
He turned in time to see a couple of burly men haul her into a large black van and tear down the street. He jumped into her car and threw the keys in the ignition, only to come up with nothing. He cranked the key, and again nothing.
Chad slammed his fist into the dashboard, causing a huge crack, and a curse to fall from his lips. The bastards had dismantled the engine. How could he have been so stupid? They’d walked right into a trap. He was trained to avoid these kind of situations. The lack of any activity over the past month had made him grow lax in his job – that and the fact he was falling for Bree.
He would find a way to get her back. He’d done this a million times over on missions. He briefly thought about hot-wiring the car next to him, but the kidnappers were long gone. He was better off calling for help.
Chad grabbed a sweater from her back seat and compressed his wound. He didn’t have time to pass out and he would if he lost too much blood. Next, he made a phone call to George Anderson. He wasn’t looking forward to the other man answering.
George picked up on the second ring, and was dead silent as Chad filled him in on the situation. He didn’t have time for long explanations – he had to locate Bree and ensure her safe return.
“I need a ride now. I have a plan,” Chad said with authority in his tone.
“You’ll have a ride in twenty minutes,” George said before disconnecting the line. Chad laid his head against the back of the seat and waited for his ride, frustration radiating from him.
“Sir, sir, are you okay?” A woman questioned as she slowly approached.
Chad turned his head and looked at her fear filled eyes. He didn’t have time to reassure the people who were starting to get shakily to their feet. He saw cell phones out and figured the police would be arriving shortly.
The idiots couldn’t open fire in a public place and not expect the police to respond. Chad sat up a little straighter, wondering where the law was. Why hadn’t they already arrived? A chill ran down his spine as he thought about the possibility that maybe Bree’s attacks went much deeper than just a single person stalking her. What if they had police help, or other people of power? He was going to get answers and he quickly narrowed his list of those he could trust.
When, not if, but when he got Bree back, he wasn’t letting her out of his sight until he knew exactly who was after her, and they were behind bars. She was vulnerable and he didn’t know how far the ring of outlaws extended.
“I’m fine, check on the other people,” Chad responded, dismissing the woman as harmless.
“But… you… you were shot,” she stuttered as if he didn’t know a bullet had passed through him. In actuality, he’d almost forgotten about the wound. He’d been hurt much worse in far more dangerous places, with many scars to prove it.
“I’m fine,” he snapped. He didn’t like being cold but he wanted her gone. He had a rescue to think about and didn’t feel like making small talk.
Her face blanched at his tone and she quickly ran away. Several heads turned his way, but no one else approached, taking the hint that he didn’t need, nor want help.
Twenty minutes later he wasn’t surprised to hear the sound of chopper blades as the Anderson Helicopter landed in a patch of grass a couple dozen yards from him. Mark jumped out and rushed to him.
“We’ve got a doctor on standby at my Dad’s place. Let’s get you fixed up so we can figure out where they’ve taken Bree and then bring her home,” Mark said, not taking any time for a reunion. Chad appreciated it – he didn’t need to make small talk.
By the time the chopper landed fifteen minutes later on the lawn behind the Anderson mansion, Chad was filled with unbelievable rage. The longer he thought about those idiots placing their hands on Bree, the more he felt the need to smash something.
The two men stepped inside the mansion and Chad rolled his eyes as he looked around the room. Her entire family was there, wearing varying expression, ranging from worry to anger to guilt. He knew how they felt. He was beating himself up inside – she never should’ve been captured.
“Sit down, Chad. We need to look at that arm,” Joseph said as he led him to a chair with a medical table set up next to it. An older gentleman immediately cut his shirt off and started poking at his arm, sending white hot fire down to the tips of his toes. The wound hadn’t bothered him until the damn man poured his so called medicine over it. Chad tuned the doctor out, ignored the pain and instead focused on George, who looked about ten year’s older right then.