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Butterflies rioted his insides as her gaze dropped to his lips. He froze, barely breathing for fear of breaking the spell. He’d never wanted to kiss anyone so much before. But the choice had to be hers. She’d asked to put their relationship on ice until the case was over. Eli would abide by that commitment, especially since he’d been the one to foolishly walk away.
Inch by inch, Sienna drew closer. Kissing her wouldn’t be smart. His heart was already too far gone as it was, but he wouldn’t deny her. He couldn’t. She was his weakness. Always had been.
Tires squealed.
The sound burst the intimate bubble surrounding them. Eli’s head jerked up. A white van spun into the parking lot, the side door already open. It sped straight for them. In half a heartbeat, it screeched to a stop as three men in ski masks burst out of the vehicle.
Eli shoved Sienna behind him as something whizzed through the air. White-hot agony exploded inside him as every muscle in his body tensed all at once. The feeling was familiar. He’d experienced it once in a law enforcement training class. A Taser. Although this was far stronger than anything legally on the market. It felt like his heart was about to explode.
Sienna screamed, the sound far away, as he hit the ground. In his head, he was yelling at her to run, but the words refused to come. Her form was a blur as two men hauled her into the van. Eli tried to will his body to move, but another jolt of electricity sent him crashing back down to the pavement. He couldn’t breathe.
The main door to Fresh Start opened. Dalton burst out. His baby brother, fiercely running to the rescue, with nothing but a baseball bat and foolhearted bravery.
Rough hands grabbed Eli. His wrists were quickly bound. Something heavy enveloped his head. A hood. It covered his eyes and made it hard to breathe. He sucked in desperate air, claustrophobia immediately taking hold, but only got a mouthful of fabric. His knee slammed into the edge of the van and then he was lifted inside, shoved toward the back. The door slammed shut.
In the next second, they were moving. The tires squealed again as the van flew out of the parking lot. Eli’s body rolled, slamming into something soft that smelled like apples and sunshine. Sienna. His fingers found hers for the briefest moment as the true nature of their situation sank into him.
They’d been kidnapped.
And were likely being driven to their deaths.
EIGHTEEN
Sienna groaned.
Chills overtook her form, and a drum pounded inside her head in conjunction with her heartbeat. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton. A slight rocking threatened to lull her back into the darkness, but some buried instinct inside her fought against it. She peeled her eyes open. Her vision was blurry, and it took several tries to focus.
A metal floor. She was lying on a hard icy-cold floor. Her hands were bound behind her back.
With a gasp, she sat up as the memory of the attack in the parking lot slammed into her, along with a wave of sudden fear. Nausea rolled her stomach. Bile burned the back of her throat and her vision blurred again. Sienna slammed her eyes shut to regain her equilibrium. She’d been drugged. After the masked men grabbed her and threw her into the van, they’d injected her with something.
Slowly. She needed to take things slowly.
Once her stomach settled, Sienna opened her eyes again. The scent of saltwater, fish, and gasoline filled her nose. The room was small with a metal floor and metal walls. A ship? Some kind of commercial vessel, bigger than Albert’s, but still used for fishing. She was in a cabin. A bed, a small table, and a chair were bolted to the floor.
Where was Eli? The last thing she remembered was seeing him hit the ground after he’d been Tasered. Had the masked men kidnapped him too? Or only her? Fear gripped her insides as she envisioned Eli shot and killed after being incapacitated. Her heart raced as dizziness swept over her. Tears pricked her eyes.
No. It took everything inside Sienna to wrestle her runaway emotions back under control. She couldn’t envision the worst. Survival meant keeping her mind focused on the most immediate problem. Right now, that was getting free of these binds and finding a way out of this room.
She twisted her hands, letting her fingers trace the restraints encircling her wrists. Zip ties. Breaking them, even with her wrists bound behind her back was possible, but she needed to stand.
Using the wall as leverage, Sienna struggled to a standing position. Her head swam as the drugs coursing through her system continued to wreak havoc on her senses. Black dots danced at the edges of her vision. She planted her gaze on a notch in the floor and focused on breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth until the dizziness faded.
A lock snicked and the door to the cabin flew open. Eli’s familiar form appeared. Relief surged inside Sienna, but it was short-lived. His face was bruised and bloody, as if he’d been beaten.
Eli flew inside the cabin, knocked off his feet by a force from behind. He slammed into the unyielding metal floor with a bone-jarring sound that instinctively caused Sienna to wince. She dropped to her knees beside him. “Eli!”
“I’m okay, babe.” He struggled to sit up, but it was difficult to do with his hands tied behind his back.
A shadow fell over them.
Sienna’s heart raced as her gaze lifted to their captor. The man had a bulky build with a square face and bushy brows over beady eyes. His sneer sent ice through her veins even as recognition zipped through her. Luis Greer. Albert’s cousin.
“Have you lost your mind?” The words came out piping hot as fury at their kidnapping and Eli’s beating replaced the fear. And her better common sense. Sienna helped Eli into a seated position. “He’s a Texas Ranger. Every law enforcement agency in the state will hunt you down if you don’t let us go.”
Luis’s sneer only widened. “You think I care? I’ve already got the Houston Police Department on my tail. The cops don’t scare me.” He stepped forward and grabbed her arm, yanking her into a standing position. The hatred pouring from him was palpable. “You killed my cousin.”
She met his heated gaze, refusing to let him see the terror streaking through him. “No, I didn’t. Albert was murdered by someone else before I got there.”
