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He punched her in the stomach. Fiery heat bellowed from her belly, stealing her breath. Her eyes watered. She collapsed onto the cold metal floor. Eli hollered but got a boot in his own stomach for the trouble.
Luis’s laugh cut through their wheezing. “You two are pathetic.” He glanced behind him at the man standing in the doorway. His brother, Tony. “Keep an eye on them. Once we get word from the boss, we’ll finish this once and for all.”
Tony scratched at his crooked nose. His chubby cheeks and soft chin gave him a youthful appearance, but his eyes were just as mean as his brother’s. “I don’t understand why we don’t kill them now.”
“The boss wants to question them. We need to know how much the police have figured out before the shipment is ready. Otherwise everything goes south.” Luis grinned, like a cat that ate the canary. “I doubt they’ll talk willingly, so we’ll have to convince them.”
Sienna was going to throw up. The Greer brothers were talking about torturing them as if they were deciding where to go on vacation. She didn’t understand everything that was going on, but two things were obvious. First, the Greer brothers were taking orders from someone. And second, they needed to get off this boat before the boss arrived, whoever he was.
It was a desperate situation, and she wasn’t sure how they could manage it. Please God, we need Your help.
Luis punched his brother in the shoulder. “Don’t get distracted. These two aren’t like that other chick. They’ll cause trouble if you don’t keep watch.”
Other chick? Ruby? Sienna sucked in a breath. “Where’s Ruby?”
Tony scowled. “She ain’t here, so stop bellowing before I cut your tongue out.” He turned back to his brother. “Go. I’ve got this.”
Luis nodded and then left, closing the door behind him but not locking it. Eli struggled into a sitting position with Sienna’s help. Up close, his wounds looked even worse, and judging from the pain creasing his features, the beating extended beyond his face.
He sagged against the wall. His gaze swept over her. “You hurt?”
“No.” Her heart clenched. Eli was in this mess because of her. He’d come back to Sandalwood to bail her out of trouble and then refused to leave even when things became increasingly dangerous. He was a fighter. This was the man she’d fallen in love with all those years ago. The one she’d thought would never leave her. How had things between them gone so wrong?
They were both to blame. Yes, Eli had walked away from their relationship, but she’d intervened against his wishes. Sienna should’ve fought harder to get him to listen to her. Instead, she’d insisted on doing it her way. Eli hadn’t been wrong about that.
Despite all of their mistakes, the love was still there. The truth of that was inescapable, and Sienna wanted a second chance with him. It was a risk, yes, but she didn’t live her life in half-measures. And Eli was worth it. If they got out of this, she intended to tell him as much.
No, not if. When.
Sienna leaned closer to Eli so Tony wouldn’t overhear their conversation. “How badly are you hurt?”
Eli glared at the pacing man on the other side of the room. “I can take him.” His voice was hushed but loaded with rage. And determination.
Good. They would need both.
Sienna tore her gaze away from Eli and focused on Tony. The criminal held a gun in one hand and a cell phone in the other. He leaned his bulky weight against the small table. He tapped the cell phone screen with a pudgy thumb. Then his face screwed up with annoyance. Of the two Greer brothers, Tony was the weaker link. He was the muscle of the operation and not the brains. They simply needed an opening.
Sienna tried to maneuver her hands out of the zip ties, but they were too tight. She winced as the edge of the binds cut her skin. Blood seeped from the wound. It dripped off her fingers. No good. Change of plan. She felt along the wall for any rough edge to cut the tie off with, but that was a dead end too.
Tony lifted his phone toward the ceiling and huffed. His annoyance was growing. No signal? Impatience could work in their favor.
Sienna leaned against Eli. “Make yourself look weak. Sag against me.”
He shot her a questioning look but did as she said. The weight of his body against hers was comforting. Sienna did her best to look weak and tired as well. It didn’t take much effort. The drugs were still looping in her system, and now that the adrenaline was wearing off, sleep was beckoning.
With every passing moment, Tony grew more restless. He attempted to get a signal from various points in the room, but nothing worked. Finally, he glanced in their direction, debated something in his head for a long moment, and then snarled. “I’m stepping out for a moment, but I’m locking you inside here. You make so much as a peep, and I shoot you the minute I come back.”
Internally, Sienna was doing a happy dance, but she didn’t allow a flicker of that emotion to leech onto her face. Instead, she stifled a sob as if terrified. “Please let us go.”
“Oh, shut up.” Tony marched to the door. Without another word, he slipped out, the bolt driving home behind him. His footsteps pounded against the metal floor as he moved away from the room, presumably to a place with better Wi-Fi.
Eli shook his head. “Unbelievable. How did you know he’d leave us in here?”
“Watching prisoners gets boring.” Sienna struggled to her feet. “He’s probably downloading a show on his phone right now. We have to hurry.”
She bent over slightly at the waist and raised her bound arms higher behind her back before bringing them down sharply against her rear end. The zip ties didn’t break. Her heart rate increased as she attempted the move again.
This time, the ties snapped. Sienna turned toward Eli with a triumphant grin. “Those YouTube videos I watched came in handy after all.”
