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She washed up and took one last glance around the room. It was a truly tiny room, with no windows or anything to use as a weapon. Not that she even had any clue how many people she might have to overpower on her way out. Mrs. Kagan had said we several times, but Margo had to believe she had someone else on her side other than the two men who seemed more like hired muscle. But maybe not.
If she hadn’t been pregnant, she would’ve tried to make a break for it anyway. She had strong hands from years of playing violin, and she was quick and agile. Even with the bad odds of going up against two burly men, she would’ve tried it. But she couldn’t take that chance because of her baby.
And without her baby, she probably wouldn’t have made it this far. She would’ve gone out of her mind hours ago. Focusing on her child gave her something to put her attention on outside of herself.
The doorknob turned and she rushed out, wincing as the men gripped her arms on either side. She had a second to blink in the brighter hallway light before one of the guys lifted a piece of black fabric. She barely had time to make a sound before he was stuffing it in her mouth, nearly choking her. Swiftly, the other man wrapped another long length of material over her eyes.
Back in the darkness again.
She fought them reflexively, but it did no good. They neutralized her with what seemed like little effort and then wrapped more material around her wrists so that they were useless. They weren’t even breathing heavily from the exertion of subduing her.
She was well and truly fucked.
This was a nightmare. Worse than any frightening dream she’d ever had.
She was maneuvered up the hall again between them, barely able to take a step with how closely they were surrounding her. A door opened and warm air blew over her face, making her throat ache. Outside. It seemed as if it had been a lifetime since she’d seen the sun or felt its warmth on her skin.
Then another door was being hauled open. This one sounded like maybe a door on a vehicle. An older van perhaps?
She didn’t have more than a few seconds to consider it before she was being pushed into the vehicle. She made noises against the gag, but what was the point? Even a shout barely registered.
“You better not keep yelling your fool head off, lady. I’ll take off the gag if you promise to shut the hell up.”
She nodded as fast as she could. Blessedly, they removed the fabric from her mouth, but she had no time to speak.
The door slammed behind her, and now even the fleeting warmth from the wind was gone.
Why hadn’t she tried to make a fuss when she was outside? Not that she could do much, but if she’d screamed—even with the gag in place—maybe someone could’ve heard her. Though she had a feeling where she’d been held was an isolated place. Mrs. Kagan wasn’t a fool. Margo knew that instinctively. If she had been, Donovan and his men and Simon would’ve found her already.
And now they wouldn’t be able to, because she was being moved like a slab of beef.
The vehicle rumbled into motion and Margo tried to shift herself into a less uncomfortable position. She was sort of draped over the seat, and without use of her hands, couldn’t right herself. Eventually, she managed to buck and inch over until she was kind of on her side. Her hip was killing her.
They couldn’t be traveling far. Not if they hadn’t even bothered to help her sit on the damn seat. But Mrs. Kagan had mentioned a long trip, hadn’t she?
God, she was so tired.
The men up front didn’t speak. It felt as if they were driving forever. Were they even still in California? She had no clue how far they’d traveled before she’d come to in shackles, and now they were on the road once more.
Maybe she’d never see Simon or her family or her band ever again.
Maybe this was it.
And maybe she needed to stop thinking ahead and just deal with the present moment before she went insane.
She adjusted her jaw and tried to bring her wrists up so they weren’t at such a weird angle beneath her. There, that was better.
Small victories.
After a while, the rolling motion of the vehicle lulled her into sleep, even with the awkward position. When she awoke, the van was rolling to a stop. She tried to lift her head but pain streaked through her neck from her position. The van door slid open and rough hands grabbed at her, making her cry out as they dragged her across the seat. One of the guys ripped at her blindfold and she gasped as the world around her came into focus. She was on the side of the road.
Cars rushing by. Horns. Life.
Just as suddenly as they’d ripped off her blindfold, they tore at the material around her wrists. Then without a word, they rounded the hood of the idling van parked beside them and sped off, leaving her on the side of the road.
She watched the taillights disappear in the distance, tears blurring her vision. Was this just another dream or was she really finally free?
She started to cough, the dusty air bothering her lungs. That and the lack of any liquid in forever. Her gaze swung left to right and somehow she instantly knew she wasn’t in California. She’d traveled a lot with the band and the symphony, although most of that had been in the back of a tour bus or in a plane where she couldn’t see much. But that was a fucking cactus a few feet ahead of her on the side of the road.
