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Which meant Sam needed to get out of this place. He needed to get back to his mate.
He was in a large white room with no windows. There was a tiled floor, and the only thing in the room was the white chaise, one of those camera lights—he was almost sure it was called a studio light—which hurt his eyes because it was too bright, and the camcorder itself. Well, there was also a tapestry behind him depicting a beautiful beach. Sam wasn’t sure if that was for aesthetic reasons or to throw anyone off his location. The only reason he could see it was because of the way he was lying down.
If he was to figure a way out of this mess, Sam needed to do more than just lie there. If Jesse had been sent a link, Sam had no doubt his mate had his coworkers on this, and maybe one of them was trying to track his location at this very moment.
But Sam couldn’t hinge his freedom on that hope. He had to be proactive. Maybe if he caused a fuss, one of his captors would come into the room. They might be smart enough not to show themselves in front of the camcorder, but maybe they would speak, which might give Jesse and his men a clue.
It wasn’t much to go on, but that was all Sam could think to do. Maybe if he hadn’t been sheltered his entire life, he would have more knowledge on how to escape bad guys. How? Did everyday people possess knowledge to get out of this kind of predicament? Sam doubted it. Although he was trying hard not to show it, he was terrified, and his thoughts were everywhere.
He pushed off the chaise and walked past the camcorder. That was when he saw the door behind the tripod. He heard footsteps growing closer. Sam backed up, his hand outstretched, and then keys jingled. As soon as the door swung open, Sam twisted the camcorder around, angling it at the guy’s face. Luck was on his side because the man wasn’t wearing a mask.
It was only for a brief second, and Sam hoped that was enough, before the guy jerked the camcorder back around with a violent curse. Sam didn’t waste any time. He ducked down past the guy and shot toward the door, then he emerged into a hallway. Sam didn’t bother looking left or right, he simply ran.
Then he was tackled. Even though he didn’t have any powers, he still had inhuman strength. But too late he realized that the other man did, too. He wasn’t human and pinned Sam with no effort. Sam smelled shifter on the man, though he couldn’t identify which species of shifter.
“The clock gave the buyers six hours,” he said roughly into Sam’s ear. “You just cut that in half with your stunt.”
Sam prayed Jesse found him in time, or he was in in deeper trouble than he already was.
* * * *
Although he was told not to watch, there was no way Jesse could rip his eyes away. He’d looked over every inch of the live video, trying to find something that would give him a clue as to where Sam was being held. He knew the beach behind his mate was nothing more than a picture, not a true location, and the only other thing to go on was the white chaise.
Frustration mounted inside of him. Fletch was still working tirelessly to trace the signal, even though it was still bouncing everywhere.
“You should take a break,” Graham said as he handed Jesse a cup of coffee. “Fletch has this. You’ll be the first to know if he finds anything.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Because watching the video was only torturing him. He kept seeing those unshed tears in Sam’s eyes, and it gutted him to know there was nothing he could do, no way to comfort his mate when Sam needed him the most. Over the course of just a few days, Jesse had gone from being irritated and hurt by what the demon had said about him to falling in love with the guy.
How could he not? Sam fought so hard for his independence, to be his own man and not rely on his father, yet Jesse had seen Sam’s vulnerability. Had seen the doubt and uncertainty in his dark eyes, saw the fear when he’d accidently revealed that he’d been born with no powers.
No person, human or not, wanted their weaknesses exposed. That made them a target for those who wanted to prey on them. Being nonhuman made that ten times worse. In their world, their strength, their abilities—whatever they were—kept them safe and alive and made their enemies think twice before attacking.
There was nothing worse than feeling helpless, of someone else having power over you, enough power to destroy you. Sam had lived with that fear his entire life, and all Jesse wanted to do was protect him. That was hardwired into him, but he knew that feeling all too well.
He’d been taught from the cradle to protect his sister, yet he’d failed. Enemies had come for him, and when they couldn’t find Jesse, they’d gone after his parents and sister. Slaughtered them. Jesse still recalled the day he’d been told that his family was dead.
An ache burned in his chest at the memory. Not too long after that, he’d become a mercenary, shutting his emotions down, determined to rid the world of heinous men and women who preyed on the weak. A few years after that, Ian had approached him.
For too long Jesse had locked his emotions away, refusing to care about anyone for fear of losing them. It wasn’t until Sam that the careful construction around Jesse’s heart had shattered. Sam made him feel again, and Jesse wasn’t so sure that was a good thing considering where his mate was right now.
Emotions were messy, hurtful, confusing, and left you exposed and weak. Now that Jesse was flooded with them, he’d lost his careful control. He wasn’t focused, wasn’t thinking rationally—the hole in the wall was testament to that—and wanted to maim and kill, all because a slip of a man had infiltrated his heart.
Graham was right. Jesse needed to take a step back and try to clear his head. He was too close to this and wasn’t doing Sam any good by obsessing over that fucking video. He needed to let Fletch do his thing without hovering over the man’s shoulder.
“Wait!”
Jesse spun around at Fletch’s shout. “What?”
Fletch clicked a few buttons, and Jesse watched as Sam climbed off the couch and disappeared out of frame. A moment later, keys could be heard, then the camcorder swung around, capturing someone’s face before the recorder was put back in its previous position.
“Holy shit,” Knox said. “Sam just showed us one of his kidnappers.”
Jesse’s heart was thumping so hard that the racing pulse made his head hurt. “Tell me that helps us.”
Fletch looked more determined than ever. “Putting that ugly mug through facial recognition.”
If Sam were standing next to him, Jesse would have kissed the hell out of him for such a smart move.
