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Everyone looked to Rafe for confirmation of these orders he hadn’t given them.
He gave a quick nod, and the team jumped to action. Even though Tripp was second-in-command and Rafe was above him, the fact that his friend took that order without ruffled feathers told Tripp just how deep Rafe’s understanding ran. He too would kill for the woman he loved.
He raked his fingers through his hair. There must be more to do. A task to perform. But goddamn if he could think straight or see straight.
The woman he was falling in love with—hell, he alreadywasin love with—was missing.
Alexia wasn’t one ofthosewomen. The ones who got caught up in fantasies. As a kid, she didn’t dream about marriage or whether or not to name a son junior.
She was practical. Some people called her cold. Heck, Bryson had called her cold, though when he said it in that deep, joking tone, it had the opposite effect on her body, heating her.
So being on cloud nine as she walked out of the grocery store wasn’t something she was used to. Yet after that crazy-hot kiss, she practically floated across the parking lot to the Humvee.
Bryson would call her. She was already looking forward to the banter they’d surely share.
They’d see each other too. Besides the freezes, travel wasn’t so difficult that they couldn’t make it work. Being away from him would just leave her feeling a little lost, especially when they’d just spent the past few days making up any old excuse to stay another night together.
She reached the vehicle and unlocked it. Sliding behind the wheel, she looked toward the entrance of the store again, hoping to see Bryson one last time before she drove away. Only a couple older ladies walked out pushing their shopping carts full of their purchases.
The sound of the engine starting gave her another rush of happiness because during the night they’d slept—or not slept—in the SUV, Bryson had turned on the engine several times to let heat blast through the vents. Not that they needed much extra heat when their bodies created plenty together.
Calm down, Alexia. You’re smitten and on your way to obsessed with the man. Which would only put a bigger, cockier smile on his handsome face.
She pressed her cold fingers to her cheeks to calm herself. After what she’d learned about the melting, she needed to remain calm and focused for her drive.
Out of nowhere, something struck her in the back of the head. Her neck rocked forward and any cry she might make was cut off when hard fingers clamped over her mouth.
Black spots flashed in her vision, and she felt her body starting to slump.
When her vision opened on a tunnel of blackness, she looked downward toward a sliver of light coming in. She saw a wood plank floor and a pair of combat boots.
The golden splinter of light was too warm for the pain shooting through her skull, her shoulders and, oh god, her hands.
Forcing her head back took so much effort, but she brought her scope of vision off the floor to a set of calves wrapped in camouflage.
“You’re awake. Your breathing changed.”
The unfamiliar voice made her jump, which yanked at her arms. Now she understood why they hurt so much—they were bound together.
She was seated in a chair…but where? Her slow mind backtracked enough for her to recall being behind the wheel of the Humvee. After that, nothing.
Where was she? Who was with her?
“Hi, Alexia.”
A muffled scream tried to escape her lips, but hard knuckles slammed into her cheek, silencing any noise she’d make.
Panting through the explosion of pain, she tried to force her mind back to reality. Back to the beginning of what happened.
She got in her vehicle and…
Nothing.
Now, plank floors and a violent man in camo that knew her by name.
“Who are you?” Her voice came out weak and wobbly. She blinked to rearrange the scattered dots dancing across her vision even in the darkness of something across her eyes.
“No one of your concern.”
