Protecting Tessa (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Brotherhood Alliance #6)

Chapter 36

36

T essa’s head throbbed. She blinked, but her vision remained blurred. Bile slithered up her gut as she realized the darkness wasn’t her vision failing—there was a bag over her head.

Her breath came in tortured huffs, each inhale pulling rough, scratchy fabric against her skin. The musty smell mingled with the faint, sour tang of her own sweat. She tested the material with her tongue. Burlap.

Her mind scrambled for answers. Where the hell was she? And who took her?

The last thing she remembered was … the fundraiser. Ford whispering in her ear. The event filled with laughter and the clinking of glasses. Then a dimly lit hall. Simone! Her laughing face appeared in Tessa’s mind. Oh God, was Simone here too?

“Simone,” she whispered. She swallowed hard and tried again. “Simone?”

Silence. No answer.

Was Simone all right? Was she even here?

Her pulse quickened as she tried to move her arms. Panic set in when she realized they were tied behind her back, the rope biting into her skin, scraping her wrists raw. She couldn’t see. She couldn’t move, and Tessa started hyperventilating until she forced herself to calm down.

Breathe. Think.

She inhaled slowly and strained her ears to listen. It was quiet—eerily so. Where am I?

For sure, she was no longer at the event.

Tessa shivered. A cold damp chill seeped into her skin; mildew tickled her nose.

Oh God, Ford! He must be frantic looking for her.

Her heart started racing. She was certain she was in some kind of empty building. She heard no footsteps, no noise, no cars going by. Had she been abandoned? Damien must have found her, but how?

It felt like hours since she’d been tied to the chair, but it probably wasn’t.

The anticipation, Tessa decided, was much worse than the danger. She had no way to prepare herself.

She was alone with her spiraling thoughts.

She might have dozed off for a second when the sound of heavy boots echoed nearby, jolting her awake. Tessa froze.

A door creaked as it opened, allowing dim light to permeate the bag. Tessa swallowed her scream. Who was there? Were they going to kill her? Torture her?

There was a low murmur of voices as they approached. Tessa forced herself to stay still, even though her pulse roared in her ears. The footsteps stopped in front of her.

“Well, well, well,” a familiar voice said, sending a cold chill down her spine. “Looks like our wayward bitch is awake.”

Tessa’s heart plummeted. The sudden chill in her body had nothing to do with the temperature in the room.

She knew that voice. And she knew nothing good was about to happen.