Chapter 8
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LUCIANA CRIED OUT IN her sleep, twisting in her sheets in the midst of another nightmare.
Images of the nightclub flashed through her mind, of stumbling into the back room with her handler.
The other men had drugged the woman in the red dress, eventually carrying her, unconscious, out the back door.
Luciana had been quickly escorted to the vehicle right behind them, a witness to the horror unfolding before her eyes.
Gasping, she awoke, her heart racing and adrenaline coursing through her. She blinked, staring in surprise into the darkness of her bedroom. She wasn’t back at the club. She was in her captor’s home—just another version of her own personal hell.
Was the incident at the nightclub really only one night ago?
As her heartbeat finally slowed, she wondered why she’d awoken now. It wasn’t unusual for her sleep to be fraught with one nightmare after another.
Her mind wandered once more, replaying the previous evening’s events.
They’d fled in the vehicle they’d arrived in, leaving the pulsing music and flashing disco lights of the club behind.
Luciana had sat uncomfortably in the back of the SUV in her skimpy dress and heels, feeling sick to her stomach.
The men had laughed as they’d groped at the unconscious woman.
Luciana had looked away, staring out the window, and the lights of the city had blurred through her tears.
Eventually, they’d arrived back at the large property where she was prisoner, Luciana shutting away all the evil she’d witnessed into the furthest recesses of her mind.
She’d been stripped in her bedroom, and as she cried, fearing she’d finally be raped, one of the men in charge had yelled to leave her alone. The older woman had eventually come for her clothes and shoes, and Luciana had spent the past twenty-four hours once again locked in the room.
Despite the fact that it was the middle of the night, she was wide awake now.
She had no idea what time it was but didn’t think she’d be able to settle back into sleep, not when she knew one horrible memory after another would churn through her head.
She was agitated. Stressed and anxious. Even sleep didn’t provide comfort, because her mind wouldn’t let her relax enough to escape the reality that she’d found herself in.
Her mind drifted back to the nightclub. When she’d been on the dance floor, she’d sworn she’d seen a man who worked for her father. Years had passed, and he was older now, but she was certain it was him.
What was he doing away from Colombia, in a random nightclub in the middle of Panama City?
A rustling outside had her looking toward the window in the darkness.
Panic suddenly shot through her, and Luciana sat up in bed, her heart racing once more.
She sensed movement. She couldn’t explain how she knew, but she did.
Something was about to happen. There was an electric current in the air—a threat that hadn’t been there before.
Danger.
Suddenly it was too quiet. Too still.
Her skin prickled with awareness as there was another low thump outside the home. She blinked in the darkness, straining to listen. The property was heavily guarded. It wasn’t like anyone could just waltz up to the front door and knock.
A sudden explosion had her screaming in surprise.
All at once, it felt like everything was happening. There were shouts. Gunshots. More thumps and sounds of the home being breached. Fresh horror washed over her as she realized it wasn’t simply another nightmare. The home was under attack.
Luciana heard the thumping of footsteps as several people ran down the hall.
Was another cartel here, battling for what they deemed was theirs? The men holding her hostage no doubt had enemies. They’d kidnapped multiple women in a matter of days. Had the police come?
Inexplicably, Avery’s face suddenly flashed through her mind.
She was probably still here in Panama, too, enduring horrors of her own.
Luciana gulped. Unless she’d been killed.
Grief suddenly flooded through her as she thought of their time together as roommates.
They’d laugh and talk in their few precious moments of spare time.
They’d worked hard day in and day out to treat patients stemming through the Darien Gap, but they’d had lighthearted moments as well.
They’d bonded like true friends. An image of Avery’s American boyfriend suddenly sprang into her mind.
He was a military man. She’d teased Avery as she’d looked at his photograph once.
Her friend was head-over-heels for her guy, and Luciana was sad for them, knowing they’d never be together now.
Luciana would never trust a man with her heart, but she sensed that Avery’s man was one of the good ones. Her life had been so different than her friend’s, and it was somewhat surprising their paths had crossed.
The sounds of fighting grew louder, jolting Luciana back into the present.
She clutched the sheet to her body, her eyes scanning the bedroom in darkness.
There was only a thin strip of moonlight coming in through the window, between the frame and the shade.
She was too scared to go look outside and see what has happening.
She let out a small cry as she heard more gunshots. There was nothing in here to fight with if someone came for her. Nowhere to hide. Nowhere to run.
A stray tear slipped down her cheek.
Was this the end? If another cartel kidnapped her from this home, Luciana knew she’d never survive it.
She’d been fortunate to have been spared many horrors here.
While she was older than the teenagers and young women the cartel favored, she didn’t think they’d have any qualms about abusing her.
And yet she’d been spared for whatever unknown reason.
A sudden crash had her jolting in bed, and there were clattering sounds in the hallway, like something had fallen over.
She’d barely been outside the confines of her room and couldn’t fathom what exactly was occurring.
There were shouts and more gunshots, and Luciana screamed in fright as someone burst into her room.
The large man filled the doorway with his broad shoulders and big frame, the light from behind him making his dark silhouette stand out.
He was in full tactical gear, wearing night vision goggles, his rifle sweeping the room as he scanned for any threats. Realizing she was alone, he reached for the light switch, and she shielded her eyes from the sudden brightness.
He flipped his night vision goggles up and moved into the bedroom as she squinted at him, her heart racing.
This man was either her savior or the devil in disguise.
Fear suddenly shot through her, fresh and intense, and she began to shake.
There were still the sounds of more fighting going on in the background, but a strange sense of calmness fell over her, despite her fear.
The man was saying something, but in her panic, she didn’t even hear the words, just stumbled as she tried to climb out of bed.
“I got you,” he murmured, his voice husky and low as his gloved hands lightly caught her arms, and he eased her back to a sitting position on the edge of the bed.
Luciana trembled, wrapped in a sheet, adrenaline and fear coursing through her bloodstream.
When the soldier had moved from the doorway, she’d seen one of her captors dead in the hallway, lying on the ground.
She couldn’t bring herself to feel even an ounce of remorse for him.
Luciana was a nurse, someone whose duty was to care for others and save lives, but she didn’t feel a damn thing about the evil man now bleeding out on the ground.
“Quién eres?” she asked in Spanish.
The man before her didn’t answer.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Special Forces,” he grunted. “American.”
Si, she’d realized that. He’d spoken to her in English before.
More men entered the room, dressed in camo and carrying weapons just like her savior.
Belatedly, she noticed the American flag patch on his uniform.
She’d been so shocked, she’d missed the simplest details.
One of the men paused in the doorway, his gaze landing on her, and she nearly did a double-take.
She’d seen photos of her roommate Avery’s boyfriend, but this couldn’t be him, could it?
He was speaking quietly into a mic but nodded at her.
Her jaw dropped, and she blinked, suddenly feeling dazed. She had to be dreaming. No U.S. military team would storm in here in the dead of night just to rescue her, would they? And certainly not her roommate’s boyfriend. That was impossible.
The man at her side still hadn’t moved, but now that his men were hustling into her bedroom, he crouched down to examine her.
He was slightly older than the others who’d just appeared.
Physically fit. Tall. Masculine. Inexplicably, he smelled somewhat of the ocean, mixed in with the scent of pine.
She should be absolutely terrified that these men had appeared, but for the first time in a month, she simply felt. ..safe.
It made no sense. She didn’t know for certain that she could trust them, yet instinctively, she knew they wouldn’t harm her.
“Are you hurt?” the man asked gruffly, looking like he wanted to reach out and touch her but refraining. The man was clearly angry with her captors, judging from the way he’d stormed in here and taken them out, but his gaze on her was...gentle. Assessing. Worried.
She shook her head, still in a bit of shock. A group of soldiers were conferring at the door, seemingly trying to decide the best way to move out. The gunfire had stopped for the moment, but they still held their weapons at the ready.
“Is that Avery’s Ryan?” Luciana choked out.