“Chew.”
Following the command, she chewed slowly as her eyes remained locked with his. But rather than swallow it down, like a dutiful hostage, Evie waited until he came closer as if to prepare to offer another bite and then?—
She spit it all right into his face.
Probably not the most brilliant move, pissing off a man who could snap her like a twig. But she’d already lost her freedom,and unless another miracle happened and she somehow managed to escape, the only thing Evie had left was her dignity.
I’ll be damned if this man—or anyone else, for that matter—takes that away from me, too.
Fury filled the muscled bastard’s deadly gaze as he slowly wiped a palm across his soiled face. Less than a second later, that same hand flew toward her so fast that Evie didn’t have time to even try to avoid the blow.
The back of his hand slammed against her left cheek. She cried out, a blast of pain radiating from the point of impact as dozens of tiny black dots filled her watery vision.
Tears fell from the corners of Evie’s eyes as she lay helpless at the mercy of a man she didn’t even know, and all she could think about was how badly she wished Beckett were here.
If he were, this man would already be dead.
Everything around her became blurred with a fresh onslaught of self-pitying tears. Beckett had to know she was missing by now. And poor Lo…
God, please let Lo be okay!
The man reached down and grabbed her jaw again. His immovable grip hurt even more this time around, and his hot breath struck with a rancid wave as he leaned in with an ominous warning.
“Eat. Don’t eat. I don’t give a fuck what you do. But you spit in my face again, I’ll fucking kill you myself.”
He released her with a rough, angry shove before turning around and walking away. Evie’s throbbing face crumbled as she realized whatever this was…it wasn’t like the last time.
The terrorists who’d kidnapped her made their cause clear from nearly the moment she and the girls were taken. But this man…Evie had no idea what he planned to do with her.
One thing was certain, however. If she didn’t find a way out of this room and off this yacht soon, she was as good as dead.And for the first time in her seemingly privileged life, she had something she wasn’t willing to lose.
Beckett.
They’d only just found each other, but she loved him with all her heart. So, as hard as it was, Evie forced the rest of her tears away and began devising a plan.
Because the next time that muscle-bound asshole returned…
I’m damn well going to be ready.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Tac-Ops Headquarters
Downtown Charlotte
“Breathe.”
Beckett turned to see that Digger had joined him at the back of the team’s private conference room.
“I don’t need to fuckin’ breathe.” Beckett ran a frustrated hand over the short beard covering his tightened jaw. “I just need to find her.”
“We will,” the other man promised. “And we’re doing everything we can to make sure we do.”
The entire team was there, ready to act the minute they received even a hint of trustworthy intel. But they were still waiting on their boss to arrive, and until he did?—
“It’s not enough!” He slammed a palm viciously against the wall behind him. “We’re all just standing around with our thumbs up our asses while Evie’s out there somewhere, at the mercy of who the fuck knows? Ah, Jesus…”
Beckett raked his fingers through his short, dark hair, and he had to physically fight the urge to rip every strand from its roots. What the hell was he going to do? If they didn’t find her in time…