closing around his throat. The arm tightened, cutting off his oxygen. One of the goons had him in a bear hug.
He struggled, using his larger frame to yank the man off balance. They shuffled back and forth a few clumsy steps until Ryan managed to slip an arm up and around the man’s head. He jerked backward and then leveraged the goon forward, flipping him over his shoulder. The man hit the ground with a satisfying grunt.
But before he could straighten up, Ryan was hit by the second man, a quick blow to the back of the head. He stumbled forward a few steps as a wild array of white and yellow lights exploded in his head and he fell to his knees.
“Ryan!” Tess screamed again, her desperation palpable. It tore at him, spurring him on. He shook his head, trying to clear it. Through a haze of pain, he could see Flynn wrestling with her, her long legs flying in a desperate attempt to keep Bloom from approaching her with the syringe.
Across the short distance between them, her gaze locked on him. They pleaded with him to help her. To do something. Anything. He tried to throw the two goons off him, but they bore down harder.
Flynn wrapped his arms around her, holding her secure against him, his face a mask of determination. He nodded at Bloom and the man stepped gingerly closer.
“Ryan! Don’t let them take me!” Tess begged. She tried to twist out of Flynn’s arm, but he jammed his knees into the back of hers, buckling her legs from beneath her.
Rage ripped through Ryan, sending a jolt of adrenaline through his system. He threw the two goons off him and pulled himself to his feet, struggling the short distance to reach her.
The needle was inches from Tess’s thigh. Ryan clamped a hand on Bloom’s shoulder and jerked him backward. But then it was if he was hit by a tree from behind.
His legs went numb and he dropped to his knees again. As he pitched forward onto his face, he saw one of the goons slap a blackjack against his meaty palm and grin. Ryan’s left cheek hit the grass and his head bounced.
Ryan reached out and touched Tess’s shoe. But he couldn’t move. Someone had dropped down to sit on his back and someone else had jammed his foot on the back of his neck, effectively pinning him to the ground.
“Let her go,” he said, his voice sounding faraway even to his own ears. He spit dirt and blood.
He watched helplessly as Flynn subdued Tess. She struggled, but he was too strong for her. She threw her head back, attempting to head-butt him. But he seemed to anticipate her every move and he tightened his grip.
Bloom moved toward her.
“Don’t do this, Sidney,” Ryan said.
Tess whipped her head in Bloom’s direction. Her lips were drawn back over her teeth like a cornered animal. “Don’t come any closer!”
Not waiting a moment, Bloom stuck the needle in Tess’s right hip, injecting her right through the fabric of her pants. Air hissed between her teeth.
“You bastard.” Her voice was fractured, broken, but Ryan could still hear the edge to it, the touch of defiance.
His heart hammered in his chest, and he tried again to throw the man off him. But whoever was on him held firm.
Tess tried to jackknife her body, but Flynn held her easily.
“You can’t do this to me,” she protested.
“We just did,” Flynn said, his expression bland. Emotionless. He snapped his fingers at one of the goons. “Get her in the car. And sit next to her. I don’t trust the medication to keep her quiet for long.”
“It won’t,” Tess said, her voice still edgy, but Ryan could see that the drug was already having an effect. She shook her head as if dazed and blinked rapidly several times as if her vision was clouding.
Whatever they had given her was powerful.
She looked around, as if confused, unable to focus. Finally her gaze settled on him. “I-I’m not crazy.”
The words were slurred and jumbled. She squeezed her eyes shut for a minute, as if trying to concentrate. Finally she opened her eyes and tried again, each word distinct. Every syllable was heartrendingly clear. “Don’t believe what they’re saying about me.”
“I don’t, Tess. I believe you.” He reached out and touched her foot, and Tess could feel the pressure of his fingers through the fabric of her socks, the warmth of his fingers soaking through to her toes. Even though she knew she had lost the battle, she was comforted. He was close. He believed her.
“How touching,” Flynn sneered. He picked her up and the comforting touch of Ryan’s hand disappeared. An emptiness cloaked her, leaving her cold.
Tess slipped into a deep hole, her world starting to fade around the edges. Her head lolled back against her father’s shoulder and her eyelids fluttered. Her mouth moved, but no words came out.
She could hear Ryan talking, that deep, beautiful voice of his reaching down into the pit she was getting sucked into and trying to pull her back to the surface. “It’s all right, Tess. Don’t fight it. Just let go. You’re all right. I won’t let them hurt you.”
She tried to lift her head, to tell him that she’d hang on. That she wouldn’t give up fighting no matter what. But when she tried to reach out to touch him, he seemed miles away, and it was as if someone had slipped a hundred- pound-weight around her wrist, keeping her from lifting her hand.
She shook her head violently, rolling it back and forth. “N-no! Not okay. Not-not all right. Don’t le-let them take me away. You promised, dammit.”
Tess saw the distress on Ryan’s face, the tortured concern. He opened his mouth as if to say something more to her, but the darkness, a yawning emptiness snatched her, pressing her down.
She heard Ryan’s voice from somewhere far-off, a voice that promised her she wouldn’t get hurt, that she’d be safe.
She wanted to stand up and rage back at him. To make him understand that she wouldn’t be
All feeling leaked out the tips of her fingers, and her tongue, ten sizes too large for her mouth, seemed to choke her. Every muscle in her body froze and she was unable to move.
And as her vision completely shut down, Tess wondered if she’d ever see Ryan Donovan again.
Chapter Seven
The goon sitting on Ryan got up, allowing him to pull himself to a sitting position. Ryan used one hand to keep himself from falling over and, as he leveraged himself to his feet, stumbled several steps before regaining his balance.
The two goons ignored him, working together to load Tess into the back seat of the limo.
Ryan turned to Flynn. “Are you taking her to the center?”
“Hardly,” Flynn scoffed. “After this fiasco I have no desire to have Tess involved with anyone at the Bloom Research Facility. We’ll be leaving on my private jet shortly. She’ll return to the facility she was in before I had the misfortune to think anyone in Half Moon, Iowa, would know anything that would be of any help to Tess.”
“What facility are you taking her to?”
Flynn laughed. “Nice try, Doctor.” He bent down to climb into the limo, but then he stopped and straightened up. His gray eyes were cold mirrors of ill-concealed rage. “Don’t make the mistake, Doctor, of thinking that your concern and your misguided loyalty to Tess will be tolerated. If you try to find her, I will press harassment charges.” He turned away, adding, “If I’m not mistaken, legal difficulties of that nature could result in one having their license revoked.”
Ryan stepped closer. “Don’t threaten me, Flynn. It will be a cold day in hell before I forget what happened here today. Plan on looking over your shoulder and finding me standing there.”
“A shame,” Flynn said. “A man should know when his career is about to tank.” He climbed into the limo and slammed the door.
Ryan moved around to the other side. Bloom had the door open, giving final instructions to Chief Cole. Most likely something about making sure that Ryan didn’t try to follow the limo. He bent down and checked on Tess.
