Bile rose into her throat as the missing piece clicked. “You ordered Katarina to call us, didn’t you?”
“I asked for her assistance. She’s quite clever, so I knew that she would find a way to get Ellie out of our hair for a bit.” The man began to stroll around the room as he spoke, his gait loose and easy. Relaxed.
“And Nick. They both showed up at Valerie’s location after Katarina’s call.”
He came to an abrupt halt, blinking for an instant before a slow smile spread across his face. “Clever. I’m sure that caused all sorts of drama.”
“You never planned to hurt Valerie, did you? I was the target all along.”
“Bingo.” He closed the distance between them until he was only a few feet away.
Jillian pressed her back against the chair, desperate to put as much space between them as possible.
Amused, he chuckled and moved closer. His excited breath came in shallow gasps, eyes wild and nostrils flared. When he grabbed her index finger, she gritted her teeth, hissing in pain. “You know when they first came up with phones that unlocked with fingerprints, everyone hailed it as the greatest invention. But the truth is, it made it that much easier to access private information. Whether you’re unconscious or dead, I can open your phone with ease rather than wasting an afternoon trying multiple combinations.” He rolled the pad of her finger on the sensor until the phone screen brightened. “There we are.” His finger flicked over the screen.
His eyes lit up, and her stomach clenched. “She’ll hear me in the background. She’ll know it’s a trap.”
His eyes wandered to the right. She followed his gaze, gasping at the syringe sitting on a stainless-steel tray beside three vials. “No. She won’t hear a thing.”
A flash of light at the far end of the room caught both their attention.
“Ernest!” he exclaimed in greeting. “You’re here just in time for the fun.”
Hollow footsteps echoed as a man rushed forward, letting the door fall closed behind him. He stayed near the edge of the shadows, his face obscured by darkness. Only his silhouette was visible, but as a sense of familiarity settled on Jillian, her attention moved back to her captor.
He was busy filling the syringe with the contents of each vial. Sitting in a rolling office chair, he smiled and capped the needle, turning it over to mix the liquids. “Stirred, not shaken. Don’t want any bubbles,” he explained when he caught her watching. “You need to be alive when Ellie comes to rescue you.”
“We won’t play your game.” Jillian pushed each word out through gritted teeth.
“I don’t need you now. Gabe, my assistant, is here.”
“Gabe?” the assistant asked, his voice confused, but Jillian’s attention was locked on the syringe. The crazy man was clearly addled from the accident, slipping between two names without rhyme or reason, but Jillian had more pressing things to worry about.
Giggling almost like a child, her captor pushed the wheeled chair with his feet until he was in front of her again.
She wriggled, but he’d bound her so tightly, only her head and shoulders moved. She lowered her eyes, fighting her bonds as he used a cotton swab soaked in alcohol to clean the skin in the crook of her elbow. Beneath a pink plastic cap, a large gauge needle glimmered. Tapping her skin, he pressed down hard and smiled when her vein appeared.
“Looks like you’re an easy stick. My favorite.”
Terror streaked through Jillian, and she fought, but her arm was immobilized, giving the man a clear target. He slid the needle into her arm, the prick as poignant as the dread that bloomed in her chest. But she didn’t make a sound. She refused to give him the satisfaction.
“My, my, you are a stubborn one.”
“Is Ellie on her way?” the assistant asked.
“I’ll call her shortly. We don’t want Jillian ruining the plan we’ve worked so hard on.”
“She won’t fall for this.” Jillian’s words came out sluggish, the room going fuzzy at the edges. Her tongue suddenly seemed huge, awkward as she tried to form words. “She’s smarter than you.”
“The drugs are taking effect.” The crazy man put a Band-Aid on her arm with such care that Jillian’s stomach turned. Smiling, his round, pleasant face was warm and welcoming, like someone’s kind grandfather instead of a monster.
Across the large room, the door opened again, drawing the attention of both men. A third man, with deep brown hair and olive skin, appeared in the doorway, standing perfectly still for a moment as he took in the scene before him. It was the angel. She vaguely wondered where he’d gone.
“Gabe.” The kidnapper waved the young man forward. “You’re here.”
The world tilted as ice spread through her veins, and heat and a low buzzing seemed to come from inside her head. Her vision was too fuzzy to make out Gabe’s features, so she turned her gaze back on the two men closest to her, intent on giving them a piece of her mind as long as she could still think.
But then the first man he had called Gabe stepped out of the shadows and into the light. Lips formed into a tight frown, his tan slacks and beige cardigan that accented his blond hair were out of place in the dirty, musty space.
He met her gaze, and Jillian’s eyes popped open wide. She gasped, searching for words as the man’s face began to melt, and the encroaching darkness pushed its way past the edges of her vision. She fought to stay awake, her chest heaving
