Noah’s heart seized up in his chest. Lane had used a nice word for what they were all thinking. The truth was that if those assholes had left Peyton, it was because they’d killed her.
“Moore is our only link to Peyton,” he said firmly. “No matter what, we have to stop him before he gets on that plane.”
And hope she was still alive.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
PEYTON SQUEEZED HER eyes shut. Crap, it felt like someone was driving a spike into her head. She supposed that was what happened when someone slammed you into a wall. She couldn’t believe Scott had betrayed her like that. She was sorry he’d gotten the shaft from the publisher, but that didn’t give him the right to steal her book. Or kidnap her. Of course, she had a feeling that the other guy—the one actually responsible for her headache—was behind all of this.
She had to call Noah. Hopefully, he could stop the two men before they got away with her book.
Peyton opened her eyes slowly, ready to squint against the sunlight sure to be streaming through the windows into the apartment, but all she saw was darkness around her. For one terrifying moment, she thought the hit she’d taken had blinded her. No, she could see fine. It was dark.
Did that mean it was nighttime? Had she been unconscious all day? That was a terrifying thought all in itself. If she’d been out of it that long, why hadn’t Noah found her and taken her to a hospital?
Peyton tried to roll onto her side and ended up hitting hit her head again. She automatically reached up to rub the offended area and discovered her wrists were bound together with something tight, thick, and sticky. It took her a couple of seconds of twisting and yanking to realize it was some kind of tape. She went to tear at the tape with her teeth, but that’s when she realized she was gagged, too.
What the heck…?
She looked around the small space, able to see better now that her eyes had adjusted to the dim light. It took her less than a minute to figure out where she was, but when she finally did, her eyes went wide. She was in the trunk of a car. A car speeding down the road.
Crap, crap, and double crap!
Where the hell were Scott and Daris taking her? More importantly, what were they going to do with her when they reached wherever they were going? This was one of those moments when being a writer was a bad thing, because she had no problem coming up with all kinds of horrible scenarios about what they might have in store for her.
Peyton wiggled her wrists, struggling against the tape, but it was useless. She’d have to be Wonder Woman to tear the stuff. Then again, if she were Wonder Woman, she wouldn’t be in this predicament. She would have kicked those guys’ butts already.
If she got out of this, she was going to ask Noah to teach her some of his SEAL moves so she could defend herself in case some other crazy assistant editor tried to steal her book again and stuff her in the trunk of a car.
She stopped struggling against the tape, hope surging through her. If anyone could find her, it would be Noah.
Peyton tried to find solace in that while fighting back tears when the car suddenly slowed and turned before finally coming to a stop. From outside, she heard the distinctive echo of a plane taking off. It was still fading into the distance as the car door opened, then closed. She tensed as footsteps came around to the back of the vehicle. A moment later, the lid of the trunk opened.
Humid air rushed into the already blazing hot space, making it hard to breathe through the cloth stuffed in her mouth. She squinted against the brightness, lifting her bound hands to shield her eyes. Thankfully, Scott moved to block the sun. Daris stood a few feet behind him, completely uninterested in the entire situation.
Scott regarded her almost regretfully, his mouth pressed into a thin line. “I’m sorry we have to leave you in here, but we don’t have a choice. When I get to Puerto Vallarta, I’ll call the police and let them know where to find you.”
Peyton’s mind did a few quick calculations and realized Scott’s plan would leave her trapped in this damn trunk for four to five hours…at least. She’d roast to death.
She started shouting against the gag in her mouth, cursing at Scott in between trying to tell him he didn’t have to do this, that she wouldn’t say anything to anyone. But with the gag in her mouth, all that came out was muffled noise. Not that it would have mattered. Scott slammed the trunk closed with a resounding thud, leaving her in darkness.
Tears burned her eyes again and this time she didn’t try to hold them back. It was already over ninety-five degrees out today. The temperature inside the trunk of this car would easily reach a hundred and twenty. Sweat was already soaking her clothes and dripping off her face. She’d never make it until Scott reached Mexico and called someone.
Noah was going to have to find her soon or she was dead.
* * * * *
NOAH LEFT HIS SUV at the curb and raced into the airport, not giving a damn if the vehicle got towed. He didn’t have time to dick around looking for a space in the parking lot. He had to find Moore and Magpie before the assholes went through security. If that happened, there was no way he’d ever reach them.
Behind him he heard the squawking of tires and knew Sam and the others had pulled up to the curb
