Sweet Temptation (Sweet #4)(84)

Sunlight accosted her vision and she winced, blinking away the brightness. She stumbled when he yanked her forward. How could this be such an utterly gorgeous day when her entire world had gone to hell in a matter of seconds?

“Get in,” he ordered.

She stood inside the open car door and everything inside her balked at getting into this vehicle.

Like the cop he was, he put his hand on her head and shoved her down into the car just like she was some criminal he was arresting.

The magnitude of her situation slammed into her brain with the force of a hurricane. She was being kidnapped by a lunatic cop. Crazy or not, he was a good cop. He’d be hard to find. He knew how cops thought.

She clamped her lips shut to quell the desperate moan that threatened to escape.

Think, Angelina. Keep your cool.

Chad slid in beside her, and to her relief his gun was at least holstered. To her dismay he clapped one cuff around her wrist and proceeded to secure the other cuff to his.

“Just in case you get any stupid ideas,” he said as he yanked her arm forward so he could start the engine.

“Where are we going?” she asked with fake calm.

He drove onto the highway, ignoring her question. There was sick determination on his face, and she knew no one was going to find them. If she was going to get out of this alive, she was going to have to do it herself.

Real calm descended over her. Her mind quit screaming. Her gut, which was knotted in worry over Micah, loosened, and she began to think. Really think.

Images from when David had taught her self-defense at the gym came to mind. He stood over her, making her repeat her moves until she was sore and exhausted.

You can beat anyone if you use your head. Intelligence always beats brawn. No matter how small you are or how big the guy, you can find a way to win, Angelina. You just have to outwit him.

Chad drove on, obeying all the speed limits. He was careful not to bring attention to them. He made all the correct stops. In fact he looked decidedly casual, one arm on the steering wheel in a nonchalant manner. He firmly believed he was invincible. He’d won. He’d gotten the girl.

Or so he thinks.

Somehow, someway, she was would escape. She only prayed she would get an early opportunity, before she had to endure whatever he had in mind for her.

CHAPTER 37

Micah stirred and was immediately assaulted by a rush of pain so intense that he gagged, which only made the pain in his head all the more vicious.

He tried to force himself up, but his arms and legs wouldn’t cooperate. Beside him, his cell phone lay on the floor, and he stared curiously at it as it wavered in out and out of his vision, so blurred he had to blink to try to bring it back into focus.

And then it came back, sharp, like a lightning bolt. Knowledge exploded through his head and he panted against the pain.

Angelina. Chad. Oh God.

He was an idiot. He’d trusted the wrong person and now Angelina would pay the price.

He closed his eyes and swallowed, forcing himself to focus, to shake off the nausea and the pain. He wiped at his head, and his fingers came away red and sticky with his blood.

With shaking hands he grabbed at his cell phone, swearing when the buttons wouldn’t work right. He punched the speed dial for Connor because he knew he couldn’t navigate through his address book for another number.

“Hey, man,” Connor said, and Micah winced as the too loud voice seemed to crack his skull all over again.

“Chad Devereaux,” Micah rasped. “He has Angelina. Came here. It was him all along.”

“Whoa, back up. First, are you all right? You sound hurt. What the hell happened?”

“Get here,” Micah gritted out. “Need you to call it in. Get everyone looking. Find what you can on him.”

“On it,” Connor said and the line went dead.

Micah dropped the phone and tilted his head back, closing his eyes as an agony of a different kind flooded him.

Bits and pieces of the exchange between Angelina and Chad came back to him. He’d drifted in and out of consciousness, but he’d heard her agree to go with Chad if Chad wouldn’t shoot him.

Fear and rage slashed viciously through his chest. Fear for her. Rage at Chad.

She’d given herself to a man who’d tormented her for a year—to save Micah.

I love you, Micah. You may not want it. You may not need it. But you’ll always have it. It doesn’t come with any strings or expectations. It’s given freely.

Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. She loved him and she’d just sacrificed everything for him.

He’d been so afraid to love again, to open himself up to the kind of pain that came with losing someone. He’d loved Hannah deeply, the kind of love he thought he’d only feel once in his life. And he’d lost her. He hadn’t wanted to love Angelina. Hadn’t wanted to form an emotional attachment to her. He’d lost her anyway.

Shut the f**k up. You haven’t lost her yet. You’ll get her back.

He sagged against the couch and then tried to elbow his way up by putting his arms on the cushions and levering. It took longer than he’d have liked, and he felt like a goddamn wimp, but he finally managed to get himself off the floor.

I’m coming, Angel girl. Don’t give up. I’m coming for you.

Angelina looked up wearily when Chad pulled onto yet another bumpy backwoods road. They’d been driving forever. She’d tried to keep up, to notice road signs, landmarks, but all she knew was that they’d driven north of Houston, and he’d taken her on a veritable maze of unmarked, shabby roads. On purpose she was sure. He wasn’t a man who left anything to chance.