Chances Are - By Christy Reece Page 0,63

with equal parts awe and dread. Soon it would be total awe as she came to know him better.

Grabbing his Dark Angel’s shoulders, he pulled her up and dragged her from the van. She was limp, still dazed from the drug. He tried to stand her on her feet but her limbs were understandably numb from her confinement. Unfortunately, until he could get her restrained, he had no choice but to continue the drugs. One arm wrapped securely around her, he reached for the hypodermic needle lying on the table beside him. Just a bit more until he had everything in place.

Agony erupted in his head. Stunned, his arms loosened. What had happened? He couldn’t get a grip on where the hurt had come from. Confused, he touched his face, then looked down at his hand. Why was there blood on his fingers?

Piercing pain shot through his leg. Horror filled him at the scissors sticking out of his thigh. Letting go a bellow filled with denial and betrayal, he jerked the scissors from his leg and lashed out with his fist, striking something hard.

The haze of rage cleared. Blinking rapidly, he looked down at the lump on the floor. His Dark Angel. She had done this to him?

Her legs were useless. Pins and needles shot through them with relentless stabs. The screaming curses above her indicated she had been able to do some damage to the bastard. Not enough though. The head-butt had disoriented him, giving her freedom. Unfortunately her legs hadn’t held firm. On the way to the floor, her blurry eyes had spotted the scissors less than a foot away. She had lurched forward, managing to grab the handle and thrust it toward the nearest body part she could find.

Helplessly, she glared at her unmoving legs. Why wouldn’t they budge? She shouted out loud to herself: “Get up, get up, get up!” Nothing moved. The little energy she’d had was gone. Only pain remained.

She tried to look up at him and could barely see...something was in her eyes. Touching her face, she realized she was bleeding. Then she remembered the pain in her head...he had hit her with something. When? That’s why she couldn’t think straight...why her limbs refused to work. She closed her eyes, uncertain if she would ever open them again. Clarissa would die because of her. Noah, Jake and the entire LCR organization would be disappointed in her forever.

Jake? Wait. Wasn’t he coming? Yes, he was tracking her signal. He would be here soon. He wouldn’t let her down. She told herself to hang on. Jake would rescue her. She wasn’t alone.

With that reassurance, Angela closed her eyes, sure that when she woke again, she and Clarissa would be rescued and all would be well.

Consciousness returned and misery consumed her. She opened her bleary eyes. She was strapped to a table. Cold…she was so cold. Her teeth chattered as her body shuddered with chills. With every shudder, her head pounded. Dear heavens, her head was going to explode.

Lights blazed everywhere. Squinting, barely able to handle the glare, she looked around. Some kind of basement? A dank and musty smell hung in the air and an insidious coldness pervaded the entire room, as if the iciness was an entity all its own. Other than three large traveling trunks stacked against a wall and a few displaced bricks, the room was empty.

How long had she been unconscious? Where was the monster? Was Clarissa still alive?

Her mouth dry, her lips felt parched and cracked as though she'd been in the sun for hours. She swallowed, hoping for moisture and found none. Opening her mouth, she said hoarsely, “Clarissa?”

No answer.

Was she already dead? Where were Jake and Noah? Why hadn't they found them yet? She had been sure when she woke all of this would be over. Why did her head hurt so much?

“You’re awake.” The hard, cold voice sounded nothing like before. When he had taken her, his voice had been warm, eerily loving. Now, there was contempt and a seething fury.

“Where am I?”

“You have no right to ask questions. If you continue to talk, I’ll close your mouth with tape. Do you understand?”

She nodded, wincing at the pain even that little amount of movement gave her.

“I'm deeply disappointed in you. You behaved terribly and must be punished. You’ve caused me great heartache. I’ve taken your clothes from you. I normally allow covering but your punishment prevents that. Once I’m through with you, I have no doubt you’ll