case for long,” Viktor said. “I know what you did, Mr. Anderson, and if you don’t find a way to undo it, Sage will pay very dearly indeed.”
Done? What had he done?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Viktor,” Parker said. “We did the deal just how you wanted.”
Viktor’s hand lashed out, slapping me hard. I yelped at the pain, tears springing to my eyes. And my bruises had been just about gone, too.
“For every lie, I’ll hurt her,” Viktor said, his voice as calm as though he were ordering dinner in a fancy restaurant. “Your choice whether or not Sage survives the next few minutes.”
“Tell me what you want, Viktor,” Parker said, his voice icy but edged with panic. “There’s no need to hurt the woman. We’re both businessmen.”
“You’re not. You’re a spy and you’ve exposed my accounts to your government.”
“That’s not true—”
Another loud slap that cut Parker off mid-sentence echoed in the car. I couldn’t help another cry of pain, my jaw and cheek burning.
“I’ll do what you want, Viktor, just stop!” Parker’s anxious voice emanated from the phone.
“Delete those trades and move those accounts back under the corporations that hedged them,” Viktor said.
“I need time to do that,” Parker said.
“You don’t have time,” Viktor replied. “At least, not if you want Sage to remain alive. I imagine it’s hard to swim with your arms and legs bound.”
Oh God.
“All right! Okay, I’ll do it,” Parker shouted.
“That’s better, but let’s make sure you have some incentive.”
Viktor reached toward the front and the guy holding the gun passed him something plastic. By the time I realized it was a plastic bag, it was too late. He grabbed my head and pulled the bag over my head. I tried twisting my head away, but he pulled the bag tight around my neck, cutting into my throat.
“Do you want to know what I’m doing while you’re fixing my accounts?” Viktor asked. “I have a plastic bag over her head, Mr. Anderson. She’ll run out of air very quickly. It takes approximately six minutes, thereabouts, for a person to be brain dead from lack of oxygen. Add another couple of minutes just to be on the safe side. Shall we use her as a timer for you?”
“Sage!”
“My associate is waiting for confirmation, Mr. Anderson,” Viktor said calmly, glancing in the front seat. “I suggest you move quickly. Sage is turning a bit blue, though it’s hard to tell through the plastic.”
I squirmed harder, trying to get away, but my strength was no match for his and the plastic pulled tight over my nose and mouth. I couldn’t see, everything was blurred, and I ceased being able to make out the conversation between Viktor and Parker.
I fought it, the zip ties cutting into my wrists as I tried in vain to free my arms. Panic made me suck in more air, but there was none to be had, just the slippery plastic in my mouth. I was crying and trying to breathe and I realized…I was going to die, and my death would be horrible. Terror clawed at me and I was in pain, in a car with a sociopath who planned on dropping my body in Lake Michigan.
My lungs were starved for air and blackness edged my vision. I couldn’t fight anymore, my limbs going slack even as my mind was still in a panic, urging my body to move. But it was useless.
A resounding crash sent the car hurtling sideways. My body slammed against the passenger door, causing Viktor to lose his grip on the bag and air leaked in. I took a breath. Not enough with the plastic still sticking to my tear- and sweat-soaked face, but it helped.
Gunshots sounded, but I couldn’t tell anything that was going on. My door was yanked open and I nearly fell out of the car, which would’ve really hurt since I couldn’t cushion my fall. But someone grabbed me, hauling me up into their arms.
I heard voices, shouting, as I was carried to another vehicle and put in it, the man who’d caught me climbing in after me.
“I’ve got her!”
“They’re coming!”
“Go! Go!”
A squeal of tires and more gunshots, then we were flying down the road. The bag was ripped off my face and I sucked in a lungful of oxygen, the sweet chill of fresh air against my face causing a flood of relief.
“Sage, oh my God, Sage…”
Shocked at the sound of his voice, I turned to see Parker sitting next to me. His