Counting On Cole (Wilde Ways #8) - Cynthia Eden Page 0,41

dark. Her body was all twisted up, so she tried to straighten and—

Evie rammed her head into metal. Her hands flew up. Touched the metal. She grabbed to the left and the right, and just a few inches away from her—

Wait, am I moving?

There was a steady hum of sound, and then…a jerk.

Her body rolled with that jerk.

Oh, God. I’m in a car. I’m in a trunk! Someone had stuffed her into the trunk of a car. Even as Evie had that realization, the car was accelerating forward again.

Fear twisted inside of her. No, this could not be happening.

She shoved her hand up, hitting the top of the trunk. “Help me!” Evie screamed. She felt her bracelet slide down her wrist. Her bracelet. She grabbed it with her right hand. As long as she had the bracelet, Cole could find her.

The darkness closed in around her.

Hurry up, Cole. Please hurry.

***

“Keep giving me directions,” Cole ordered. “Do not lose her, do you understand me?”

“I’ve got her signal. She’s about two miles ahead of you.” The response carried easily to the comm unit he still wore.

“The bastard should have figured for New York traffic,” Chase said from beside him. “Not like it’s easy to slip away in this snarl. It’ll slow him down.”

But they were slowed down, too. They hadn’t taken the limo in pursuit. They’d taken the SUV that Chase had used for his arrival at the ball. As for the other Wilde agent who’d been at the gala, James—hell, the last time Cole had seen him, the guy had been hot-wiring some motorcycle that was in the parking garage.

Cole’s heart was racing in his chest, and his grip on the steering wheel was brutally tight. “I promised to keep her safe,” he muttered. But she’d been taken again. On his watch. He’d screwed up.

“Take a breath, man,” Chase urged him. “We’ll get her back. It’s going to be okay.”

“Uh, the vehicle just turned. There is…there’s a problem.”

“Do not tell me that!” Cole snarled. The traffic eased a bit, and he shoved the gas pedal to the floorboard as he lurched to the right.

“I’m checking traffic cams, and if you don’t stop the perps in the next five minutes, their path will open up and they will be free and—”

“Oh, shit!” Chase grabbed for the side of his door. “Are you driving on the sidewalk? That is illegal. You know that, don’t you?”

“So is fucking kidnapping.”

***

Her body rolled again. The car had stopped once more.

New York traffic. Most days, she hated it, but tonight, God, she loved it tonight. Her hands fumbled as she reached toward the back of the trunk. After the abduction two years ago, her brother had brought in several of what he called “safety experts” to train her. One of the lessons?

How to escape from the trunk of a car. As long as this vehicle had been made after 2002, there should be a trunk release lever back there with her. She just had to find it. The thing should have been glowing in the dark. That was what her safety expert had told her. Only nothing was glowing. It was supposed to be near the trunk latch, and it should have been some kind of button or handle or—

Her fingers closed around it. Or at least, Evie hoped what she was grabbing was the right handle. She jerked on it, hard, and…

The trunk popped open, just a few inches. That was all she needed. Light spilled inside, and Evie shoved the trunk open all the way. The car was still stopped. This was her chance. She jumped out of the vehicle.

And straight into traffic.

Cars were buzzing by her—to the left and the right, and horns were honking and she was barefoot in an evening dress and stumbling because her legs didn’t seem to be working quite right. Nausea rolled in her stomach as she staggered forward. “Help!” She had to flag someone down. A taxi was close by, and the driver was frowning at her. She lunged for his vehicle. “I need—”

“You are not fucking going anywhere, bitch,” a voice grated in her ear as she was grabbed from behind. “You’re coming with me, now!”

The hell she was.

He’d locked her arms against her sides and he was lifting her up, holding her tight against his body.

“Evie!”

She knew that roar. It was Cole’s roar. Her frantic gaze flew to him. He’d just jumped out of an SUV that was parked halfway on the sidewalk, and he was