Love to Hate You (Hope Valley #9) - Jessica Prince Page 0,88

Xander, he shook his head, telling me there hadn’t been enough time to get a lock on his location.

The only chance we had of finding Charlie, and it was gone.

I’d just broken every promise I’d made to that girl. I’d failed her. And the pain that caused was enough to take me to my knees.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Hayden

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into a second lesson,” I wheezed after sucking back my entire bottle of water.

McKenna looked at me like I was being ridiculous. “You did great, and look!” She pointed at where I was standing. “You’re still on your feet. That’s a huge improvement from last time.”

“Yeah, well, I guess that’s something.”

She waggled her eyebrows as I picked up my gym bag and slung it over my shoulder. “And just think, you’ll be able to put on a sexy little show for Micah in no time. Imagine the appreciation he’ll dole out for that.”

I let out a laugh and moved in to give her a tired, sweaty hug. “Point taken. I’ll come back for another lesson.”

“Good. And I’ll call you this week. We’ll do coffee. And hey, I’m glad you’re happy again, honey.”

Man, I had some of the best friends here in Hope Valley. “Thanks, babe. See you soon.”

I headed out of the studio and down the back hall of Whiskey Dolls. I pushed through the door to the alley where I’d parked when my cell phone started ringing.

Pulling it out of my bag, I answered and put it to my ear. “Hey, honey.”

Micah’s voice came out in a rush. “Red, where are you?”

“I’m just leaving McKenna’s club. I should be home in about fifteen. Is everything ok—” My words died when something hard slammed into my temple. Everything went black just before I hit the asphalt.

I came to with a pain in my head that felt like my skull had been split clean open. Something wet clumped my lashes together when I tried to blink my lids open, making my vision muddy as it dripped into my eye.

The full realization of my surroundings didn’t hit me until I tried lifting a hand to wipe it away and discovered they’d been bound together. So were my feet. And I had what felt like duct tape wrapped around my head, covering my mouth. I began to panic, thrashing around in my small, dark confines, yelling against the tape.

Whatever I was in was moving, because I was thrown around like a rag doll when it lurched to a stop.

Trunk, my brain registered. I’d been knocked out, was bound and gagged, and had been stuffed into someone’s trunk.

What the fuck?

I started screaming louder from behind the tape, kicking my legs out the best I could and beating on the lid of the trunk. It flew open a second later, and the sudden burst of sunlight made it impossible to see.

I blinked rapidly to clear my vision, finally able to see who’d kidnapped me at the same time I felt his hands close around my arms. I fought even harder, trying to get away. Curling my hands into fists, I swung them wide and hard, connecting with his nose.

Greg stumbled back, cursing, “Goddamn bitch!” He lunged back into the trunk and punched me in the same temple he’d hit the first time. My arms and legs instantly fell limp as stars burst in front of my eyes. “You keep fighting I’ll make this a lot fucking worse than it needs to be. And trust me, you don’t want that.”

I let out a pained groan as he hefted me out of the trunk and tossed me over his shoulder. All I could see were dead leaves and twigs scattered about beneath Greg’s feet. He climbed up a set of steps and kicked a door open. He moved inside the building and dropped me to the ground unceremoniously, knocking the breath out of my lungs and making my bones scream in agony.

I whimpered when he reached for a knife he had tucked into his belt. Every inch of my body protested as I attempted to slither away.

“Stop moving,” he gritted. Reaching out, he cut the bindings on my feet first, then the ones on my wrists. He unwound the tape from around my head, and I sucked in a sharp hiss when he ripped it off my skin, yanking out some hair with it.

Fear fueled my movements as I pushed to sitting and scuttled backward, trying to get away from him. My heart started