stiffly before tucking the book inside his jacket for safekeeping.
Only a few feet from Fay, Terror stopped. His jaw was tight as he said simply, “It’s time.”
Resigned to her fate, Maisie cast one final glance at Fay and her dogs before taking the first step toward the waiting ship. Her heart clamored in her chest as she walked beside Terror. She kept her focus forward, eyeing the men who were standing outside the ship. Some of them were staying to make the trip back to the compound with Fay and Cotton to retrieve Grim and Lethal. The others were there to serve as a security detail.
It wasn’t until she was safely up the ramp and inside the dimly lit cabin of the ship that she understood just how wrong she had been about Terror. As the team of special operatives followed them into the ship, Terror called out to one of them. She thought he had called the man Raze, but she couldn’t be sure. Their names were so strange that she would have to pay closer attention when reading lips.
The man he had called over—a high ranking officer according to the insignia on his uniform—handed Terror a pair of electronic cuffs. Her face slackened. Was he really going to cuff her? She glanced around the cabin and noticed all of the men staring at her like she was the worst criminal they had ever seen.
I’m not a Splinter! She wanted to scream it. She wanted to grab Terror and shake him and make him understand. She wanted to turn and flee and disappear into the woods. Instead, she lowered her gaze in resignation and extended her hands.
Desperate to believe this was part of a ruse, that he wouldn’t betray her, she closed her eyes as he gently cuffed her wrists. Terror was careful with her, but she prepared herself for the rough handling that others would show her. Unable to move her hands to sign or even try to write out notes, she felt vulnerable and scared. Terror grasped her elbow and led her to a compartment toward the front of the cabin.
A cell.
She glanced at him in shock, but he simply gestured with his head for her to step inside. There was no point in refusing him. She complied and sat on the cold metal bench. When Terror crouched down to hook her ankles to the shackles fixed to the floor, she pinned her gaze on the wall across from her. She couldn’t bear to look at him.
As the door was closed and locked, she sank back against the wall of the confined space and closed her eyes. She tried not to cry, but exhaustion and hopelessness overwhelmed her. After everything she had been through, she was right back where she started. She was a prisoner once again, and this time, there would be no escape.
Chapter Nine
Hours later, Maisie’s heart hammered in her chest as she was led out of the ship and onto the massive battleship the Valiant. The general gripped her upper arm in his massive paw as he escorted her down the ramp. He had a firm, but careful grip. Even though he believed the worst of her, he didn’t seem to want to hurt her.
When they reached the end of the ramp, the general steered her toward a group of intimidating men. They wore the uniforms and insignia of Shadow Force, the same elite unit that Terror served in, and that was a terrible sign for what awaited her. She glanced back at Terror, but he studiously avoided her gaze.
So much for his help.
Angered and betrayed by his coldness, she turned her attention back to the men in front of her. Both wore stony expressions that chilled her right to the bone. Whatever they had planned for her would be a hundred times worse than anything she had ever experienced.
Stay strong. You can get through this. You can do this.
Cuffed and shackled, she was presented to the leader of the group. He towered over her and had shoulders as broad as the general’s. He sneered down at her. She focused on his mouth as he started to speak. “Quite a bit of trouble to catch this little rabbit.”
Whatever was said behind her was unknown, but the leader of the Shadow Force turned his head and addressed the men next to him. One of them—a blond—stepped forward with a black hood in his hand. She recoiled at the sight of it. From somewhere behind her,