The red tinge receded from my vision and my head cleared. “‘He wants to make an example’—what does that mean? What does he want you to do?”
“Meet him. Exchange me for her. Don’t get your hopes up. He won’t let her go.”
I narrowed my eyes. Was he saying that so I wouldn’t make him do it? Or because he knew? “Where are they?”
“I don’t know. He gave me a number. I’m supposed to text him back before three. Then he’ll tell me where to meet him. And he said no cops. They get a whiff of a uniform, they’ll kill her.”
My mind raced with questions. Obstacles. I was way out of my depth here and Fiona’s life was on the line.
But she was my woman. I wasn’t going to let them hurt her.
I leveled Gallagher with a hard stare and my voice was ice cold. “This is your fault. I don’t care if I have to tie you up, gag you, and drop you off on this piece of shit’s front porch, I’m going to get Fiona back. And if they hurt her, if they so much as touch her, you’re going to pay for it.” I stepped closer and he flinched back. “Now you’re going to cooperate with me or the first thing I’ll do is unleash my dog on you. And that won’t be the worst thing that happens to you today. Understood?”
Wordlessly, he nodded.
“Good. Now get in the fucking car.”
“Where are we going?”
I didn’t answer. Just glared at him again until he went to the passenger side.
We were going to get help. I didn’t like relying on anyone, but Fiona was too important—she was everything. I couldn’t do this alone.
40
Fiona
My head throbbed, the pain yanking me back to consciousness. Nausea roiled through my stomach and I tasted bile on the back of my tongue. It was hard to think. What had happened?
I’d been driving. My car spun off the road. Why? Someone had hit me from behind.
A face. There’d been a face in the window.
Oh my god, where was I?
Carefully, I cracked an eye open and awareness began to return to the rest of my body. I was lying on my side, on the ground. Dirt, not a floor. It was dark and cold. As if my brain had just registered the temperature, I started to shiver. My feet were bare and my hands… tied up?
My heart raced, fear almost consuming me. Something bound my wrists and ankles. I was afraid to move, afraid to make a sound.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I took slow breaths, trying to stay calm. Panicking would only make things worse.
There was a noise behind me, a scrape of something against dirt. A shoe? Whatever it was, I had to assume I wasn’t alone. Which made sense. If someone had gone to all the trouble to run me off the road, kidnap me, tie me up, and put me… wherever this was, they wouldn’t leave me alone. Someone would be standing guard.
Who had done this? It couldn’t be my dad, could it? Was he that crazy?
I didn’t think so. My father was many things—few of them good—but I didn’t think he was a man who’d kidnap his own daughter.
Then again, who else would have?
Who and why aside, I needed to get out of here. Of course, I was bound hand and foot, probably guarded, and I had no idea where I was or how long I’d been unconscious. I could be anywhere.
This wasn’t exactly looking good. Even my eternal optimism was having a hard time finding the silver lining here.
Breathe, Fiona. Just breathe. And think.
I opened my eyes again and waited for them to adjust to the dim light. I was definitely on the ground, but it didn’t look like open air. It smelled dusty, like a gravel road on a windy day, and there was a light source behind me, illuminating rough walls. Stone and dirt? Was this a cave? Trying not to move my head too much, I looked up. There was a dark ceiling above me, supported by thick timbers. So not a cave—not a natural one, at least.
A horrifying thought hit me, freezing my breath in my lungs. Had they gotten to Evan?
The pain of my pounding head was nothing compared to the anguish that tore through me. What if they’d hurt him? What if they’d done worse?