Georgia pushed through the kitchen door. “Vic, how long did you stalk Dena on the Facebook group?”
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than a man shot out of the shadows behind the door. He grabbed Georgia around her chest with both arms, one arm high enough to press against her throat. She struggled to pull his arms away, but he had at least fifty pounds on her and much more strength. She’d learned a couple of karate moves at her gym, but she wasn’t in the right position, and his grip was so tight he lifted her off her feet. Her body arced backward, and her feet dangled uselessly in the air. He reeked of stale body odor and bad breath.
Georgia was barely able to focus, but she did spot Vic at the island in the middle of the room. He was holding the Diet Coke in one hand and an empty glass in the other. She couldn’t tell if he was part of the attack or had been blindsided himself, but his face was frozen in terror. She remembered her Glock; it was in her khaki bag in Vic’s office. She should have had it with her. Jimmy had cautioned her to always carry it in unfamiliar places. But who would have predicted a takedown in an affluent mansion in the nation’s capital?
It was getting tough to breathe. She twisted and squirmed, trying to free herself from her attacker’s hold, but his grip was too powerful. She tried to bite his arm, but his forearm pressed against her throat, too low for her to open her mouth. That forearm was suffocating her slowly. She tried and failed to open her mouth for air. Red and purple spots formed in her eyes. She felt herself slipping away. She gasped. She needed air.
As if he knew, her attacker eased off the pressure. She didn’t know why, but instinct told her this was her final chance to rally. Using all her lung power, she sucked in a deep breath, tensed every muscle, and tried a final shove to break his stranglehold. Her pulse was so loud she heard it pumping in her ears.
Suddenly she felt a sharp sting on her neck near her carotid artery. She had only a few seconds to realize it was a needle. The spots in her eyes became a spread of purple edged in red, filling her entire field of vision. Over the next ten seconds she felt herself go rag-doll limp. Then it all went to black.