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SARAH WINCED AS JUAN gripped her upper arm, forcing her to move to the front of the airplane. The men had left her alone for the flight, and she’d been too scared to so much as move a muscle when she’d been awake.
Whatever they’d drugged her with still hadn’t completely left her system either, and after they’d taken off, she’d slept for several hours.
Her stomach roiled as they moved forward, and she didn’t know how long it had been since she’d last had something to eat or drink. Every hour she was awake seemed endless, and every moment was taking her farther and farther away from Ryan.
The door to the plane opened, and she felt the hot air against her face.
Blinking at the bright sunlight, her mouth nearly fell open in shock as her eyes adjusted. They’d landed on a dirt airstrip somewhere, but that wasn’t what was most concerning. The mountains in the distance let her know she sure the hell wasn’t on the East Coast of the U.S. anymore.
Juan had said they were going to Mexico, but a part of her had hoped that he was bluffing. He’d actually kidnapped her and taken her to another country. No one knew where she was. No one could help her.
Sarah began to tremble, and Juan shoved her forward.
Taking shaky steps down the stairs, she grabbed hold of the metal railing.
There were several armed men standing around the perimeter of the airstrip, which was fenced in with barbed wire, and she wondered if this was also some sort of drug operation. It seemed like an insane amount of work had gone into kidnapping her. Were there more women being kept somewhere else around here? Were they trafficking women from all around the U.S.?
None of this made any sense. She’d befriended Juan, sort of, and he’d orchestrated this entire thing. Was it because of Ryan? Because of her brother?
Certainly it would be easier to kidnap a woman alone late at night than to drug and take someone from a hotel.
Maybe they had some other sort of illegal operation that she’d accidentally gotten involved in.
She shuddered and heard Juan’s harsh laugh behind her.
Stepping onto the dirt ground, she felt the soft earth beneath her bare feet. Would they give her shoes to put on? Expect her to walk around barefoot everywhere?
Where were they even taking her?
A man walked over and began talking to Juan and the others in Spanish. She picked up a few words but couldn’t follow what they were saying.
“We’ll be traveling to my home for the night,” Juan said, his fingers gripping her upper arm more tightly. “The buyer has been delayed until tomorrow, but there’s no point in keeping you with the other women when I can have you all to myself. He is thrilled to be purchasing you. I’ll collect a hefty sum for my troubles, and you’ll never see U.S. soil again.”
Her stomach tightened, but she held her chin up, determined not to let him see how frightened she was.
Tomorrow. She could survive twenty-four more hours.
Ryan and Patrick and all the men on the SEAL teams had to be looking for her by now. It’s not like Juan had kidnapped her off the streets—someone had been in the hotel. And hotels had security cameras. Witnesses.
She gasped as she suddenly remembered the hairstylist bringing her the tea.
Had she been in on this whole thing, too?
Ryan would do everything in his power to find her. Everything. He had connections at the Pentagon, at military bases around the world, and he knew people everywhere. He had two SEAL teams at his disposal. He’d been a Navy SEAL himself. She just had to hold on until he got here.
Juan released her arm and began talking to some of the other men in Spanish, and she tried not to appear frightened. Some of the heavily armed men began moving their way, and she saw a car driving up in the distance. The guards at the gate let it pull in, and Juan grinned.
“That’s our ride.”
“Where are we?” she asked.
He chuckled. “Mexico. And not to worry, I own the police in this town. No one will touch you unless I say so. If you cooperate and do as I say, it will go much easier for you.”
The car pulled to a stop in front of them, and one of the men walked over and opened the back door. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she didn’t know which was worse—going somewhere alone with Juan or staying here with all these strange men.
“Follow behind us,” Juan instructed, nodding toward some other vehicles parked in the distance. His dark gaze landed on Sarah. “Get in.”
She swallowed nervously but nodded, climbing into the car.
Rather than getting in the passenger seat, Juan slid in beside her. He grabbed two bottles of water and passed one her way. She gratefully took it, twisting the cap and swallowing. She was so damn thirsty she wanted to gulp the whole thing down, but it seemed like a horrible idea on an empty stomach.
A Jeep pulled up with several armed men, and Juan nodded in approval. “They will lead the way,” he told the driver. “The other two can bring up the rear.”
Sarah took another tiny sip of the water as the car began moving, watching as some men began to work on refueling the plane. A moment later, they pulled through the gates of the tiny airstrip and sped up along the dirt road.
Her gaze drifted out the window toward the mountains, and she wondered where in Mexico they were and how Ryan would ever find her. If they kept moving her around, she had no hope of being rescued. But Ryan and his men did this sort of thing for a living—they tracked people down. Dangerous men. Terrorists. Drug lords.
They’d find her.
Juan’s dark gaze landed on her, and he didn’t say anything for a moment before he chuckled. “It’s amazing the amount of trouble I went through to get you.”
“Why?” she croaked, looking over at him.
His gaze raked over her, and she resisted the urge to shudder.
“Ah. Your husband and his men ruined a large part of our operation, as you may know. Of course, we can easily bring many women down here to start over again, and we will, but nothing is sweeter than revenge.”
Her eyes widened as her heartbeat sped up.
“They destroyed part of something that took us years to build. We lost a substantial amount of money thanks to them. Now we will destroy him.”
“By taking me?” she asked in disbelief.
“Si. Nothing is more valuable to a man than the woman he loves.” Juan chuckled, leaning back in his seat. “It was too easy to find out about your life, to find someone to work with me. I just needed to wait for the right moment, and I’ll earn a hefty sum for delivering you.”
“Delivering me to who?”
“That’s not your concern,” Juan said. “You’re his property now. You’ll be his to use as he pleases.”
The water she’d just sipped began to roil in her stomach, and before she could stop herself, she leaned over and threw up.
***
SARAH AWOKE HOURS LATER, lying in a dark cellar on the cool ground. She wasn’t sure if she’d passed out on the car ride or if they’d drugged her again with something. The water bottle she’d drank from had been sealed though.
She shifted and shivered slightly.
Were they at Juan’s house? Or had he stashed her somewhere else and left her here?
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized that it had to be night. Juan had claimed she was worth a lot of money to him. He wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble to kidnap her just to leave her alone to die.
She moaned as she tried to sit up, her entire body aching. Her arms buckled beneath her, and she collapsed back onto the ground, the cool floor against her cheek. She had a sour taste in her mouth from vomiting earlier and would’ve given anything for a nice, cool glass of water and maybe a warm shower.
Had they even left her any food or water?
She wouldn’t survive if they starved her to death.
Taking a deep breath, she felt drowsiness began to overtake her again. Maybe if she rested a few more minutes, she’d feel better. Then she’d figure out a plan and what to do next.
She’d find a way to escape and get home.
She closed her eyes and surrendered to the darkness.
