I woke up freezing, to the sound of rain through the open window and a gun pointed between my eyes. Thai Dinh stood over me, his pretty face half lit by the streetlight that beamed into the room every night as though we were being invaded by aliens. I opened my mouth, but my lungs seized and no sound came out. I’d always imagined how I’d react in a situation like this, and lying there in a frozen lump of fear wasn’t it.

“Scream and I’ll drop you right here.” His lightly accented voice was unusually high-pitched but aggressive, like Mickey Mouse with a grudge to settle.

He produced a gag that smelled like feet, stuffed it in my mouth and strapped it around my head. He made me roll over so he could bind my hands behind my back. His motions were quick and efficient as though he tied people up everyday. Maybe he did. I shuddered at the thought.

All I could think about was how had he gotten in? This place was supposed to be secure. I was supposed to be safe. And where the hell was Super Agent and the mother-lovin’ FBI?

He yanked on my arm. “Get up.”

I complied. What else could I do?

He pushed me toward the door that led to the living room. I dug in my heels. Super Agent was asleep on the other side. He wouldn’t know what was happening until it was too late.

“Get moving!” Dinh whispered, sounding like an angry balloon with a slow leak.

I shook my head. He was going to have to shoot me here. Super Agent would come in, guns blazing, at the sound. I might be dead, but at least he’d be all right.

Dinh leaned his bony frame into my back. “Move it!”

The thing was, I weighed more than he did. I was taller too. His pushing me was like a child trying to move my Pontiac. It wasn’t going to happen.

I shook my head again.

“I should just shoot you here.”

I nodded.

A befuddled frown settled between his brows. “You want me to shoot you?”

I swiveled my head back and forth.

“Then get a move on.” He gave me another shove.

“Mmm.”

“What?”

“Mmm mm mm mhh m mm mhh.”

“I can’t understand you.” He nudged me again. “Let’s go.”

I shook my head and stomped my foot. Or really, his foot. He bent forward and I turned to apologize and accidentally clocked him under the jaw. He dropped like a sack of wet sand at my feet, the gun clattering against the cheap linoleum floor.

I stared down at him for a second, then my common sense finally decided to make an appearance, and I started kicking at the closed bedroom door. Super Agent burst into the room, sending me backwards. My legs caught on the edge of the bed, and I sat down, nearly tipping over sideways.

“What the—” Super Agent flipped the light on and took in the scene. He pointed his gun at Thai Dinh. “You did this?”

I nodded. “Mmm mhh mm mmm mhhh!”

He bent down and checked Dinh’s pulse, then lifted Dinh’s eyelid and blew on it. Nothing. “He’s out.” Super Agent glanced up at me. “Are you all right?”

I bobbed my head again. “Mmm mh mm.”

“Hold on.” He disappeared and came right back with a pair of handcuffs. He locked them around Dinh’s wrists, then patted him down. He pulled out his cell phone and called the other agents.

“Mh mm mmm mm mmh mmmmh mm mh?” I showed him my tied-up hands.

“Oh, sorry.”

He went to work on my hands, then my gag. When I was finally free, I launched myself at him.

“He-came-into-the-room-pointed-a-gun-at-me-tied-me-up-threatened-to-kill-me-all-I-could-think-was-that-you-were-in-the-next-room-and-that—”

“Hey, take it easy.” He gave me a hard hug, then pushed me back to look at me, smoothing the hair back from my face. “You’re all right. I’ve got you now.”

I sucked in some air, huge gulps of it. Then I spotted Thai Dinh just coming around. Anger roared through me, and all I could think was that he’d killed Chuck Puckett. I shoved out of Super Agent’s embrace, marched over to Thai Dinh, and kicked him square in the nuts. He jerked, curling over, but I wasn’t done. I got in one more kick before Super Agent grabbed me around the waist and hauled me back.

“That’s enough.”

I struggled, all arms and legs, flailing like a two-year-old at a toy store. “Let me…at…him…”

“He’s disarmed and handcuffed. How is that a fair fight?”

“How fair of a fight did Chuck Puckett get?” I countered.

“I let you get in that second kick for me for tying you up, but I can’t let you beat the hell out of him. That’d be very hard to explain.”

I shook him off. “Fine.”

He looked down at the man who’d caused so much heartache, then back up at me. “This is better than the plan we’d come up with.”

“Hell, yeah. One down, one to go. And I think I know just how to get him.”