Monday. Asclepius Health, Chicago, Illinois.BRENDEN STARED DAGGERS AT the self-important officer taking his sweet time signing off on returning their gear.This was a waste of their fucking time.Cops had rolled up several minutes after Priscilla's abduction. Zain had been able to trace her phone and tracking bracelet to a block away. After that, he couldn't find anything. The cops had acted on what they'd seen and assumed their team was the problem. After a lengthy back and forth, involving their boss, lawyers and calling their clients at Asclepius, they should be on their way. But here they were, killing more valuable moments.The trail was cold.Priscilla and her kidnappers were long gone.A team like that, who knew what they were doing, should have her whisked away in moments. They'd change vehicles, drivers. Priscilla had vanished right from under his damn nose. And they all knew what was going to happen to her if they didn't find her."Guys?" Melody came around

Brenden stepped back and examined the six foot stone and wrought-iron fence surrounding the property. Getting over it would be easy. The tricky part would be to remain undetected. The house had large windows. There could be a security system in place, cameras he couldn't see. But that was a risk he'd have to take.If he wanted to ensure he got inside, he had to move now, before the smoker was done.He sidestepped the tree and watched the smoker stare at his phone.This was Brenden's chance.He grabbed the top of the fence and using the tree, boosted himself up and over onto the property. The immaculately kept grass cushioned his landing and kept it silent.The smoker didn't glance Brenden's way at all.Time was not on his side though. He'd have preferred a more cautious approach, but this was what he had.Brenden sprinted forward, swerving right so the corner of the garage partially obscured him. He didn't draw his gun. If he had to shoot it was all over. A sound like tha

Tuesday. Unknown, Chicago, Illinois.BRENDEN SHOULD HAVE KNOWN better.He let his eyes shut again. Or more appropriately, his eye. The left was nearly swollen shut.Waiting for the team would have been the better choice. But how should he have known Priscilla's kidnappers had a timeline?He'd rushed in because he let his emotions get in the way, and now he might have blown their chances at getting rescued. His tracker was likely fried thanks to the EMP. The goons had taken and destroyed his phone. That left his one and only hope his comm unit.The device had a GPS tracking feature, but only when it was turned on. It was still in his pocket, but there was no way he'd be able to power the thing on to signal the team. If he could do that, he might as well give them a rundown.If Priscilla died because he'd been foolish, he hoped they killed him.Time dragged on.Their car ride got longer and longer as they left Chicago and its suburbs behind.Every so often he opened

Tuesday. Unknown, Chicago, Illinois.PRISCILLA'S EYES AND THROAT stung from the smoke. Her ears rang and in the rush of men to come and go she kept getting kicked.Large hands grabbed her by the arms. She flinched before she realized who it was.Brenden.This was their chance to get free.She didn't know how he did it, but he got her wrists lose. She pushed to her feet, wobbling a little and blinking back tears as the gas stung her eyes.Brenden clutched her to him and rushed across the room, toward the window. They hadn't even gone three steps before more hands grabbed her. She tried to hold on to Brenden, but her numb hands wouldn't cooperate.The hands yanked her back and the next thing she felt was the cool press of metal to her temple. She sucked in a gasp and watched Brenden whirl, only to be tackled by one of the goons. The two men crashed to the ground, landing half in and half out of the house.Arturo wasn't going to use her as a shield.She'd been through

Six months later. Taylor Family Reunion, Chicago, Illinois.PRISCILLA WAS GOING TO HURL.A voice in the back of her head reminded her that the last time she'd lost the contents of her stomach had also been in Chicago. All over her kidnappers.Today had no such danger factored in, unless she took into account her light blue dress and the fact that backyard barbeques were often messy.It was too late to change now.Brenden opened the passenger door of their rental and held out his hand. She took it and held on tight as he pulled her to her feet.He studied her face. "You're looking a little green.""I want them to like me," she grumble-mumbled under her breath.Who would have known she actually got nervous about meeting people she wanted to impress?Other than a little interview nerves, she'd never gone through this before moving to Seattle a few weeks ago. When she'd gone to the first get-together that included dozens of Aegis Group employees and their families, she