Drake remained silent, but he opened the door of the pickup truck on the driver’s side.
Pyro’s nose flared when he met Boar’s gaze. His face was an ever-changing palette of emotion, but in the end he nodded and led Boar to the vehicle. “Don’t you fucking dare die.”
Boar gave him one more kiss, but Drake was getting twitchy. “We’ve got to go, whatever you decide. I will not have Clover on my conscience.”
Pyro helped Boar into the driver’s seat and shut the door behind him. “Check in as often as you can!”
Boar nodded and started the pickup. He wanted to be there for Clover, but he’d only be slowing everyone down. The best he could do was force Pyro to go.
Chapter 20 – Clover
Clover could not resist the power of the strong arms around him even if he weren’t cuffed. Even if he didn’t have a bag on his head. The fabric stuck to his face every time he breathed in, and the sparsity of oxygen made his head spin. He had no idea how long they’d traveled, but from the moment a huge goon removed him from the vehicle, the sense of entrapment made him even more frantic. He heard a loud barking. Deep, hoarse tones. A big dog.
He was so afraid that when he bit his lip, he didn’t even notice when it started bleeding.
In the car, he’d at least understood his position, but now even that had been taken from him. He didn’t attempt to struggle, since that could end up with a beating or a harsh landing on the ground.
What if their plan was misguided? What if the guys failed to track him down? His heart beat wildly. Each step taken by the man who carried him on his broad shoulder resonated in his bones, producing new layers of fear.
Once the barking became no more than background noise, Clover’s world turned quiet, narrowed down to the huffing of the thug and the clicking of the woman’s high heels. He tried to focus on whatever information his limited senses could gather—scents or anything else that might hint at where he was—but found nothing specific enough. Trees. The smell of plants. No traffic. Hardly enough to provide clues about his location.
The place where Tank had put in the tracker still hurt, but Clover treasured the constant itch of the wound for reminding him that help was on the way. Unless the device failed to produce a strong enough signal. Or the signal got somehow blocked. In that case, his life would be over. He’d be someone’s property forever.
He was startled to hear loud trills, because birds were loudest in the morning, and he was positive it was way past daytime. And the vocalizations the birds made? Those didn’t sound quite right either. It was as if he was in a zoo, in an aviary.
“Here we are,” the woman said in a soft voice, and Clover recoiled when her slender hand stroked his shoulder as if he were a dog.
He didn’t want to think of the things these people might want him for. He’d agreed to be the bait, he’d known the risk, yet all he wanted now was to be back in Tank’s arms, confident about his safety.
A soothing voice cooed, “It’s okay, shhh… My name is Diana, and you’re safe. So skittish.”
Clover stifled a scream when his position changed, but when his bare feet touched grass, it was as if the cool ground provided all the safety Clover needed. No longer relying on someone else to carry him, he was relieved to keep his body steady despite the cuff on his ankle. A light came on, teasing him through the tiny gaps between thread.
But before he could have even considered blindly darting off, something tugged on his leg, and the chain that settled against his foot was a physical reminder that there was no escape. His lungs convulsed, sucking in all too much air, so he tried to even out his breathing in an effort to stay calm, even though the fastening around his neck felt tighter with each passing second.
He heard Diana step closer and tried not to flinch when her longish nails moved over the exposed skin of his forearm. “You’re so pretty. You can have all the soft serve you want tonight.”
Clover frowned. What. The. Fuck. Was she offering him ice cream? Did she think he was five, or something?
He shivered like a newborn lamb when someone pulled the bag off his head and bright light assaulted his eyes. He’d used contact lenses today in case his glasses fell off, but after being stuck in the dark, it took him a couple of moments to get used to the bright colors and light. When he finally looked around, the lush green of tropical plants had his mouth falling open.