Sweet Captivity

“It’s okay, Sam. It’s me.” Dex stopped a few feet away from me, keeping the same careful, respectful distance he always did.

“Are you hurt?” Jason asked. He stood even farther away, barely inside the broken doorway. Tension gripped his body, and his dark green eyes studied me intently. His lips twisted in disgust when his gaze fell on Andrés’ shirt covering me. It obviously belonged to a man; it nearly swallowed my much smaller frame. “Who did this to you?” he ground out, clearly putting two and two together. He saw my state of dress and assumed I’d been violated by my captors.

“Where is he?” I asked thickly, struggling to control my tongue. The drugs lingered in my system, sapping my strength and dulling my mind. All I knew was I had to get back to Andrés before Cristian hurt him.

“Who?” Dex asked, kneeling beside the bed so he could study my face. “Who were you with? We got an anonymous call saying you’d be here. Are you…” He eyed Andrés’ shirt, his pale blue gaze igniting with rage. His jaw clenched, and he took a deep breath. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.” I slurred. “I have to go.”

“Go? Sam, you’ve been missing for almost a month. You’re not going anywhere.”

I tried to sit up, but the world wavered around me, and I dropped back onto the pillows.

“I have a bus on the way,” Jason said.

I didn’t want an ambulance. I didn’t want to go to the hospital. I wanted to get back to Andrés before something terrible happened to him.

But I couldn’t seem to move. I could barely think. I heard Dex talking, but I couldn’t quite focus on what he was saying. The room kept sliding into darkness. Every time the world disappeared, I tried to force my eyes back open.

I was fighting a losing battle. Everything dissolved around me, until all I had left was fear for Andrés.

When I finally came back to full awareness, I found myself in a hospital bed. Dex was standing at the threshold to the room, his massive body blocked by a short nurse who was clearly struggling to hold her ground.

I heard her murmur the words rape kit as she tried to shoo Dex away, and my stomach dropped.

I couldn’t let them run a rape kit. I’d had sex with Andrés a few hours ago while under the influence of Bliss, and he’d come inside me. I doubted his DNA was on file anywhere, but I couldn’t allow them to collect that kind of evidence against him.

“I want to talk to Dex,” I said loudly, alerting them both to the fact that I was awake.

His blue eyes blazed when they focused on me, his tanned face oddly pale. He evidently hadn’t liked the words rape kit, either. Although, he was disturbed for entirely different reasons. He thought I’d been used against my will, violated.

“I need to talk to you,” I said, more softly. “Please.”

My mind whirred to life. I had to figure out a way to save Andrés before Cristian realized I was missing. I’d start by questioning Dex. I needed to know what the FBI suspected about my abduction and what was being done to try to find the people who’d taken me.

The nurse finally stepped aside and allowed Dex to enter. He approached me carefully, moving slowly so he wouldn’t spook me. He reached for me, almost touching my shoulder. Then his hand clenched to a fist, and he pulled away. He never had been willing to push past my barriers and touch me. We were buddies, and he respected my personal space issues.

Once, I’d longed for him to look at me with desire, with love. Now, he was watching me with concern.

And all I wanted was for him to get out of my way so I could get back to the man I loved before something terrible happened to him. I knew where Andrés’ building was located. I’d spent enough time staring down at the cross streets below his penthouse windows to know exactly how to find my way back to him.

Andrés obviously thought I’d accept the sanctuary offered by the Bureau. He thought he could send my friends to retrieve me, and I’d quietly go back to my life with the FBI, kept safe by my fellow agents.

He was wrong. I was going straight back to him.

Te amo.

He loved me. He loved me, so he’d let me go. He didn’t believe he was strong enough to fight his brother.

But he hadn’t counted on having me by his side. He’d only seen me in my weak attempts to fight as a field agent. He’d never seen me in hacker-geek-goddess mode. If I could get back to him, I could show him how easy it would be for the two of us to take Cristian down.

I just needed his laptop, and I’d be able to destroy Cristian financially, backing him into a corner before sending the full power of the FBI after him. I’d send all the incriminating evidence straight to Jason and Dex, and they’d handle the arrest.

Especially if they knew Cristian was the one responsible for my abduction.

“It was Cristian Moreno,” I said quietly, looking straight into Dex’s eyes. “He kidnapped me.”

His jaw clenched. He knew about the Bliss and human trafficking. He’d seen me in Andrés’ shirt, and he was clearly coming to some dark conclusions.