Page 63 of Married at Midnight

CHAPTER TWENTY

Ellie’s eyelids fluttered open. Too heavy to hold them in that position, she let them drift closed. It had all been a dream . . . a dream that smelled like dead fish.

Ellie forced her eyes open and found herself in a dark room. She could see nothing that gave her any clue to her whereabouts. There was a concrete floor beneath her. The air was cool, but not as cool as outside.

A wave of nausea rolled over her. The drug Amanda had given her was slowly wearing off, but not fast enough. With a groan, she rolled onto her side. It was then she realized her hands and feet were tied. Not wanting the fish smell to make her nausea worse, she took shallow, even breaths in an effort to clear her head.

Once the nausea was under control, she remained still and listened. When nothing came to her, she squeezed her eyes shut and focused, trying to make her addled brain work. Gulls squawked overhead. There was a sound of water as it slapped against wooden pylons.

The Seattle waterfront. If she put those clues together with the fish smell, then she could be nowhere else but at a fish-processing factory. There were several along Alaskan Way where someone could be held unnoticed for a long period of time.

A more terrifying thought occurred to her—was she simply here waiting for Amanda to put her on a boat? A boat made sense. It would be so easy to dispose of her body in the depths of Puget Sound once Connor refused her captor’s demands.

Ellie drew a deep, steadying breath. Her new goal for the evening: avoid being killed.

If death did find her, she had only one regret—that she hadn’t taken the chance to be honest with Connor and tell him what was in her heart. Because she knew he was the one for her.

Silently, in case Amanda was near, she tested the knots that bound her by straightening her legs. They were tied tightly together, making it impossible for her to walk. Her hands were tied tightly together in front of her. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see the hazy outline of the knot at her hands, and she smiled.

Obviously Amanda hadn’t been a Girl Scout. She’d tied the rope together in the center of Ellie’s hands with a figure-eight knot instead of a square knot. She could get out of her bindings in time.

Ellie brought her hands to her mouth and started working the knot loose with her teeth. The fact that she could do something to help herself, and hopefully ruin Amanda’s plans, gave her courage—however false it might be. But at least she was doing something besides waiting to be fish bait.

A sound grated in the distance. “I hope you’re not too groggy,” a female voice said from the darkness.

Ellie stopped her gnawing, praying that if she couldn’t see Amanda, Amanda couldn’t see her. And if Amanda couldn’t see her, maybe Ellie could rattle her. “Connor told me you were smart. But obviously not smart enough to find a way to abduct me without using sedatives.”

A lantern flared on her left, flooding the room with pale, golden light. Amanda strode toward her until she stood above Ellie, her face expressionless. “Keep insulting me, Ellie, and something might happen to you before I can return you to Connor.”

Ellie looked around her. She was definitely in a warehouse, one with high windows all along the side and a door on the far end to her left. Too high for her to climb up to and escape. “Where am I?” she asked, not really expecting Amanda to reveal anything useful.

“Haven’t you guessed?”

“A warehouse along Alaskan Way.”

“You’re very good at this game.” Amanda smiled. “Want to play another game?”

“Such as?”

“Guess how long it’ll be before that husband of yours notices you’re gone?” Her smile turned cruel.

“I already told you—he won’t care.”

Amanda pulled a knife from her pocket, and the blade clicked open.

Ellie tried to keep her expression from revealing the terror that skittered across her nerves.

Amanda bent down and stroked the side of her cheek with the ice-cold blade. She lifted strands of Ellie’s hair and hacked off a hunk.

Ellie flinched but held back a gasp.

“He’ll care when I deliver this to him along with my demands.”

Ellie swallowed roughly as the overwhelming scent of fish merged with her own fear. “What are you after, Amanda? Why do you want Connor’s research so badly?”

Amanda’s smile faded. “I’ll get billions of dollars for all the technology his car will reveal.”

“And a prison sentence.”