Page 68 of Married at Midnight

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The text came at midnight, demanding his prototype and his research in exchange for Ellie.

They wanted everything he had to give on the self-driving car. Connor would hand it over willingly if it kept Ellie safe and brought her back to the people who loved her.

No one had gone to bed. Those assembled sat at attention now as the hostage-negotiation team Trevor had brought in coached Connor on what to say in order to secure a transfer location place and time, as well as demand visual proof Ellie was unharmed.

Show me proof she’s all right.Connor typed onto the screen.

Do what we ask and she will be.

Connor could feel the frustration searing inside him, stronger than ever. Show me Ellie.

You don’t need proof besides her hair.

Like hell I don’t.Connor typed the reply and hit “Send,” praying he’d made his point.

One hour.The reply came; then his cell phone went silent.

After what seemed like hours, Ellie finally managed to loosen the knot at her hands and slip her wrists free. She took a moment to massage her abused flesh, then worked on untying her feet. As soon as she was free, she stood.

She wobbled on her feet—proof that the effects of the drugs Amanda had given her weren’t entirely out of her system yet. But she couldn’t wait until they were. If she was going to make a break for her freedom, it had to be now.

Her heart thundering in her ears, she groped through the darkness to her left. Ellie followed the image she’d burned in her mind of the location of the door. When she came to a wall, she put out her hands and fumbled her way along the cool concrete, desperate to find the door. Finally she came to what felt like the frame of a single metal door.

It took her a moment to locate the door handle. She pushed, then pushed harder, only to confirm it was locked.

She drew a fortifying breath. Determined to set herself free, she moved along the wall in the opposite direction. While the lantern had been lit, she hadn’t had a clear view of what was on the right side of the chamber. With luck, perhaps she’d come upon a door that was unlocked or a window she could break.

She hadn’t made it far when the grinding noise of the lock sliding free filled the silence. The door beside her slowly opened.

A chill went up her spine.

Amanda had returned.

Ellie froze. She had to act now.

Pale-yellow light spilled into the darkness, giving her a view of the door as it opened. Ellie kicked the metal with her right foot, forcing the door to slam into Amanda. She dropped the lantern and shrieked as the metal door connected with her perfect face.

Adrenaline pumped through Ellie. She stepped around the front of the door and swung at the startled Amanda, catching her in the head. Instead of lunging backward like she expected, Amanda dove for Ellie, grabbing her by the hair.

Ellie ducked, twisted. Her hair slipped from Amanda’s grasp. Instantly, Amanda lashed something around Ellie’s neck and held tight.

Panic flooded Ellie as she clawed at Amanda’s fingers. She needed air every bit as much as she needed a way to escape. If only she could break free, she might be able to clear the doorway. Then she could run, and keep on running.

Ellie could feel herself weakening as her lungs burned. In a desperate attempt for breath, Ellie knocked her head back into Amanda’s.

“Stop fighting me,” Amanda growled as she loosened her grip, giving Ellie a chance to suck in much-needed air. But before she could run, Amanda shoved the barrel of a gun against Ellie’s rib cage. “I’ll shoot.”

Ellie froze. She might long to be free, but she also had no wish to die.

“How did you untie yourself?”

She pressed her lips tight.

“Oh, never mind. There’s no way out of here except through me, so start cooperating.” The half-light from the lantern was enough to illuminate the anger in Amanda’s eyes.

With her semiautomatic pistol, she motioned for Ellie to step back against the wall. Her nose was bleeding, and Ellie had managed to cut Amanda’s left cheek. Neither slowed her down.