want to call attention to their location or the children’s absence. And, damn it, she had to admit to some curiosity about this man who had disarmed her so thoroughly and seemed so familiar to her on a subconscious level.
Of course, Control might be interested in knowing what other agency tracked the Dealers. Returning with this information could give her points for good behavior. Keep her out of Def’s hands. Out of solitary. Or worse, sitting at a desk.
Worth a shot.
As they slipped through the shadows, reverberating shouts alerted her to the Dealers return, subsequent discovery of the empty cage and tussle with the Triad strike team. She hoped the children had been smart enough to go all the way through the tunnel.
She thought briefly of the girl, her old eyes and scrawny body. If it had not been for this hulk of a man dragging her around, she would have gone back for the girl. A set to the girl’s jaw and proud stance reminded Sidra so much of herself at that age.
Tough. Independent. Arrogant.
Idiotic.
Young Sidra, so contemptuous of others. So sure she knew all the answers. So wrong.
She wanted to find that little girl. A piece of herself. Someone she could save. Like she’d been. Someone who shouldn’t have to go through what she went through before Norah.
A sharp tug on the bonds sent her stumbling forward almost into the back of the stranger. Ducking under the top frame of a small opening, he went out first, and then pulled her forward.
She tripped on the doorjamb. He caught her by the elbow, keeping her from crashing into the metal. Annoyance flared. Okay, so she wanted more information about him but she was getting plenty pissed at being dragged around.
She had barely set a foot outside when he whirled and slammed her back inside the building. A growl pushed out of her. He pressed his body against her, molding to her front like a second skin. Her backside ground against the splintering wood. Something rock-hard and solid jabbed. And not only against her rear.
She tensed, and her stomach clenched. Familiar panic rose with each in and out bump of a particular part of his anatomy against her body. He was leaving pushy and entering intolerable. Her cooperation was about to end.
He leaned in, his mask inches from scraping her cheek. She inhaled, her nose tantalized by his musky scent. Heated male skin mixed with a fresh, clean smell. Perfect contrast to the rodent droppings and rotten fish scents permeating the warehouse and surrounding area. She caught herself from bending to move closer to his intoxicating scent. Right, Sidra, you are in an extremely vulnerable position with a strange man and you are sniffing him like a starving bloodhound?
“It’s blocked,” he rumbled against her chest. “We need to locate another exit. We don’t want to lead them to the children.”
Mentally, Sidra slapped her face, shaking off the hunger his scent evoked. She lifted her chin and glared into his face. No man had been this close to her in a long time. At least in a touchy, feely, physical sort of way. She’d handled a few, okay, pummeled a few, but this close, this personal...
No way in hell.
“Get off.” She found her voice and spoke through clenched jaws. “Right now.”
All thoughts of discovering who he was and what he was about flew away. Despite the men coming into the storage facility any second, she was going to seriously hurt this man if he didn’t back off.
Something in her expression, the rage in her eyes maybe, must have warned him because there was less pressure against her breasts and thighs. Fantastic. Now she could breathe, but the bastard was still too damn near. Amusement radiated from his shrouded figure. So much for her death stare.
Her teeth clenched. His pleasure at her expense left her treading a fine line between anger and a desire to maim. Caught up in her fuming, she didn’t realize he no longer held her captive. A crash sounded nearby, snapping her out of her impression of a piece of deadwood.
Sidra hooked a leg behind his, bent and shoved with her right shoulder. Both of his knees collapsed. A grunt escaped as his backside hit the floor. Without hesitation, she leaped forward, bolting for the far side of the facility. The side that bordered Ocean Bay.
In her reconnaissance, she had noted a small side door with failing hinges. A hard kick would easily break them. The exit was a bit high above the water, but hey, a girl had to take every opportunity available. Even with her hands tied.
She cringed at the thought of the murky, foul-smelling water that was home to all kinds of assorted human and animal waste. She had little choice with the Dealers behind her and this annoying intruder in her way.
A couple of sharp kicks snapped the rusty metal, and the door flew open. One pitted hinge barely held the old door to the frame. She risked a glance behind her. The dark stranger was nowhere to be seen but the bad guys were. A shout rang out. They had spotted her. She faced the opening.
Laser blasts creased the walls. Chunks of plaster and old brick flew at her face. Debris pelted her skin, dangerously close to her eyes. She swore and flattened her back against the wall. A quick glance out the door, and she grimaced. Higher than she had realized. And the water reeked of fish, fuel and other stuff infinitely more vile. Just great.
Her hands were tied.
She had farther to fall.
The water was filthy.
What more could she ask for?
A flicker of movement from above caught her attention. The stranger crouched on a beam, staring directly at her. How had the bastard gotten up there so fecking fast?
Sidra hesitated, hovering at the ledge. A laser blast came from the warehouse, close to singeing the hair on her head. Okay, okay, so one of the bad guys was a pretty good shot. Time to go.
With a final glance at the stranger, who merely inclined his head in her direction, she turned and dove out the door.
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