His eyes opened to bloodshot slits, focusing immediately on her. His voice had a ragged edge when he asked, “Where are we?”
It amazed her that he seemed to wake almost fully alert. No apparent confusion or disorientation. “I don’t know where we are. They brought us here in a minivan with the back windows covered, so I couldn’t see out.”
“How long have I been unconscious?”
“I’m not sure, exactly. It seemed like hours. We were on the road in the van for a long time.”
She watched him test the cuffs that bound him as he asked, “Smooth roads? Like highways?”
“No, rough. Like gravel. Lots of turns and hills.”
He nodded, then gave the room a slow once-over, apparently noting the one small, grimy window, the dirty wooden floor bare of any furniture except the iron bed, the single closed door. He was still pale, and his eyes didn’t look quite right to her, but he wasn’t giving in to any aftereffects he might still be suffering. He seemed wholly focused on assessing their situation and figuring ways to get them out of it.
Having taken thorough inventory of his circumstances, he turned his attention to her. “They didn’t hurt you,” he said, and it wasn’t a question. She suspected he’d come to that conclusion after his first glance at her. Typically, his first thoughts had been about business.
“No. I’m not hurt.”
“How many of them were there?”
She almost shuddered as she replayed the scene in her mind. “Three. Two attacked you, while another ripped the car door out of my hand before I could close it and lock it. It happened so fast—before I even knew what was going on.”
“Did anyone see them grab us?”
“I don’t think so. We were parked in that deep shadow and the van pulled up right next to your car, blocking the view from the road or the restaurant. And they moved so quickly….”
“Did you have a chance to scream?”
“They told me they would kill you if I screamed. You were unconscious and the big man held a gun to your head. I couldn’t risk your life.”
His left eyebrow rose. “So you just got in the van?”
“I didn’t have any other choice.”
“You saw their faces?”
“They made no effort to hide them.”
What might have been a frown flashed across his face. After a moment, he ordered, “Tell me everything they said.”
“They said very little. The whole operation seemed to have been carefully worked out ahead of time. They didn’t discuss anything. I tried to find out who they were and what they wanted from us, but they just told me to shut up. I rode sitting in the back of the van with your head in my lap and a gun pointed at me.” She somehow managed to keep her voice steady despite the lingering terror of that ride.
He glanced at her lap, as if visualizing the scene, a
nd then he said, “I think it’s fairly obvious why they grabbed us.”
“Is it?” she asked dryly.
“C’mon, Chloe, your name and your photograph have been in the society pages linking you to Bryan. The gossips have the two of you all but married. Even Judy at the diner recognized you. And I’m Bryan’s best friend and closest business associate. This is a simple kidnapping with ransom as the objective.”
He was confirming a theory she’d already developed. She’d been aware that there were drawbacks to being involved with a man as wealthy and powerful as Bryan Falcon, even before Donovan had pointed them out during the past couple of days, but she’d considered gossip the most troublesome. She had honestly never imagined her personal safety was at risk. Now, of course, she realized she’d been naive not to consider it.
Bryan obviously hadn’t made the same mistake. After all, he’d sent Donovan to escort her to the lake house because he hadn’t wanted her to make the drive alone. “Did you and Bryan suspect something like this would happen?”
“Of course not.” Donovan’s reply was sharp and instantaneous. He looked irritated that she had asked. “We didn’t have a clue. If we had, do you honestly believe I’d have been so careless?”
Hearing the self-recrimination in his voice, she shook her head. “But you weren’t careless. You were so alert that I even teased you about acting like a bodyguard.”
“Some bodyguard,” he muttered, flexing his hands within their bindings.