She slowed her heart rate and drew in air.
There were no memories between doing Tai Chi on the dock and now.
Nothing. Only fog.
“You’re awake, Miss Cheveyo. Finally. It appears my associate overestimated your weight and body mass. My apologies.”
The disembodied voice floated around her. She turned her head but saw nothing but complete dark outside of the spotlight.
The voice was male. Smug. Pretentious. “I require your cooperation, and I’m afraid there is a bit of a time crunch.”
No other noises in the space. A small echo. Not a lot of soft surfaces where they were. Probably an empty room, maybe four hundred square feet. Steel or concrete walls.
Facts would keep the panic at bay.
She would figure out where she was. How to get free. How to escape.
Facts not fear.
Easier said than done.
Was Sam okay? He would have never let someone kidnap her without a fight.
Why couldn’t she remember?
Who was this man and what did he want?
Facts.
A strong cologne. Too much.
No accent in his voice. A deliberately rehearsed neutral?
A hand holding a switchblade entered her field of vision. The knife sliced into her thigh, then disappeared. Tansy couldn’t stop the yelp of pain and surprise. With her hands and feet bound, she couldn’t retaliate or move away.
She jerked at the chair, but it didn’t move at all. Bolted to the floor?
Sam had taught her how to break a wooden chair if she was in this situation. But in those scenarios, the chair had never been immobile.
Always keep your fingers and toes moving. It keeps the circulation flowing. You’ll have less pain and more mobility when you’re freed.
Tansy flexed and relaxed her muscles even as she tried to find her words.
Another cut on her leg had her yelping again.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
A small chuckle filled the room. Not from the same direction as the hand. And she hadn’t heard other movement.
Two men.
“I require you to share your research and your findings with me.”
Tansy closed her eyes against the bright light and against the dread. Was this the buyer James had talked about?
The arms dealer?
Bernard Howard?