Page 44 of Protecting Bree
It hit him hard as the phone rang in his ear.
Bree was gone. As was Julie and Fiona. The three women Mateo Castillo had every reason to want to kidnap. He was reclaiming what he felt was his. His friend’s fears were justified…
And Smiley had been standing fifty feet away when it happened.
Cookie was going to lose his mind. He had every right to be even more pissed than he’d been before.
Smiley knew down to his bones that Castillo wasn’t currently being apprehended by the special task force. He’d finally made his move.
So the hunt was on.No onefucked with the Navy SEALs and their women.
Castillo might think he’d won, but in reality, he’d just signed his own death warrant.
CHAPTER TEN
“Ooooh, look at this one!” Fiona exclaimed as she held up a sparkly dress. “The tag says it’s a Versace.”
Bree couldn’t believe how fun this was. Each bag was a treasure trove of satin and lace. There were some duds mixed in, but for the most part, everything was beautiful. The donations would make so many girls and women happy. She hadn’t found anything appropriate for herself yet, not for everyday living, but that was more than all right. She was having an amazing time anyway.
Looking through the door to the front, Bree could see Smiley pacing back and forth outside with his phone to his ear. He didn’t look happy. Well, he looked unhappier than normal. Whoever he was talking to, and whatever they were talking about, it seemed intense. For a split second, she wondered if it was about her, but then she mentally rolled her eyes at herself. Just because Smiley was having what looked like an important phone call, that didn’t mean it was about her.
Besides, if it was about Mateo hopefully being captured, surely he wouldn’t hesitate to let her know. He knew how stressed she was about what was going down today.
She’d just turned to dig back into the bag she’d been assigned when suddenly the door that led into the alley slammed open.
Shocked, Bree didn’t have time to do anything but gape before three men stormed in. They each made a beeline for a woman. The largest of the men came toward her, and Bree tried to back away, only to trip over one of the bags sitting on the floor behind her.
“No!” Julie yelled. “Let?—”
The rest of her words were cut off abruptly as the man who’d grabbed her slapped a hand over her mouth.
Fiona was struggling with another man, who’d lifted her completely off her feet and was already walking toward the door.
The man nearest Bree reached down and grabbed her upper arm, yanking her back onto her feet roughly.
Then he wrapped an arm around her neck and squeezed.
Bree grabbed his arm, trying to wrench it away from her neck so she could breathe, with no luck. He force-marched her out the back door, following the other two men.
The entire abduction took less than thirty seconds. And aside from the door banging open, it was eerily silent. The men hadn’t said a word, and Bree—and Julie and Fiona too—had been too surprised and overpowered to scream. To try to alert Smiley that something was terribly wrong.
The kidnappers dragged them toward a large black SUV and opened the back hatch. Bree’s vision was going dark, as the man who held her hadn’t loosened his arm even a fraction. She took in gulps of air when he finally let go to shove her into the cargo area of the vehicle.
Her arms and legs tangled with Julie and Fiona’s, and before they could untangle themselves, the back hatch slammed shut.
“Fuck!” Julie exclaimed, as she began to desperately fumble for any kind of latch or handle that would open the back hatch again.
Sparing a glance at Fiona, Bree saw that she was huddled in on herself, staring into space.
“Help me!” Julie cried, as the vehicle began to move.
Bree scrambled to her side, and when she didn’t see any kind of handle, she went to her ass and began to kick at the glass with all her strength. Julie followed suit, but the glass refused to break.
That’s when Bree realized her vision was going foggy.
Looking around, she discovered it wasn’t her vision. There wasliterallyfog filling the back area of the vehicle! It was only then she noticed the clear partition between the cargo area where she, Julie, and Fiona had been placed, and the backseat.
Two of the men who’d grabbed them were staring back through the Plexiglas, grinning manically.
