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She quickly sent off another missive. I’ll explain when I can. But for now, I need to know that everyone is contained.
This time she got only agreement, until her phone rang, showing Buffy’s number.
“What’s going on?” her friend asked, worry in her voice.
Hilly didn’t hesitate. “Cisco’s missing,” she said. “SWAT’s coming to find him.”
“Flock,” Buffy cursed cleanly, clearly concerned for any of her charges young ears listening. She huffed. “And I’m stuck here, not able to help.”
“You’re helping by keeping those kids inside,” Hilly assured her.
Buffy drew in a loud breath. “Don’t panic, Hill. Mason will take care of this,” she said, still keeping details cryptic for her charges. “Where are you?”
“With Crash and Adeline,” Hilly told her.
“Good. Now promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”
Hilly crossed her fingers behind her back. “I won’t.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Cisco struggled to open his eyes. Why was he so damned uncomfortable, and what the hell was going on with his nose? It felt like someone was…licking it? He gave an internal grin. Was Hilly being sassy?
The gentle swiping abruptly went away, and Cisco managed to pry his lids apart long enough to see a small shadow slip from the…
What the hell?
This wasn’t his room, or Hilly’s.
The events leading up to his current situation came tumbling back into his beleaguered brain.
Holy shit. He’d been following Carter. He’d knelt down to examine a bottle of peanut oil, then…
The little prick. He’d clocked Cisco on the back of the head, then when he’d fallen and hadn’t totally succumbed, he’d hit him once again on his temple. That’s the last thing Cisco recalled.
He attempted to raise a hand to touch his tender cranium, but wasn’t able to move his arms.
Fuck, and double fuck. He’d been tied, hand and foot, with—he groped with his fingers to see what was holding him—a thick jute rope. The bastard couldn’t have used zip-ties, which would have made escape easier?
Cisco glanced around in the dark, his eyes growing accustomed to the shadows as his head cleared. He saw a glint of metal. The sharp-edged stove-pipe. It was his best bet for cutting his restraints, but in the process, it was going to make a mess of his wrists.
So be it. He needed to get free, locate Carter, and put a world of hurt on the young miscreant.
Cisco’s nose itched, reminding him that he’d just been licked. He stifled a grunt. It had to have been either Nel or Coco who’d given him some love. That boded well for a rescue, but if the dogs alerted Hilly, and she came to find him by herself…
No. He couldn’t risk that. Who knew if Carter was waiting outside, and had something awful planned for her, too.
Cisco began edging his way across the mouse-turd-covered-floor, trying not to think about the nasty shit grinding into his clothes and skin, when all of a sudden, he heard an exchange.
A welcome of sorts was raised outside.
“Hey, Carter. I got your call. You bagged yourself another one?” a familiar voice asked jovially. “I hope this kid works out better than the last. That bullying bitch you tried to kill before was a tough one and pulled through.”
“The new guy’s inside,” Carter rebutted, angrily. “And I didn’t try to kill Bailey. That wasn’t the plan. You told me the oil would only make her sick.”
The sulky response to the astounding statement set every nerve in Cisco’s body on alert. The second person out there, whoever it was, had wanted Bailey dead? What did that say for Cisco’s own well-being? That his time was limited. He needed to move, fast, to get himself out of this, but if Carter and/or his friend came inside to check on him, Cisco needed to make it look like he was still unconscious.
He inched his body back into the corner, and positioned himself in the same attitude as when he’d first awakened. Then he continued listening.