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“You’ll have nothing as well. I’ll still have a shot at justice.”
“I’ve killed people for a lot less.” Gregorio lifted his chin to one of his friends.
A meaty hand grabbed the side of her neck, squeezing. Cutting off the blood flow to…
She struggled to get away.
Everything went black.
“Kenna.”
Someone shook her shoulder.
“Kenna.”
“Is she breathing?”
A heavy hand landed high on her chest, staying there while she drew in air and blew it out. She bided her time for a second, remaining still until she had gathered her wherewithal and could come out swinging.
“Whoa.” Hands grabbed her wrists, gently.
That was what got her to think twice.
“Easy.”
She blinked her eyes open and saw stars. On the ground. On the same trail. “Where did they go?” She shoved Ramon’s hands off and sat up, nearly falling over. “Where’s the helicopter?”
Bruce turned back from something and came over. “There was a chopper? Or can you hear it? If they hit you hard enough, you can probably still hear something that sounds like a helicopter, but it isn’t.”
“There’s nothing out here. It’s quiet.” Ramon still held onto her.
She squeezed the outside of his arm, and he let go of her. She explained what had just happened. From them being drawn out here with a ruse to him having a gun to his head.
Gregorio’s dark bargain.
All of it.
“Help me up.”
“In a second.” Ramon looked at Bruce, who shone a flashlight on the ground. “Found it?”
“Phone. The screen is shattered, but it still works. Set of car keys. Jax’s wallet. Knives, pepper spray, and three guns.”
Kenna said, “Grab it all. We need to move.”
Bruce and Ramon pocketed most of it. She’d have taken Jax’s wallet, but it didn’t fit in any of her pockets. All the weapons that were hers, she put back where they went. “We need to call it in.”
Bruce whipped his head around to look at her. “You want cops out here?”
Ramon said, “We can be gone before they get here.”
“That’s not what I mean.” She shook her head, and it kept swimming when she stopped. She blew out a long breath, trying not to throw up or fall over. “The FBI needs to know their Special Agent in Charge was just kidnapped. Especially when the kidnappers are demanding a ransom for his safe return. They didn’t promise to return him unharmed, which means they could do anything.”
More tears rolled down her face.
She scrubbed them away, probably smearing dirt from the ground on her cheeks. Her skin felt gritty, and so did her fingers.
“You want his people looking for him,” Ramon said, his tone quieter than usual.