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“Remember,” the other man spoke up, he became Tweedle Dum in her mind. “His Royal Honor said no permanent marks. Nothing that will scar. We can rough her up, we can have some fun with her—” he leered in her direction. Lauren half wished they’d blindfolded her, so she didn’t have to see that, but then she’d be blind and not see anything. She wasn’t sure that would be an improvement. “But we can’t kill her. At least not yet.”

That last part wasn’t comforting, but then, she doubted it was meant to be.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Cypher broke more laws than he cared to count as he raced to Biloxi. He was a little over halfway there when his phone chirped with an incoming call. Mud from the screen mounted to his handlebars. He took one hand off the throttle long enough to hit the screen to answer the call then cranked the speed and dodged between two cars driving far too slowly to suit him.

“What do you have?” he said, bypassing a greeting.

“They carried her onto a boat called, ‘In Chambers’. I ran the registration and it came back as Reasonable Doubt LLC. A little digging traces to one Robert Mercer.”

“As in Judge Robert Mercer?” Cypher asked.

“Ding, ding. You got it in one. Makes me wonder if Coleman’s trial is all for show. If Mercer isn’t part of the ring and going to let his buddy off, no matter what he does, no matter what the evidence. Taking Lauren might serve dual purposes for them.”

“Explain,” Cypher said. Between paying attention to the road and traffic he didn’t have the extra attention span to figure out what Mud meant.

“On the surface it looks like either they could be trying to find out what she knows or scaring her into not testifying. But on a deeper level, how will the Squirt take it she finds out the doc was taken, possibly hurt, over this trial? Even if it doesn’t keep her from taking the stand, it will break her heart. She loves the doc. If I’m right about why they took her, and the Squirt finds out, it will set her back some.”

“I get what you’re saying, but I can’t worry about that. Not now. Right now, I’ve got to get to her. I’ve got to stop whatever they have planned and get her back. That’s my priority.”

“You’re right. You do that. You focus on getting your girl and bringing her back. Hillbilly will handle what he can and decide if she needs to be seen there or can make it to Mobile. If she’s good to wait, we’ll get her into the ER as soon as you get in. I’ve already sent a message to Bones. He’ll be ready to step in and make sure she gets everything she needs.”

“Thanks.” Cypher didn’t know what more to say. He hated thinking of Lauren being hurt enough to need care, but he knew she wasn’t the kind to go passively. She would have fought and since they got her, he had to assume she could be injured. “Drop a pin in her location and send directions to my phone. I’m getting into town and need to slow down and pay more attention to traffic.”

He waited until Mud acknowledged him, and the call disconnected. He slowed to pull between cars that sat at almost a standstill and hit the message that popped up on his screen, making the maps app and the directions Mud had sent him pop up, then he focused on the road and getting there. The rest would hold until he saw who had her and what condition she was in. He cranked the throttle, speeding through the nearly stopped cars in his determination to get to her.

He was less than five miles away when his phone rang again. This time it was Hex. He thumbed the screen.

“I don’t have time for this. I’m almost there.”

“I know. I’m watching you. At the marina you’re going to go out onto the dock, hit the last gangway. She’s the last boat on the right. I know Med already told you the name of the boat, but directions and knowing where it is will make it faster. Also. Cyclone, Hillbilly and Wrath are about ten minutes behind you. They’re riding hard but they’re staying together so it’s slower. Behind them, Shawn has a truck, he’s a little farther back, maybe half an hour. That’s so Lauren doesn’t have to ride back on the back of your bike, especially if she’s hurt. She can either ride with Shawn or he can ride your bike back. He’s the best prospect on a bike like yours, that’s why I chose him.”

“All right. Anything else I need to know?”

“Not off hand. Do what you have to do, we’ll deal with the consequences if we have to.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lauren’s face hurt. Most of her body hurt, but her face hurt the most. The two men who had kidnapped her had asked questions she couldn’t answer. They wanted to know what ‘that Hodge brat’ had told her. That fell under doctor-patient confidentiality and she couldn’t discuss it. There was an exception for court, because both Lacey and Jenna had wanted her to be able to do everything she could to help convict Coleman and the rest of the people responsible for what had happened.

When Lauren had informed them she couldn’t answer, they’d hit her. And kept hitting her.

She’d lost count of how many slaps, how many times she’d been back handed, when Tweedle Dum had reminded Tweedle Dee that His Royal Honor, Lauren didn’t know who that was, had told them not to leave any permanent marks, they’d changed tactics.

Tweedle Dee had instead taken out a knife and made several shallow cuts up and down her legs, then her arms, the whole time demanding to know what Lacey had told her.

Lauren had screamed. She’d cried and begged them to stop but she hadn’t done what they wanted. She had fought, at least as much as she could while taped to the chair. She had no way of knowing how long they’d been doing this, but she was ready for it to stop. She’d been ready for it to stop before it had started. Surely Cypher would find her soon?

She had no doubt he was looking for her. It was just a matter of time until he found her. They didn’t want to leave permanent marks, and they weren’t letting her see their faces, that meant they weren’t planning to kill her.

Tweedle Dee slapped her again.

“Pay attention, little girl. Things will only get worse for you the longer you don’t tell us what we need to know.” He slapped her again. “But you can make this end. All you have to do to make this all stop is to tell us what we want to know.”

She wanted to. She wanted to tell them everything, but she knew she couldn’t. Lauren couldn’t betray Lacey any more than any of her clients.

Lauren hated being a victim. She hated that there was nothing she could do. That she had to wait for someone to come rescue her. But she was barely able to move, so what else could she do.