Mission: Impossible to Deny (The Impossible Mission Romantic Suspense Series Book 7), Jacki Delecki [polar express read aloud .TXT] 📗

something in common with all the brothers. But not the Army, dogface.” His lips lifted in the smallest of a smile. “Not that the name applies to you.”

One of the many insulting names different branches gave to each other. Dogface was an insult leveled at Army members.

“The way my face feels, I bet it does apply. I’m not planning on looking in a mirror for a while. Can you find my clothes? They should be in a bag somewhere.”

“They’re covered in blood from the guy decking you. I bought you a t-shirt and flip-flops at the gift store, but you’ll have to wear your skirt.”

“As long as I don’t have to get into the heels, it’s all good.” She let her legs dangle, waiting for the room to stop spinning like a damn tilt-a-whirl.

“And I’m assuming there are no leads from the ambulance because the cameras just happened to be off in the very big and very busy garage. And Reeves’s phone?”

“Nothing. It is trashed or they took out the SIM card. The same for yours. We tried to get a location on your phone and Reeves’s computer, but nothing.”

“They didn’t hit me to stop me from following the ambulance.” She placed one foot on the floor and waited before putting her whole weight down. She leaned heavily against the bed, letting the waves of nausea wash over her and the spasms in her temple slow down.

“I’m assuming they wanted Reeves’s computer. They took your phone and your Sig too.”

“I took his bag off his shoulder when he was seizing.” Tears welled behind her eyes. Damn, she would not look weak in front of Nick Jenkins.

She couldn’t allow herself to consider how easily they could have overdosed Reeves. And he might be dead.

“They could have overdosed Reeves as they did Tex.”

“I bet they didn’t know that Tex had a heart condition,” Nick said. “Reeves is healthy. He’s alive.”

She nodded and regretted it when the room spun from the slight motion.

“If they wanted Reeves dead, they would have killed him.”

Darcy was glad that Nick Jenkins didn’t sugarcoat it for her, accepting that she could handle whatever came at her.

“And they can’t access Reeves’s computer without Reeves, so they have to keep him alive.” Hope blossomed in her aching body. “We need to find him now. Before he becomes expendable. Let’s go.”

“I can keep you updated without you leaving the hospital.”

And she thought it had registered with Jenkins that she was no fragile flower. She started to raise her hand and then stopped midair at the pain and the constriction of the splint. “I’m going to leave, with or without your assistance.”

“Does Reeves know what a PITA you are?”

“Of course not. He thinks I’m charming.”

He snorted, shaking his head. “You’re a lot like my sisters.”

In the midst of all of her misery, his comment made her feel better.

He handed her the t-shirt and dropped the flip-flops in front of her feet. “I’ll get the nurse to help you get dressed. And then I’ll get you discharged.”

She sat on the edge of the bed now that the show was over for Jenkins. Her pain was nothing in comparison to what Reeves was enduring. Tex’s bruised face flashed before her eyes. She would find Reeves or die trying.

Chapter Twelve

Reeves was trapped in a nightmare. He couldn’t escape. He spiraled down into the deep, dark tunnel. The walls and ceilings had collapsed, burying him in a black hell. He couldn’t suck air into his lungs. He fought the sensation of being suffocated. Death tightened the vise on his chest. Struggling to wake up and end the torture, he pushed against the mud to no avail. His arms and legs were heavy and immobile. He had to escape, had to reach the woman to save her.

Men’s loud voices in the distance stirred him out of the unending hallucination. It would be easy to surrender and drift away. His eyes fluttered shut, sinking back into the misery until an angry voice startled him.

“He’ll kill you if this bastard dies like the last one. You shouldn’t have put the whole fucking amount in the scotch.”

“Who knew a tech nerd would drink so much.”

The mention of tech nerd and scotch roused Reeves into total alertness. He lay still, his eyes closed as he strained to follow every word. Trying hard to track their words that came in and out like static in a bad speaker. Their voices grew closer. He heard the shuffle of their feet and heavy breathing. They were standing over him, staring at him?

“The boss must be desperate to have come up with such a stupid-ass idea of using C to give the dude seizures.”

“It’s good the nerd ain’t dead, cuz then you would be too, bro.”

Reeves fought every urge to move, to hide any hint of being awake. Reeves knew his brain was fried from the cocaine because he couldn’t remember having seizures and how that helped the fuckers capture him. However, they got him here, wherever here was, and he was a prisoner.

“What the fuck? Who goes into business with a white dude who wants to be called ‘mandamás,’ as if he’s the top dog of the Sureños? The freak had some serious shit and a death wish going on.”

That greasy French fry smell when driving by a fast-food drive-through wafted over Reeves. His captors weren’t into healthy eating. No surprise there.

“What dumb fucker offs himself mixing snow with Xanax? The dude was supposed to be such a genius. Now, we’ve only got this guy. The Sureños and the boss needed him to do the computer shit. And if he fails … we’re all in deep to … those Russian fuckers.”

“You better wake him up and give him some water. I’ll text Galina. She is one cold bitch.”

“Can’t believe you had to sucker punch that CIA bitch to get his computer.”

“I could feel the cartilage break when I connected with her skank face. She’s got balls to get out of the car after