The men shuffled their feet. The rifles were lowered, but only marginally. “Maybe we ought to call this in,” said a muscle-bound man in a cheap blue suit.
Never taking his eyes from Madrid and Jess, the blond man worked a cell phone from his jacket pocket and punched in numbers.
Jess couldn’t believe this was happening. They’d been so close to getting out. Next to her, Madrid was still on his hands and knees trying to catch his breath. That was when she spotted the bulge of the pistol at the small of his back. Her heart banged like a jackhammer against her ribs. Even though they were outnumbered, she wondered if he had a plan. If he was buying time. If he was going to do something nuts…
While the blonde spoke into the phone, the third man motioned toward Madrid with his rifle. “Search him.”
The man in the blue suit stepped forward. Setting his boot against Madrid’s back, he leaned forward and yanked the pistol from his waistband. “My, my, my, what do we have here?”
“Protection against thugs like you,” Jess said. But in the back of her mind she was wondering what was going to happen when they found the duffel with the camera and other incriminating items inside. Last time she’d seen it, the bag had been tied to Madrid’s belt. A covert glance told her it was no longer there. Where was it? Had he ditched it when he realized they weren’t going to get away?
“I’ll cuff him,” the third man said to the man in the blue suit. Then he looked at Jess. “Search her.”
Another wave of dread swamped her. Jess knew once Madrid was bound there would be no escaping whatever these monsters had planned.
The man in the blue suit leered at Jess, his grin revealing stained teeth. “That’ll be my pleasure.”
Jess gasped when he gripped her arm and yanked her to her feet. “Put your hands up and spread those pretty legs of yours,” he said in a gruff voice.
Next to her, Madrid straightened just as the third man reached into his pocket. Jess spotted nylon restraints and her heart went wild in her chest.
“Cuff him.” The man in the blue suit licked his lips, his eyes flicking to Jess. “Then we’ll have us some fun.”
His eyes were alight with some dark anticipation she did not want to think about. Dread rose in her chest when she realized both she and Madrid would soon be at their mercy.
“I said put your hands up,” the man in the blue suit ordered. “Now.”
Feeling trapped and vulnerable, Jess looked around. But there was no one to come to their rescue. Even if Madrid managed to avoid the cuffs and get to his feet, they were outmanned and outgunned.
There was no escape.
Heart pounding, she raised her hands to shoulder height. “I’m unarmed. You don’t need to search me.” She tried to make her voice sound strong, but her throat was so tight she managed little more than a whisper.
The man in the blue suit put down Madrid’s pistol and stepped toward her. “I think I’ll just check for myself. You look like a woman who’s got lots of hiding places.”
Jess could tell by the glint in his eyes that once he put his hands on her he wasn’t going to stop with a simple search.
In her peripheral vision she saw Madrid holding his stomach and struggling to his feet. The third man stood behind him, ready to snap the cuffs into place. But Jess could plainly see that both men’s attention was on her. Running his tongue over his lips, he slowly patted her down. The outside of her thighs. Her calves. Then he began working his way back up.
The man’s hands paused just below her breasts. Jess forced herself to make eye contact. “Don’t,” she said.
The man’s eyes glinted like a rat’s. “Who’s going to stop me?”
Madrid moved so fast and unexpectedly that Jess didn’t have time to get out of the way. The man in the blue suit brought up his rifle, but he wasn’t fast enough. Madrid thrust his arm forward and she heard a loud crack. The other man went rigid and an instant later collapsed, his body convulsing.
Jess didn’t know what was happening. The only information her brain processed was that Madrid had some kind of weapon that was quickly evening the odds. The blond man dropped the phone and grabbed for his rifle, but Madrid kicked the barrel. An errant gunshot exploded as Madrid tagged the blonde. Electric current snapped through the air hitting the blond man and knocking him to the floor.
Jess spun to the other man, but she wasn’t fast enough. He dived at her and wrapped his left arm around her while going for the pistol with his right hand.
“Madrid!” she screamed. “Gun!”
The force of his body slamming into hers knocked her off her feet. As she fell, all Jess could think about was getting to the gun, keeping him from shooting Madrid. She twisted in midair. In her peripheral vision she spotted Madrid rushing toward them. She glimpsed his furious dark eyes, his lips pulled back into a snarl.
The gun came up, leveled on Madrid.