Sidewinder (Rachel Hatch Book 11) by L.T. Ryan & Brian Shea

Author:L.T. Ryan & Brian Shea [Ryan, L.T. & Shea, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Liquid Mind Media
Published: 2024-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

SIXTEEN

Chapter 16

Amy Linden was jostled awake, her eyes snapping open to darkness. An earthy smell, reminiscent of damp soil, filled her nostrils. A rough fabric covered her face, and as she reached for it, she felt the sharp bite of plastic digging into her wrists.

Memories came in disjointed bursts, like fragments of a television show played out of order. Her breathing quickened, and she felt the familiar grip of a panic attack taking hold. Ever since a childhood incident where she'd fallen between two rocks during a birthday rock-climbing trip, Amy had struggled with a deep-rooted fear of enclosed spaces. It had taken several hours to extricate her from the tight confines, and the experience had left an indelible mark on her psyche. Countless therapy sessions well into adulthood had helped her manage her claustrophobia, but the present circumstances were putting her hard-won coping mechanisms to the test.

She closed her eyes, focusing on the calming techniques she'd practiced countless times. Inhale, two, three, four. Hold for seven. Release for eight. Amy repeated the cycle, each measured breath a small victory against the rising tide of panic. A minute passed before she felt the tension in her chest begin to ease, the vise-like grip on her lungs loosening ever so slightly.

With determined fingers, Amy worked her hands up to her face and tugged at the bag covering her head. A drawstring caught under her chin, and she blindly felt around her throat until she found the knot. It took her another minute or two of fumbling before she was able to release it and pull the hood from her face.

As the burlap potato sack fell to the plastic corrugated flooring, the earthiness of the smell made sense to her. She was in a van, that much was clear. Despite the absence of light, her vision had adapted enough to the darkness, allowing her to get a sense of her surroundings.

Her ankles were bound in a similar fashion to her wrists, white plastic zip ties tightly fitted, leaving no room to wiggle free.

Amy tried to piece together the events leading up to this moment, but it was like attempting to complete a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces. She remembered going shopping and returning home. There was something about a delivery, but what happened next was a blur. Fragmented images flashed through her mind: her gardener, Miguel, another man whose face she couldn't quite make out, a struggle, and then a gunshot.

Her body trembled at the thought, a chill running down her spine. Still fighting through the mental fog, Amy detected a lingering taste in the back of her throat. She recalled a sweet, pungent odor and a burning sensation in her nose and throat. The man had pressed a cloth against her face, likely using chloroform to subdue her. It would account for the haze that still clouded her mind.

The van's engine rumbled, the vibrations resonating through the floorboard and into the bench where she sat. The movement, combined with the lingering

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