Grissom (In the Company of Snipers #26)

Chapter Thirty-One

Tuesday came to with a splitting headache and a foul taste in her mouth. Not fish and garlic, more like motor oil, dirt, and…. Her nose twitched. Gasoline? Yup, that was the other nasty flavor coating her poor tongue. All came from the rag wrapped around her head and stuck in her mouth, ugh. The ground beneath vibrated and she was sure that came from tires against pavement. Which meant she was in the creep’s car, going somewhere she didn’t want to go, trussed up like a fatted goose, and that guy—what was his name?—meant to kill her. But he’d do that after he married her. Why not? She’d been married to Freddie for some reason she didn’t quite understand and had never questioned. Only Freddie had never been unkind.

She didn’t mean to make a sound, but a groan got away from her, and the moment it did, the guy reached over the driver’s seat. He patted her thigh like the good dog she wasn’t. And didn’t intend to be. Despite her precarious situation, Tuesday was thinking clearer now. Still ensnared in this gangster’s get-rich-quick scheme, true, but she’d been in worse predicaments before. She was certain she had a concussion. Her head pounded and she was sick to her stomach. But lying there in knots—once again—she had time to plan, and plan she would.

First: she’d take advantage of this one-way drive to who-knew-where to rest and recharge.

Second: she’d play this Neanderthal once they arrived at their final destination, make him think she was weak and delicate, act like the poor little rich girl everyone thought they saw.

Third: she’d strike when the opportunity came. She might not be blessed with a family, but she’d honed plenty of survival skills during her long, dark days in Antarctica and on the lonesome Serengeti. Passersby never looked deeper than artificial appearances anyway, which was why she’d purposely fashioned a feminine mystique that hid her stronger side. The side she only revealed when might equaled right. Grissom had seen her strength the night they’d almost made love. Tuesday let the memory warm her as she lay there and plotted. Just thinking of him lent her strength and courage. Soon, she’d rise up and surprise the heck out of the nefarious thug driving her away from all she held dear. Very soon.