Consciousness returned to Keira in waves, each one bringing with it a fresh surge of pain behind her eyelids. She wasn’t instantly aware. Whatever they had used to knock her out was effective.
The floor beneath her was cold and hard. Her head throbbed. Her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton.
"Alexei," she mumbled, the events before her blackout rushing back in fragmented pieces.
She forced her eyes open, blinking against the harsh fluorescent light. She was in some kind of storage room, concrete floors, metal shelving stacked with boxes, a single window high on the wall letting in a sliver of moonlight. Her once-beautiful crimson dress was torn at the hem and smeared with dirt.
"Glad to see you rejoining the living."
Alexei's voice came from her left. She turned her head to find him propped against the wall near some shelving only a few feet away, his tuxedo jacket gone, white shirt stained with blood from a nasty gash at his temple. His hands were bound like hers, but he seemed alert, his eyes clear despite the injury. His head must be hurting like hell.
"Are you okay?" She shuffled toward him, wincing as her bare feet scraped against the rough concrete. Why had they taken her shoes? Or had they fallen off?
"I've been better." His mouth twisted into a humorless smile. "You?"
"I feel like I've been hit by a truck." She looked around the room, searching for exits. One metal door presumably locked. The only high window, unreachable without something to stand on. She could see the window had bars on it, so even if they could reach the window, they couldn't get out. But they could call out for help.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"Some kind of warehouse by the docks, judging by the smell and the shipping containers I glimpsed when they brought us in." His eyes never left her face. "You've been out for about forty minutes."
"The men that took us?"
"I injured one. I heard them talking. They dumped us in here and left."
Keira's stomach dropped. "Did they say what they want?"
"Money, I assume. Ransom. It's usually money." His voice was oddly calm, almost clinical. "Though no one's made demands yet."


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