Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Redemption for Misty (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Pierce Securities Book 5) by Anne Conley Read Free Book Online Page A

she laid still and tried to figure out what the fuck had happened to her.
    It looked like the floor of a garage. There was unused gym equipment in the corner and a bicycle hanging from a rack next to a canoe with paddles dangling off the sides.
    Then she heard the other woman screaming. She wasn’t alone in this hell. As soon as Mia’s muffled cries filtered into her consciousness, Misty knew she would die. Knew it with a certainty that stunned her. In her dream, she didn’t know that was Mia, but she knew. The other woman was suffering horrendously, and she would, too. She would never see her parents again, her brother would never tease her, she’d never get the opportunity to break up with her boyfriend and meet a new one.
    Misty had been left out here to die a slow, agonizing death, complete with broken bones, lacerations, and God knows what else.
    She screamed. Not outwardly, no. That would be too simple. Besides, she was gagged. No. She screamed inside her soul, which was far worse.
    Her screams filled her head until they took over her vision, in a way that was only possible in dreams. Red filtered the dirty clothes she was piled in, then black.
    The screams got louder.
    “Shhh… Misty… It’s okay… It’s a dream…” That voice. She knew that voice, but it wasn’t her brother. It was someone else.
    “Wake up, honey, it’s okay…” Steely arms wrapped around her, and as Misty fought for consciousness, she fought the arms, too. But they were too strong. “He’s dead. You’re safe with me.”
    Suddenly, her eyes flew open to the darkness of her room and Chris’s piercing blue gaze.
    “Chris?”
    “Yeah, honey, it’s me.” He tucked her head into the crook of his chin, shushing her and rubbing her back. She tried to relax into his embrace but failed.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Nothing to apologize for. We’ve all had them,” he murmured into her hair, still stroking her back. She curled her body into his embrace, his warmth, his safety—remembering the day she was rescued.
    “I was too loud.”
    Chris spoke in a low murmur, almost a whisper, “What?”
    “That’s why he didn’t…” She couldn’t say the word this time. It was too dark in the room. The nightmare too close. “…do anything with me. I was too loud. He gagged me, but I kept yelling. Then he decided he couldn’t break me, so he dumped me in the garage floor, with all the garbage and dirty clothes and stuff. I was too loud. He beat me.” Chris’s grip on her tightened, but he didn’t say anything, instead leaving her to her own thoughts.
    Jordan had found her, and then Ryan had stayed with her until the ambulance got there, but neither of them were focused solely on her like Chris was right this moment. She was eternally grateful for them because without them being there she would have certainly died.
    When her heartbeat calmed, she tried to extricate herself from his grasp, but he didn’t release her. She gave in and wrapped her arms around his slender torso.
    “Chris?”
    “Yeah?” His voice was gravelly, probably husky with sleep. She’d woken him up.
    “I’m sorry for waking you up. You can go back to bed now.”
    He pulled his head back so she could see his face. “What does Crash do when you have these nightmares?”
    Of course, he was here for her brother. Not her. She tried to shrug, but he was still holding on pretty tightly. “Nothing much. He sits on my bed and pats me awake, makes sure I know where I am, hugs me, and goes back to bed.” She tried again to get out of his grasp. “Really, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s just a bad dream.”
    “Misty, you were screaming like a damn banshee. You scared the hell out of me. Just let me hold you a minute.” His voice was fierce, and she again felt bad for scaring him.
    “I’m sorry.” She was nearly asleep or else she surely wouldn’t be apologizing so much. She hated people who apologized for stuff they had no control over.
    “Just… shut up and