But the drug did not knock her out, not entirely. She remained dazed but semi-awake, trapped in a terrifying dreamlike state. She was aware of what was happening around her, but she was powerless to act.
He picked her up, threw her over his shoulder, and carried her across the garage to where a large black car was parked. She heard the sound of the trunk being opened.
Then she was inside the trunk, and the lid was coming down, leaving her frozen in the darkest night she had ever known.
She had thought that her level of shock and horror could not climb any higher. She was wrong.
Chapter 1
LUNCH HAD NOT GONE WELL. THERE HAD BEEN AN UNfortunate scene that had resulted in a lot of disapproving glares and rude remarks from other restaurant patrons. She had been asked to pay her bill and leave immediately. Her request that the remainder of her salad be put into a carry-out bag had been met with icy refusal.
Celinda was still fuming and still hungry when she opened the door of the office of Promises, Inc. Mostly she was angry at herself because she had been so embarrassed she had felt it necessary to leave a tip.
Laura Gresley was at her post at the reception desk. Her customary smile—polite, professional, and polished—seemed slightly off. There was a forced quality about it.
“Oh, good, you’re back, Celinda,” she said, clearly relieved. “I was about to call your personal phone.” She lowered her voice. “There are some people here to see you.”
“Some people?” Normally clients came in alone, not in groups. “My next appointment isn’t until two thirty.”
“These two don’t have an appointment,” Laura said with an ominous air.
“But I don’t have room to squeeze in anyone who doesn’t already have an appointment. I’m booked solid this afternoon; you know that.”
It was the wedding season, the most popular time of the year for formal Covenant Marriages. That meant that Promises, Inc., and other matchmaking agencies were swamped. The number of weddings taking place always produced a lot of new clients. It was simple physics: weddings inspired families to put a lot of pressure on relatives of a certain age who were still single. In desperation many of the pressured turned to agencies.