Dana turned to run for help, but Luke was on her, grabbing her by the ponytail and sling-shotting her against the truck. She hit next to Brigid and dropped with a cry of pain. Brigid scrambled to her feet as Nari and Josh traded blows, Nari clearly winning. She dropped him to his knees and did a quick spinning kick to his head that knocked him against the post of the streetlight.

Brigid went for Luke, who was reaching for his gun. He pivoted and punched her in the cheek. Stars exploded behind her eyes, and she fell fast, landing on Dana. Dana grabbed her and hauled them both to their feet, where they tried to balance each other.

Luke whipped out a square object and pressed it to the back of Nari’s neck. The thing crackled, her head jerked, and she flopped to the ground.

“Nari,” Brigid cried out, rushing to her friend.

Josh caught her around the waist as the other guy grabbed Dana. He carried her easily around the truck to a larger red one and tossed her in the back seat, then followed her in, quickly grabbing zip ties from the back-seat pocket and securing her hands.

Dana landed next to him, and he did the same to her while the other guy ran up front and jumped in the driver’s seat, quickly speeding away.

Brigid reached for the door handle with her bound hands, pulling wildly.

“Childproof,” Josh said calmly as the driver slowed down to meander sedately onto the main road.

It had all happened so fast. Brigid tried to catch her breath and leaned forward to look beyond Josh to Dana. The reporter had mud in her hair and a bruise forming on her chin, and her eyes were dazed. “You okay?”

Dana swallowed. “Yes. You?”

No. Her head felt like she’d hit a truck, which she had. And her right arm felt like one long bruise. “I’m good.” She leaned back and struggled to shove fear away so she could concentrate. “Josh? This is a bad idea. Let us go.”

“Nope.”

Was he armed? If so, could she get the gun with her wrists tied together? She shifted her weight and inched toward him.

“Don’t make me tase you,” he said conversationally, staring straight ahead. “It didn’t look like a pleasant experience.”

They’d left Nari unconscious in the parking lot in the rain. She was so small; would a driver see her before hitting her? Panic snatched Brigid’s breath away, and she tried to breathe normally. In and out. Nari would be okay. The unconsciousness couldn’t last long. The woman could seriously fight and was probably recovering even now. Maybe she was already up and calling for help. “What do you want from us?” she gasped.

“Me? Nothin’.” The guy was as solid as a rock and just as steady.

Okay. This was crazy. The driver turned onto the Interstate, driving toward DC.