"You won't get away with this!" Fiona screamed, her voice raw with fury. Her breath came in sharp bursts, and she tried to lash out at Lord William, her movements fueled by panic and rage. She fought against his grip, nails scratching at his forearm in a desperate attempt to gain the upper hand. Before she could hurl another string of expletives at him, she felt his firm shove, her body stumbling backward.
She collided with the chest of a hulking bodyguard, his hands like iron clamps on her arms. Before she could even struggle, the man raised his fist and delivered a sharp blow to the back of her head. Pain blossomed like fireworks behind her eyes, and the world tilted before fading into darkness.
When Fiona awoke, she was lying on the cold, grimy floor of a dimly lit room. The stench hit her immediately, acrid and suffocating. Her stomach churned, and she gagged, her body instinctively twisting away from the source of the foul odor.