Mulrooney choked back the contents of his stomach as the intense pain in his skull brought him back to consciousness. He looked down at his bare chest and tried to remember where he was. Using the back of his right hand, he wiped his mouth. When he tried to lift his other hand, he realized he was on his knees with his left hand secured behind him, bound tightly with gaffers" tape to his ankles. His hand and ankles were then bound as a unit to the foot of a bed frame. When he floundered with his free right hand in a futile attempt to extricate himself, he became dizzy and disoriented.
When Mulrooney looked up, his eyes slowly focused on Michael Ryan. As Mulrooney blinked to push back the intense colors that filled his eye sockets, he saw that Michael"s mouth formed a black s***h. The s***h
