Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 45063 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45063 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
I shift against him, hating any contact that isn’t Bryson, wondering where Tiffany is.
“Just lie down there.”
The man drops me onto the backseat of a car.
Eva’s voice pierces the fog in my brain.
If anything ever happens, let us know. We’ll track you with Find My Phone.
The man’s talking to somebody outside the car, his voice raised, laughing in a forced, fake way.
The drug is trying to drag me down to sleep, but I manage to take my phone from my cleavage, fumbling as I open the email thread. I’ve got a draft saved there. It was Eva’s idea. She was always more conscious of how evil the world could be.
I need help. Right now. Come and get me. Use these details to log in to Find My Phone.
Adam’s on the recipient list, along with Eva and Tiffany. I type in the first two letters of Bryson’s name, and then it autocompletes.
I tap it and miss.
The car door is opening. The man’s still laughing at whomever he’s talking to.
I tap Bryson’s name again. I get it right this time. The email appears.
As the world swirls in front of me, I move my thumb toward the send icon. The man climbs into the car. “Just relax, darling. I’ll get you home safely.”
I click send, then think about dialing 911, but what if he sees me and throws my phone out the window?
Nobody will ever find me.
Stuffing my phone back into my cleavage, I roll over, pressing myself against the car seats. I only mean to pretend to pass out, but then the heaviness of the drug drags me down, a black pit opening up as I struggle to stay awake.
The man’s hand settles disgustingly on my shoulder.
“There, there. You’ll be surrounded by friends soon. Don’t you worry.”
The word friends twist sickeningly in my mind.
Finally, the drug swallows me whole. I open my eyes, and Bryson’s standing there in his doctor’s coat, his hair still a deep black, that easy smile on his face. Then the silver appears in flakes, the doctor’s jacket tears away, and he stands there shirtless, steam rising from his skin.
He takes my hips in his hands and hugs me close to him. I’m not a kid anymore. We’re not in the doctor’s office. He holds me so tight, it’s like our bodies are melting together.
“I’ll never let anything happen to you,” he growls fiercely. “I’ll never let anybody hurt you. I understand you had a crush on me, but I don’t care about the then, only the now. And now… I know you’re mine, every single part. I’ll kill any man who tries to take you from me.”
Distantly, I feel a jolt. Some disconnected part of me knows it’s the car stopping.
The door opens with a metallic thunk.
A man is laughing. There are several of them. All of them are laughing.
“Is this the best you could find?”
“Don’t be picky. I saw my shot and took it.”
“She’ll do.”
“I reckon I can get some fun out of her.”
“Hurry up, then. Get her out.”
With hands on my ankles, I scream silently for Bryson.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Bryson
I surge across the city, glancing at my phone on the mount, showing Harper’s location. Harper’s phone.
What if they ditched it, whoever they are—the creeps who’ve got their hands on my woman?
“Sir,” the 911 operator says, “you can’t handle this yourself. Wait for the authorities to arrive.”
“If I get there first, I’m going in. You can press any charges you want.”
The location is near the dockyard, a warehouse in a row on the end. As soon as I got Harper’s message, I didn’t think, second-guess, or spend a second wondering what was happening or why. I just put in the details and charged toward the car.
Adam was out, and I didn’t have time to call him and let him know what was going on.
“The authorities are on their way. They should be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Fifteen?” I roar. “I’ll be there in five.”
I’m breaking the speed limit, cutting red lights, cars honking at me, and pedestrians yelling. I don’t care about any of it. My purpose is clear—save my woman from whatever this is.
This past week has been hell, living without her, fighting the instinct to contact her every single second. I’ve been out every time she’s visited the house to see Adam, but when I return, I’m sure I can smell her scent, fueling my unkillable obsession.
“Sir…”
I end the call, focusing on the location. I need to think clearly.
I don’t care how many bastards there are. Even if they have weapons, who cares? All I care about is keeping my woman safe.
When the road turns into a long stretch, I floor the pedal, pushing the rental car to its limits.
There’s a gate blocking my access to the dockyard. I smash right through it, letting out a roar when the impact judders up my arms through the wheel, slamming into my body. Finally, I screech to a halt at her location.