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I stood up straight and started walking. “Keep looking, and text me that address as soon as you can.”
“Rocky, he’s clearly heading out of the city, this could be a long shot—”
“Slate.” I whirled around, everything in me pushing me to move, to go now, to do something, before it was too late. “Somebody has Peyton, don’t you understand?” My chest heaved with the effort I was extending just to stay put those few seconds longer, panic and anger whirling through me. “They have my Peyton. They could be doing fucking anything to her, right the fuck now, and I’m not there to protect her. I promised I would protect her.”
Slate remained silent for a moment, staring at me. But then he let out a sharp huff and nodded. “Alright. I’ll text you as I get more info. Don’t turn your phone off, I’ll send the boys in after you.”
I nodded, turned, and went after my girl.
Chapter 30
Peyton
My eyes fluttered open, I felt slightly disoriented and a little groggy and I had a pounding headache. I groaned and turned my head, wondering where and when I’d fallen asleep and why my pillow felt so different. And then it all came rushing back.
Oh, shit.
Zachary appeared in front of me, a soft smile on his face. There was also a white bandage strip across his nose, and some purple swellings. Good, I hope I broke it.
“Good, you’re awake,” he said gently. “You were beginning to worry me, there.”
He sat down beside me, and I realized I was in a strange bed, in some sort of single-room cabin—and that my wrists and ankles were duct-taped together.
“What the fuck, Zachary?” My head was throbbing and my vision a bit blurry, but I shoved my bound hands into the mattress and struggled to push up, to get away from him. “You kidnapped me!”
“Shh, shh…” He grabbed my shoulder with a wiry strength in his bony fingers, slowly but forcefully pushing me back down. “You need to relax. You’re in shock, and it looks like you might even have Stockholm syndrome, so there’s going to be a bit of an adjustment period.”
“Stockholm syndrome, what the fuck?”
“That biker kept you prisoner for so long, he’s not your friend Peyton. I’m here to help you.”
His voice had that weird, slow cadence that people use when trying to reason with someone who they think is being delusional. But there was only one delusional person in this damn room, and it wasn’t me. I was dizzy, but I kept struggling against him until I saw his other hand reach out to pat at a rag on the bedside table. Which was near a gun.
“I don’t want to sedate you again, but if you can’t behave, I’ll do whatever I need to keep you from hurting yourself.”
“Jesus Christ,” I whispered, immediately stilling. The man was legitimately insane.
“There we go, that’s better.” He stood and headed across the room, unfortunately taking both the gun and the soaked rag with him.
So I closed my eyes to try and still the roiling within me, and took stock of how I felt. My primary concern was my baby, and how chloroform—or whatever the fuck he’d used—might affect the growing little one inside me. But of course, I didn’t mention that to Zachary. Who knew what the fucking psycho would do if he found out I was pregnant with Rocky’s child? Probably coat-hanger me right then and there.
I shuddered at the thought.
“I’m making chicken for dinner,” he said happily. I opened my eyes to watch as he put the weapon down the front of his jeans, hooked against his belt, and couldn’t help but hope he accidentally shot his own dick off. “I know it’s late, we won’t normally be eating after sundown, don’t worry.” He pulled out a cutting board and started chopping vegetables. “But since it’s our first night together, I wanted to wait for you to wake up so we could eat at the same time.”
My heart drummed an uneven rhythm against my ribs.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Slowly, so he wouldn’t be alarmed and come running back over with that drugged rag, I sat up and leaned my back against the wall, trying to get my bearings. “Are you…seriously expecting me to just casually accept this?” A quick glance out the window showed me mostly darkness, but it seemed like there were a bunch of trees out there. “Become your little wifey out here in the woods, wherever we are?”
His head tilted to the side as he chopped, and he paused and turned to look at me. “You did for Samuel.”
“Who the fuck?”
His brows scrunched for a second, and then his face relaxed and he let out a chuckle, turning back to his chopping. “See? You couldn’t possibly like him, you don’t even know his name.”
A splash of shock sliced through me. Oh fuck, Rocky’s first name was Samuel? I claimed, even if only inside my own head, to love him, but I didn’t even know his first name.
I let out an incredulous huff. Maybe I was just as delusional as Zachary.
