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Chapter Eleven
KATIE
I don’t know why those smoothies would affect me like that, but I’m assuming it’s all the fiber. The last thing I want to do is leave because I’m not feeling well, so the best solution is to grab the Pepto pills I have in my glove box for these types of emergencies.
A smile fills my face as I leave the celebration and walk toward my car. It’s only a few blocks away, and I can still hear the band playing in the distance. As I get closer, I unlock my phone and scroll through the few pictures I have of Owen, Noah, and me together. Earlier, when he said it was our first family photo, I nearly cried. My emotions bubbled over, and I lost my words. It’s been only Owen and me for so long that when he said that, it felt right. We are a family, and I love him with all my heart.
When I turn the corner, I see my car, and as I move closer, I notice all four of my tires are slashed.
“What the actual fuck?” I say out loud just as I’m getting ready to call Noah. Before I can, I’m grabbed, and my arms are secured behind my back. I struggle, trying to break free, but the man holding me is too strong. A few seconds later, I’m peering into dark brown eyes.
Brittany.
“Let me go!” I scream. All I want to do right now is claw out her eyes.
A maniacal laugh escapes her dark red lips. “No.”
Taking another step forward, she grabs my cheeks and squeezes hard, digging her nails into my skin. “I never understood what he saw in you.”
I glare at her, wishing she’d drop dead.
“Gabe never had the best taste in women,” I throw back.
Her fist connects with my stomach so fast that she knocks the wind out of me. My pain only causes her to laugh. As I suck in air, she tells the guy who’s holding me to bring me to her Suburban.
“Why are you doing this?” I croak.
She opens the back door, then crosses her arms and stares at me. “Isn’t it obvious? You’re the ticket that will lead Noah directly to me. Honestly, I should've taken this route a lot sooner.”
“You don’t have to do this, Brittany. Just let me go, and we can pretend none of this happened,” I say, thinking about Noah and how Owen’s with my mother. They’ll all be looking for me if they aren’t already.
“Don’t think so. There’s no turning back now.” She reaches into the back and grabs a roll of duct tape.
The sound of her pulling it from the roll nearly pierces my ears.
“Please,” I beg again. “My son is with me.”
“I don’t give a fuck about your kid.” She rips the tape and slaps it hard over my mouth. I struggle to break free, but it’s no use.
“Nicolas, don’t you fucking let her get away.”
Moving behind me, Brittany tapes my wrists together, then wraps it around my thighs and ankles until I can hardly move. I try to scream, but it’s so muffled no one would ever be able to hear me. Tears stream down my face as I come to terms with what she’s done. Adrenaline courses through my veins, and I wish I would’ve let Noah accompany me like he wanted. But I was stupid and insisted he stay.
My phone buzzes in my back pocket, and Brittany grabs it and smirks. It’s Noah. She turns it off, then slams it on the pavement. The screen immediately shatters, and she picks it up and throws it in her vehicle.
“I’m gonna kill him,” she seethes. “Then this will all be over.”
Sweat forms on my brow as I try to scream through the tape. My stomach is so upset, and I’m scared that I’ll throw up with my mouth secured closed. This is the worst possible time to be sick.
“We need to get going,” she tells Nicolas. “They’ll be looking for her soon.”
With all her strength, Brittany punches me in the stomach again and brings her knee in too. “That’s for being a bitch toward me.”
I lose my balance and fall to the ground, where Brittany kicks me until I nearly lose consciousness.
“And that’s for fucking the man who killed Gabe.”
After a minute of her physically taking her anger out on me, Nicolas grabs me by the hair and throws me in the back of her SUV. After the doors slam closed, the engine rumbles, and we’re quickly speeding away.
I wonder how long it’ll take Noah to realize I’m gone. After I didn’t answer the first time, I know he’s already searching for me. I just hope to God he has Eric with him because I don’t doubt Brittany’s words for one second.
She speaks to Nicolas in a high-pitched tone, like she’s happy about what she’s accomplished. I try to turn my body to see out the window but can’t manage to twist around. My eyes burn with hot tears, and I try to take myself out of the situation until I hear Brittany tell Nicolas she’s calling Noah.
