Page 111 of All I Feel

Fuck, how had I fallen in love with her? Why had I done this to myself?

I didn’t think I’d ever get over this. Over her.

Feeling sick, but knowing I couldn’t just walk away without saying what needed to be said, I asked, “Will you wait there until I get there? I need to deal with this, and I don’t trust myself not to put my fist through his face. Since he’s an attorney, it’s probably best I have a credible witness with me.”

“Yeah, man. Anything you need. I’m sorry about this.”

I huffed. “Yeah. Me, too.”

I ended the call and drove to Tessa’s place. And the closer I got, the worse I felt.

TESSA

I was in trouble.

The worst kind of trouble a person could find themselves in.

This had been the most terrifying experience of my life, and it was becoming clear that I hadn’t reached the worst of it. From the moment I’d been kidnapped outside my salon, things had gone from bad to worse.

After being knocked out, I hadn’t woken up until I was at the place this kidnapper hadn’t wanted me to be. I was shocked to open my eyes and find myself in my own home.

I’d jerked up on the couch to a seated position, my head spinning in the process. I needed a moment to allow the dizziness to fade, but it was then I realized my hands had been bound behind my back. Glancing down, I noticed my ankles were not and moved to stand up. But before I could scramble to my feet, I saw a movement and halted.

A man I didn’t recognize had shifted his body into my line of vision, and he was pointing a gun at me. Being run off the road weeks ago was child’s play compared to this.

Body still, I asked, “Who are you?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“What do you want?”

“Me? Nothing.”

I groaned. “So, what am I doing here?”

He smirked at me. “You’ll see soon enough.”

I licked my lips and swallowed roughly, desperate for the trembling in my body to subside. “Did he put you up to this?”

The man’s brow furrowed. Clearly, he hadn’t expected I knew that Ryan was behind all this.

When I got no response, I tried a different tactic. “You were the one who ran me off the road, weren’t you?”

“It seems you got lucky that day.”

Who was this man? I realized there were bad people in the world, but I was baffled that someone would ever consider doing this kind of dirty work, the kind that would lead to killing another human. This guy didn’t even know me.

“How much is he paying you? Is it really worth the years you’re going to spend in prison?”

I received no response. No matter how many questions I asked, it appeared I wasn’t going to get any answers.

For a long while, I had no choice but to sit and wait. If I got up and tried to run, I suspected I’d be shot. And it was clear this guy wasn’t the one in charge, so he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—offer me any explanation or answers.

So, I waited.

I had no sense of time. I had no idea how long I’d been knocked out. The only thing I knew was that it couldn’t have been too late, considering there was still daylight peeking in through the windows. My best guess is that it was close to the time when Ace would’ve gotten home from work.

At that thought, an ache formed in the center of my chest.