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“Fuck.” I look around for my phone. We’re on a remote road in the middle of nowhere. I’m not sure how far we are from the ranch or when the next car will come along. We have to get out of here, get the fuck away from that van.

At the creak of metal, I jerk around. My passenger side door jerks open. A man leans down, a grin on his face as he stares at me. “Found you.”

For a moment, I don’t know what to do. Then I scream. I scream like I did the night Sammy blew his brains out right in front of me. Like I did the night I saw Lucy lying in the street covered by a white cloth.

Anguished. Blistering. Haunted.

“C’mere, you pretty little thing.” He grabs me by the hair and jerks me out of the car.

“No, no! Let me go, motherfucker!” I look frantically back at Cole, where he still lies unconscious.

“Shut the fuck up and be quiet.” He wraps a big arm around my chest, trapping me to him.

“No! Cole!” My heels scrabble on the dirt and grit of the long, winding back road, and I beg for anyone to drive by.

I twist in his arms, trying to break his hold. Trying to hit him. I’m scared out of my mind, but I have to fight. I kick and scream, but he’s too big to feel any impact. My elbow slips free, and I manage to drive it hard into his stomach.

I lurch from his arms.

Free.

“You little bitch.” The man grabs my shoulder, spins me around, and slaps me hard across the face, knocking me to the ground. I’m lying there, blinking back spots, when he grabs my arm, jerks me to my feet, and drags me to the waiting van.

The door slides open.

Another man stands there. “Jesus Christ, hurry it up.”

“She’s feisty, this one.” The man tosses me onto the cold floor of the van. I lie there for a long second, dazed. My head throbs. My face pulses.

“Cole,” I whisper, fighting the darkness.

“Fuck. You touched her? Mr. Please is gonna be pissed.”

Please? Please.

The door slides shut. “No choice. She was giving me hell.” Rough hands on my arms pull me to my feet. “Get up! We don’t have time for this!” Cool metal surrounds my wrists. Handcuffs.

“No!” I kick, spit at him, but he’s stronger than me.

The man connects my cuffs to a long vertical bar that runs the length of the van’s ceiling. I hang there, dangling, my toes barely dragging the ground. My stomach muscles tremble.

“You’re a smart woman running halfway across the country.” He cups my chin, tilting my gaze to his threatening one. “But you know this is your fault, right?”

I glare into the black abyss of his eyes. “Fuck you!” I kick at him with my heels, but he sidesteps me, and the motion rocks my body, tears at my arms.

My heart lurches as the van starts to roll. Above me, my cuffs rattle. The driver has a cell phone to his ear, barking into the receiver. I hear my name.

“What do you want? Who are you?” Panicky breaths fill my lungs.

The man steps up and grips my jaw. “Sweetheart, haven’t you figured it out yet? We want you.” He grins, lips curling, as he steps closer. “And I see why Please worked so hard to track you down.” Fingers dig into my throat as his other hand fondles my breast and squeezes. I scream and jerk away from him. The brutal movement sends pain lancing down my arm. Snaps my locket and sends it clattering to the floor.

“Stop! Stop, please.” Tears burn in the backs of my eyes.

That’s when I hear a loud pop, the screech of brakes. The van fishtails. At the impact, my attacker slams back into a corner of the van. The front windshield shatters. Glass explodes.

A sob escapes my throat. My body jerks back and forth like a rag doll as the van slows, then rocks to a halt as it smashes into something hard.

For a long second, silence.