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SAGE
All the color drained from my face as I stared into his chilling green eyes.
Alex.
This wasn’t possible. Niko had told me he’d died. That I’d killed him. The shock had me paralyzed. I looked past Alex across the fire and saw Niko. He wasn’t looking at me; his gaze stayed fixed on the ground. Next to him was Geo, who was grinning like he’d just won the lottery.
There were at least five other guys surrounding me. They must have all been part of the society. They had found me. My stomach twisted painfully as my mouth went dry. Finally snapping out of it, I moved to stand. To run. To do anything.
“Aw, come on, Sage. Let’s talk for a minute,” Alex said as he grabbed my arm and pulled, forcing me to sit back down.
“You’re going to do this at a party? In front of all these people?” My voice was shrill.
“We finally found you. It’s been six months. It doesn’t matter how many people are around. Why do you think I brought so many friends?” Alex was speaking quietly. I figured they wanted to do this as discreetly as possible. No way I was going to make it easy for them.
“I’m not going to go quietly—”
Alex interrupted me. “You are going to come with us. With me. This is a party, baby. Everyone here is drunk or high. And you don’t know anyone. It’s not going to be hard. Once we’re out of here, we need to talk.”
Surprise hit me. Alex was so cold. So angry. I guess it made sense with how our last encounter had ended. Not something someone could easily forgive. I thought quickly, trying to come up with anything to get away.
“I’ll go with you. Without fighting. I will. If I can grab my bag. Please. It has pictures of my dad. Of Lacey—” My voice broke as I tried to sound as pitiful as possible.
Alex gave me a hard stare, but his gaze softened a little. Maybe he still had feelings for me. That could be helpful.
“Fine. But you’re not leaving my sight. Where’s your bag?”
“In the house. I can’t really remember. I have to look, but I won’t take long,” I lied. The bag was in the bedroom, exactly where I had left it.
Alex nodded to the guys around the fire, and they started walking toward the house. I got up and tried to pull my arm out of Alex’s grip, but he stood up, yanking me closer to him.
“I know you don’t want me touching you, but I’m not letting you go until we’re in the car. Deal with it,” Alex told me with no emotion.
He was completely different from the Alex I had known. He had been caring and kind. Now he was chillingly indifferent. I couldn’t remember a time he had ever talked to me like that. Even that night. Or when I attacked him. I needed him to have those old feelings if I wanted to get away. I looked back and saw Niko walking behind us. He still wouldn’t look at me. It wasn’t like him to stay silent. He always had something to say. Maybe he was scared I would tell them that he had found me months ago.
Geo and the other guys stayed outside while we walked inside the house. Niko waited in the living room while Alex and I went to one of the bedrooms. My bag was under the bed but was easily seen from the door. My weapon, the one I had used on Niko, was in there. If I could get to it and make a dash for my car, then maybe I could get away. Alex grabbed the bag before I could.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
“My bag—”
“I’ll hold it for now.”
“Alex, I have to pee.”
His eyes narrowed.
I continued quickly, “I really do. If you’ve been watching me, then you know I drank tonight. I can go now, or you can to stop on the way to wherever you’re taking me.”
He sighed. “Fine.”
He started pulling me to the bathroom door on the other side of the bedroom.
“You’re not coming in with me.” I again tried to pull away. “Where am I going to go in a bathroom? Just give me five minutes. Please.”
He paused and then slowly let go of me. “Five minutes. If you’re not out, then I’m coming in.”
I glanced at my bag in his hand. There was no way I was getting it now. I would have to do it without the stun gun.
“Thank you,” I said, forcing sincerity across my face.
I shut the bathroom door behind me and turned on the water before going to the other side where another door was waiting. I remembered from earlier that this bathroom connected two bedrooms. If I could slip out from the other bedroom, I could have a chance. Not that I knew what I was going to do. The car keys were in my bag. But it didn’t matter. I would do anything I needed to get away. I slowly opened the second door, trying not to make a sound. But when the door opened, someone pulled me into the bedroom.
Hands gripped my arms, and I was forced face first against the wall. I craned my neck to make out who it was, but the bathroom door had shut behind me and the room was pitch black. He forced one arm behind my back, pulling it high enough that I couldn’t move. Another hand fisted my hair and pulled my head to the side until my cheek was pressed against the wall.
“I warned you, Sage. I told you if they found you, there was nothing I could do. Why the hell didn’t you just stay hidden?” he hissed in my ear.
“Niko—”
