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“You’re making a huge mistake if you kill me!” I call out, still trying to break free to get to Z’s gun.
But he is too strong, and we are almost completely out the door when the guy carrying me chuckles against my ear.
“Oh baby, we aren’t going to kill you… at least not yet.” I don’t have any time to feel relief at his words because he quickly adds, “But I do look forward to watching you being tortured and raped once we get you back to the compound. You are feisty enough, you should be good for a few days of entertainment before you finally bite it.”
My scream of sheer terror isn’t for show. The asshole’s promise of what’s to come chills me, taking me back to the same horror story that had started with JV bursting into my suite. I fight like a wildcat, kicking while screaming out Z’s name, praying that he’s close enough to the cabin to hear me. I grab onto the trunk of a tree that he gets too close to, slowing our retreat down long enough that my captor has to set my feet down long enough to disengage my grip on the tree.
“You fucking bitch…” he curses me.
“You fucking asshole,” I spit back.
The back of his hand strikes my cheek, snapping my neck to the side, and I stumble away from the tree thanks to the velocity of the blow. My cheek explodes in pain, and I stupidly reach for my face to block more punches instead of running. My delay makes it too easy for them to pick me up again, this time with unwanted tears streaming down my face.
They’d come in an unmarked cargo van and had left the side door open making it easy enough for them to throw me into the back. I am determined that will be the only easy thing for them as I frantically feel around the floor of the empty space, desperate to find anything I might be able to use as a weapon, but they are too fast at locking my left wrist into a set of handcuffs already locked to an iron bar running along the outer wall of the van.
They have me. A quick test of the metal tells me I won’t be escaping until someone with a key unlocks me. That means I need to double-down on my screaming.
“Help! Don’t touch me you fucking assholes!” It’s as loud as I can possibly scream, but as they slam the sliding door closed and each get into the front seats of the van, I know it isn’t enough.
Gravel spins under the tires as we pull away. I suspect I should be worrying about all of the horrific things they are going to do to me before they finally kill me, but in that moment, a different sadness washes over me.
As remote and run-down as the cabin is, our time here was good. If only Z and I could have met under different circumstances. Would we have maybe had a shot at our own happily ever after?
I’ll never know the answer to that question. What I do know is that Z will be crushed with guilt when he finds me gone. He’ll take it as his own personal failure and that has me as upset as thinking about what Vincent Luciano has planned when he gets his hands on me.
Chapter Fifteen
Z
“I have to hike a damn mile uphill to speak with you,” I say to Dex, enjoying the view that looks over the valley below. Though our little shack isn’t the best living accommodations, the area truly is paradise. Not to mention the company.
Deep down I know I shouldn’t be enjoying myself with Rowan considering our situation, but that’s exactly what I’ve been doing the past couple of days. Being out here in nature has reminded me that though I love the hustle of city life in New York, I do need to make time in my life to breathe some fresh air. The Whitney has consumed me. It nearly suffocates me at times. I need to step back a little before I burn the fuck out. Something about Rowan and the way she looks at me reminds me of that fact. I’m not just Dex’s side kick. I’m not just a man hired to clean messes. I’m not The Whitney’s dirty secret. I can be more… I just need to make it happen.
I basically need to clean up my own damn life.
“Are you and Rowan in a safe place?” Dex asks, though I know he already knows the answer. I wouldn’t stay in a place for more than a day if it weren’t.
“We’re making do.”
“I know this has to be tough on you,” he says. “I’m working as fast as I can to get shit lined up so we can bring you back home.”
