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Despite the scrutiny, she didn’t feel relieved when the road curved and the watchful eyes faded from view.
No witnesses,a part of her whispered.
Kyle hadn’t been exaggerating when he claimed the territory was massive. The distance from Sonia’s alone had to have been more than several miles. Yet, no matter where she looked, there seemed to bemorestretching on in every direction—more forest. More trees. More impassive sky. More emptiness.
Despite the beauty of the landscape, she felt increasingly uneasy as Kyle led her deeper into the forest, and the warm glow of the town center faded. Soon, they left the road altogether and had to pick their way through the underbrush bit by bit in total darkness.
Something’s wrong.The warning prickled down the back of her spine like an itch she couldn’t scratch. Insistent.
When they finally reached a wide, open clearing, the sense of unease only grew, and Loren forced herself to speak up. “Where are we?”
Kyle didn’t answer.
He kept moving forward until his boots seemed to toe an invisible line, just near the edge of the field. There, he finally stopped and scanned the horizon, as if hunting for someone who might have been lurking out of sight.
“I bet you’re out there,” Loren thought she heard him growl into the wind. “Watching. Well, watchthisMcGoven, and know that you’ve failed, once again.”
Without warning, he turned to face her, and Loren knew his expression all too well.
“I suggest you run,” he told her, sounding miles away, even as he advanced, step by menacing step. “That will make this all the sweeter.”
“What are you talking about?” Loren wasn’t even sure how she was able to talk—let alone breathe—fear seized her lungs, squeezing the air from them. That tired, old mantra ran through her mind on replay—run, run, run!
“Oh, I think you know what,” Kyle murmured. “I think you knowexactlywhat.”
He kept coming, even as she staggered back just as quickly. Only too late did she realize, as her back hit the bark of a tree, that she was blocked in.
“Well?” he wondered, still creeping closer, as a predator would on a bleeding, hapless doe. “Aren’t you going to kiss your new mate?”
RUN.
Loren lunged. Her boots skidded, sending mud flying in every direction as she tried to dart past Kyle for the woods behind him. He caught her before she could even go a step. Harsh hands snagged her hair, yanking her backward and down onto the ground.
Dazed, she struck a patch of damp, icy grass just as a heavy boot slammed into the small of her back.
“Scream,” Kyle suggested from above her, as casually as if this were nothing more than a game. Loren gasped, choking on the damp earth, as he knelt down, pressing his knee against her spine. “Go on. Maybe he’ll even hear you if he hasn’t already turned tail and run like the coward he is. Hell, maybe…” The knee dug in, twisting as it did so. “Maybe he’ll come running to the rescue, big, strong Bill McGoven? I’ll even give him a head start.”
Wham!A sudden kick to her side forced her onto her back. Dazed, Loren blinked up at the sky as Kyle moved to stand over her.
“Why don’t you and I talk for a while?” he proposed, still speaking with that eerie sense of calm. “I wouldn’t want to rush him—he must be pretty busy, being a hero and saving damsels in distress, and all. So, let’s have a little chat. Don’t look so terrified,” the man admonished. He chuckled when she shied back, instinctively pressing her body into the earth.
“When you’re mated to me, I’ll make sure that you won’t remember a single thing. You’ll be the same, stupid little pup you were with McGoven—and seeing you like that willbreakhim,” a smug chuckle revealed just what he thought of that prospect. “He’ll probably even surrender himself like a good little hero, though I hope he fights. That bastard’s death by my hand has been long overdue. After all…he did kill my sister.”
His expression clouded over, as if he were seeing years into the past. Seeing another face where hers was. “I knew he wanted her. Everyone knew. He was Mr. Golden boy and Emma… She was perfect. Good. Kind. All the shit someone like him couldn’t wait to prey on—” He laughed coldly, clenching his hands into fists. “I should have seen that. Fuck! I should have known. But I was fooled like the rest of them. I… I was happy for her. I thought that if anyone could protect her, it would have been him. But I was wrong,” he went on in a deadly soft whisper, crouching over her. “He failed her. So, I think it’s only fair that I take someone fromhim.And when McGoven’s dead, Lukka can have you—”
Dead.The word snapped something inside of Loren, and it was like a dam breaking apart.
“No!”
Kyle scoffed at the sound, apparently pleased that she was finally playing along in his sick game—at least until she sharply drew up her knee, ramming him right between the legs. He rolled off her with a groan, and she shot to her feet, instinctively balancing her weight on the tips of her toes. McGoven’s voice echoed through her mind.Don’t think. Don’t hesitate. React!Real or imagined? It didn’t matter. Lunging into action, she took off across the clearing.
“Bitch!” She could hear Kyle behind her, staggering to his feet.
Don’t look back,that dark, shadowy voice in her mind, warned—this time not McGoven’s, but her own.Focus! Run! Run, run, run…
It took him longer to catch up to her this time. She had nearly made it over the boundary of the field when a hand snagged her collar, and she went flying.
“You’ll pay for that,” Kyle swore as she landed hard on her knees. Using his hand on her jacket for leverage, he began to purposefully tug until the seams tore beneath the strain.Rrrrrip!
