AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I let out a huff and place the sandwiches on a pan and slide them into the oven, flipping on the light so I can watch them.
“That there?” My dad points at me. “The way you’re standing, tapping your fingers on the counter? That look on your face? How you’re biting your lip? None of it screams happy to me, Sloane. It says something very different.”
I peek into the oven and then look at my father. “I trust him, Dad.” I can’t very well say I’m nervous about his safety. And I wouldn’t dream of telling him how Max was jumped the night of the benefit and how Tony Oriani was pummeled at a construction site.
Ping!
I spin around and grab my phone from next to the stove, my heart thumping so fast and so hard, I can barely breathe. I stare at the screen and let out a little yelp. “Oh, thank God! Daddy, keep an eye on the sandwiches, okay?”
Dad narrows his eyes at me. “More happiness, I take it?”
My lips curl upward. “Yes! It’s Jules!”
I slip on my UGG slippers and pull open the door, running down the steps and hurrying around the corner to find a black Range Rover parked along the curb. The engine is still running when one of the back doors pop open. I run toward the car to find Jules sitting…or rather, laying like a limp noodle, in the bucket seat, her bare feet on the console in front of her. She’s still in her dress from the benefit, although it’s only half-covering her from what I can see. Her head rolls to the side, her eyes glassy. My chest tightens, and I gasp. There’s a hollow look in her eyes, like she doesn’t know where she is or who I am at this very second. What the hell is happening here? Her text said someone was dropping her off, so I ran outside, not thinking about why they’d drop her off here. All I cared about was getting my friend back safely.
Her eyes focus for a split second and she lets out a sigh, then smiles. “Hey,” she murmurs. “Are you coming, too?”
I peer into the car, but I can’t make out any other heads. She obviously didn’t drive herself here. “No, sweetie.” I swallow hard, wondering why the driver hasn’t made an appearance yet. “Who brought you here?”
“Oh, just some friends…” Her voice trails off, and she lets out a moan. “But I’m so tired.”
“Is somebody in there?” I say, getting no response in return. “Jules, can you get out of the truck? Let’s go inside, okay? You can rest.” She’s doped up on something. I have no idea what, but it’s powerful enough to turn my sassy, mouthy friend into a freaking puddle of goo with no idea who she is, who I am, or what planet we’re even on.
Jules lets out a sigh and sinks farther into the seat. “It feels so good to sit. I don’t want to get up. You come in here.”
Someone has her phone. She isn’t the one who sent that text. I have to get her out of there and away from this car. I’m still standing a few inches from the car. I pat my jacket pockets, but my phone isn’t there. It’s inside the kitchen, exactly where I’d left it once I read her message. “Jules, who’s in there with you?” I repeat, trying to control my voice. A deep chill slithers through my bones, and it’s not because of the frigid temperature. “Why didn’t they bring you home instead of here?”
“Because then I would have missed seeing your pretty face one more time, Nurse Sloane,” a deep voice hisses into my ear, something hard pressed into my spine.
A startled shriek escapes my mouth, and I’m suddenly spun around, greeted by Gianni’s evil smile. And whatever was shoved against my back is now pressed into my stomach. He brings a finger to his lips. “Now, Sloane, don’t do anything stupid. Lucky for me, all of your neighbors are at work right now, but you never know if someone might come home for a late lunch, so I want you make sure you behave yourself. If not, I’ll kill you and your friend. And don’t worry. I didn’t forget about your dad. Make a stupid move and I’ll also go inside, keep him company while he eats his grilled cheese, and then I’ll kill him, too.” He leers at me. “What do you think? I bet you’re wishing your dipshit friend Max had stabbed me with that fork after all, huh?”
“He—!” But before I can get the word out, he slaps a hand over my mouth, sealing it closed with duct tape, and presses his mouth against it as he shoves me to the open car door. That bastard! Anyone who might catch a glimpse will just assume it’s an innocent kiss and that I’m leaving with him.
Hell no. Not happening! I swivel to the right before I fall into Jules’s lap, my back slamming into the side of the car. Even though he’s still blocking my path, the sudden motion catches him off-guard, and I take full advantage while the gun isn’t pointed at me. I drag my fingernails down the sides of his face, digging them into his flesh, and drive my knee up into his groin. If I can get in one good hit, he’ll drop to his knees, forget the gun, I can run the hell away from this nightmare. Outrunning a bullet is a calculated risk, but I have no choice. If I end up in the back of that car, I’m dead anyway.
Ahhh! His dark eyes taunt me, and I wince as my kneecap crashes into something hard hidden away in his jeans. Sonofabitch! How many times has this asshole been kneed in the balls that he knows to wear a cup for protection?
Gianni grips the back of my head and I hear a clicking sound down below. “Keep fighting me, and then after I fuck you, I’ll blow off your goddamned head.”
Tears flow freely from my eyes as he presses the gun harder into my skin. “Are you finished now? Are you going to stop trying to be a hero?”
My whole body shakes. I turn to see Jules’s face. Her eyes droop closed, her arm laying limp over the side of the seat.
I try to scream, but the tape muffles the sounds.
He turns me around so I’m facing the inside of the car. The cold metal of the gun barrel is pressed into me. “If you even think about making another stupid ass move, I will shoot you dead right here. Do you understand?” I nod, sniffling, whimpering against the tape. Each sharp breath I take slices away at my lungs. “Layla, make room for our new guest. I think she’s gonna make us a bundle,” he says to someone inside of the car.
A brunette appears from inside of the car, a grimace on her pretty face.
My God, I’ve seen that face before…
The girl shoves Jules into the backseat and narrows her eyes at me as Gianni pushes me inside, still at gunpoint. I remember that death glare. I saw the same exact one on Thanksgiving night. At Max’s house. From the bitch who was wearing my AC/DC t-shirt.
Oh, my God, why is she here? Is this some elaborate revenge plot? Why is she with Gianni? He’s supposed to be Max’s enemy! Max, Max, Max…oh, God, no. Please no! If they’re here for me, have they already gotten to Max? They used Jules to get to me…did who knows what to her since the night of the benefit...and now, they have us both.
The mere thought of what they may do to us has my heart on the verge of exploding out of my chest.
“I guess it’s only fair, right? You stole from me, so now I’m stealing you.” Layla sweeps a hand down the side of my tear-streaked face, malice dripping from her lips. “You could never be enough for him. You’ll never understand who he is or where he came from.” With a shrug, she flashes a malicious smile and holds up a needle. “But none of that matters anymore. You’ll never see him again. You’ll never see anyone again. Once that car door closes, you will vanish. Forever. Just like all the others.”
