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Fear rippled through me, paralyzing me where I sat.
No.
No.
NO!
I was dreaming. This was just a dream—a nightmare. But it didn’t feel like a dream. I could feel the cold air biting into my face. The sickening throb in my head. My heart galloping in my chest. My icy breath every time I inhaled and exhaled.
“I’ve missed you.”
“Kane.” I let out a shaky breath. His name sounded unfamiliar on my tongue because it was a name I’d promised would never pass my lips again. He was a mistake. An error in my judgment. He was also the guy who was never supposed to live.
“Becca, baby, it’s been a while.” I searched the darkness for him. He was close. I could feel his eyes watching, stalking me. It had always been that way with us.
At first, I’d watched him. Lusted after him. Followed him eagerly as he’d worked on my best friend’s garden and pool.
What I hadn’t realized was he was also watching me.
“Kane, you have to let me go. People will be looking for me.”
I had no idea how long I’d been gone. I could vaguely remember what had happened. I’d left school after receiving a text from Kendall. At home, there had been flowers. A note.
Another text message from Kendall asking me to meet at Rogues.
“It was you,” I gasped as I remembered arriving at Rogues. I’d walked. It had taken me almost twenty-five minutes. Kendall wasn’t there, no one was. Until a figure emerged from the trees.
“They didn’t have lilies. I wanted to get your favorite, but the roses were pretty, right?”
“Kane.” I forced myself to soften my voice. “I’m hurt. My head, it hurts.”
“I’m sorry. You were surprised to see me. You ran and tripped.”
That would explain why I felt like I had gone ten rounds with a professional boxer. My eyes tracked a shuffling sound, and a bottle of water rolled across the hard floor, stopping at my foot. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Kane, where are we?”
“It doesn’t matter.” He paused. I didn’t know which I preferred—the sound of his voice or the deafening silence.
“You weren’t there. When I woke up, you weren’t there, and then my dad told me that you’d left Montecito, and I wanted to strangle him. Do you know what that feels like, Becca? To want to drain the life from someone’s body? I do, baby, because that’s what I wanted when he told me you’d left me.”
“Kane, I—”
He didn’t hear my plea because he was too detached from reality.
“I tried to escape. Twice, I unhooked my IV and all those fucking wires they had attached to me. The first time, I collapsed, and they had to put me back under. The second time, I hurt a nurse. Clocked her in the eye pretty good. Bitch deserved it for trying to keep me from you. I learned after that. Learned to play their games. Eat my pills and nod in all the right places. Because I knew that one day, we’d be together again.”
Bile rushed up my throat, and I choked on my own vomit. Unscrewing the bottle, I brought it to my lips and took a huge mouthful, washing it down.
“You hurt me bad, baby. They thought I wasn’t going to make it.”
You weren’t supposed to,I thought to myself.
“But nothing could keep me from you, baby. Not even the claws of death.”
“Kane, I don’t feel so good. I think I need a doctor.”
“You’ve got everything you need right here. Me, baby. I’ll keep you safe. Always.”
A fresh wave of nausea hit me, and it was so strong I doubled over. Pressing my palms flat against the cold floor, I retched into thin air. It was bare cement. The whole place felt damp, and the smell of putrid water lingered in the air. We were underground, maybe?
