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It was my dick appointment—MuscleMan69.
My limbs turned limp as my blood turned to ice. I couldn’t stop staring at the body even as it grew smaller in the distance. It was burned on the insides of my eyelids and was all I could see when squeezed my eyes. “You killed him,” I said, quietly. A sob slowly climbed up from my chest until I was crying with all the energy I had left.“You killed him!”
“If it makes you feel any better, he attacked me first,” Ansel said in a flat voice. We came to a sudden halt, and he hoisted me off his shoulder and onto the ground. Without another word, he threw me into the backseat of a van idling in an empty parking lot.
Chapter four
Thedriver’sicyblueeyes widened at me in the rearview mirror as Ansel shoved me into the backseat of the van. He climbed in behind me, slamming the door shut.
He leaned forward across the console. “Drive, Liam,” he ordered gruffly to the man in the front seat. I could tell by the driver’s ivory skin and long pointed ears that he was an elf. Next to him sat another orc who had a strong build but looked skinny compared to Ansel.
“I was wondering what was taking you so long. Now I know,” the elf said under his breath.
“I said drive,” Ansel barked. The van jolted forward, tires screeching, as we sped out of the parking lot. Ansel scooted across the seat to press his body against mine. Where did he expect me to go? I was locked in a moving metal box with a muscly orc pressed up against me.
“It was an ambush, or supposed to be,” Ansel said to the men sitting in the front, breaking the silence that followed. “Not a very good one, I have to say. Either Gregor is getting sloppy, or this was organized by some low-ranking dealers trying to move up the ranks.” He folded his arms across his broad chest and turned his head to the right, staring at the passing buildings.
The elf suddenly slammed the heel of his palm against the steering wheel. I jumped in my seat, but they all ignored me. “I told you it was a set-up, Ansel! Something could have happened—”
“Nothing happened,” Ansel said quickly, cutting him off. “I’m fine, aren’t I?”
The elf’s cold eyes flicked to me again in the rearview mirror. “But something did happen,” he grumbled under his breath.
I stared at them bickering in horror, feeling as though my soul had left my body. My fingers and toes felt numb and every molecule in my body was screaming at me to run, but I couldn’t move. Was this shock? I had to be in shock, there was no other explanation. It was sad to know after all those boxercise classes I took at the gym, this was how I was leaving this world—stiff as a fainting goat. Not fighting and kicking and biting like I had imagined.
You’re not dead yet. You may be able to escape . . . You just need to think.
“What’s with the faerie anyway, boss? Does she work for Gregor too?” It was the other orc sitting in the front seat who asked the question. Though it was directed to Ansel, he had turned around in his seat and was staring at me with open curiosity. He was younger too, couldn’t be a day over twenty. He turned his gaze to Ansel. “I’ve never interrogated a woman before. Don’t know if I can.” His eyes flicked to mine; his face deadly serious. “You ever kicked a puppy before? Stolen from a poor, old woman? I think I can do it if I know you’re a bad person.”
They’re kidnapping me, and he’s the one giving me a test to see if I’m a good person or not? My lower lip wobbled, and I was unsure if I was about to burst into laughter or start ugly crying.
“No one is interrogating her,” Ansel replied. The younger orc gave me one last look and shrugged before turning around in his seat.
Ansel’s response only heightened my fear because if they weren’t interrogating me, what were they planning to do with me? Panic bubbled up in my chest as the possibilities ran wild in my head. I bit down on a whimper and took a deep breath, steadying myself.Keep calm, Skye.Without lowering my eyes, I carefully placed my hand on the door handle next to my hip. They were driving so fast down the street that it would hurt like a bitch rolling out of the moving vehicle. I’d be lucky to make it out without breaking a bone or two, but that was nothing compared to what these creeps might do to me.
I braced my body for impact and pulled the handle. Click. My blood turned to ice when the door didn’t open. It didn’t even budge. The vehicle turned deathly quiet as Ansel turned his full attention to me, looking slightly impressed. I kept my eyes forward, avoiding the heat of Ansel’s gaze. Maybe if I ignored him, he would forget the sound came from me?
After a long beat, he spoke, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “I don’t know if you noticed, but that door is broken.” Was this asshole making fun of me? He sighed, moving his head to face the front. “Please be good. I’m sore tonight, and I don’t feel like fighting. We’re almost home.”
The word home broke the last cord that was holding my sanity together. I spun in my seat to the window as buildings, streetlamps, and empty sidewalks whooshed past, and with every ounce of strength I had left, screamed bloody murder. I pounded my fists against the glass, praying to the goddess above someone—anyone—would hear my cry for help.
“PLEASE! PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP ME! I’M BEING KIDNAPPED!” My lungs burned and the tiny bones in my wrists felt like they were going to explode, but I didn’t stop. Even when my screaming turned into hysterical, wet, choking sobs; I kept banging the glass.
“Ansel,” the elf said in a warning tone when I took a break to suck down a big breath.
“Sweetling, please. You have to be careful or you’re going to hurt yourself,” Ansel spoke in such a soft voice as if he was coaxing a wild animal. I yanked my arms away as he reached for my wrists. But I had nowhere to go; he had me backed into a corner. I flailed for a few moments until he caught my arms.
“Don’t touch me! Let me go!” I hissed, still thrashing my arms. He sighed heavily, grabbing my waist and pulling me into his lap. He wrapped his arms around my body in a big bear hug, but my legs thrashed, getting a few sharp kicks into his shins with my heels.
“Demie,” Ansel growled over my shoulder. “Can I get a little help here, please?”
“On it, boss,” the younger orc said in a frighteningly chipper tone. He leaned forward in his seat as he reached into a duffle bag between his feet. He dug through the bag for a moment, the sound of glass clinking, until he retrieved a small vial and a rag.
I had stopped moving, but Ansel’s arms constricted tighter around my torso. “Hold your breath everyone,” Demie warned as he popped open the vial and poured the clear liquid onto the rag. I had only seen it in movies—always such a cliche too—but I knew in my heart it was chloroform. And Demie was going to use it on me.
No. No. No!
I kicked, squirmed, jerked in Ansel’s arms, but I couldn’t stop Demie from reaching across the console with the wet rag. Ansel’s hand snaked up my body, lightly gripping my chin to hold my head in place for Demie.
