AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My head floats like a helium balloon. Heart bouncing in my chest, I stare.
It’s impossible. This is stress; I’m in shock from being kidnapped for the second time in my life. My mind is creating a delusion to deal with the trauma.
“Is it really you?” I whisper, as if my hallucination wouldn’t lie to me.
He unbuckles his pants and pulls them down; at first I question what the fuck sort of bad dream this is, but then I get it: he has a scar on his thigh from where Anton shot him.
“I wish I could have come for you sooner,” he says. “My recovery took months, and I’ve needed time to make a plan — one that Anton won’t figure out.”
Tears slide down my cheeks.
“I never gave up hope that you were alive. I wanted to. I tried, but I couldn’t. It’s the only thing that’s kept me going.”
“I knew you’d stay strong,” he says. “I’ve seen what Anton’s made you do. I’m so sorry.”
Ingram pulls me into a hug, kissing me and cupping my head in his hands. His lips bring back a thousand memories of our kisses, and it’s all I need to know that this is real: he’s here, with me.
Alive.
We spend an eternity together in this moment; I have a million questions, but they can all wait. Except, my fear that Anton will kill me hasn’t gone away.
“Ingram, my implants. If he thinks I’m going to talk he’ll…”
“He won’t,” Ingram replies. “Kate, there’s a lot you don’t know right now. Anton wants us all dead. He’s tracking us all through your implants. He needs you alive to catch us. I’d take you away from him if I could, but I can’t. Not yet.”
“What?” I say, swallowing down acid.
“We know how to remove the implants, but it takes time we don’t have right now. Anton will be here soon.”
I guess he’s right.
“Kate, I need you to listen very, very carefully. You’re going to be okay, I promise. We’re coming to get you. It will be soon. But when Anton finds you, I need you to tell him something.”
—
“Remember to stay still. You’ll be safe in here,” he says at the end. “And, Kate, I love you.”
“I love you too,” I say, blinking away the tears.
Ingram kisses me one last time before pressing a length of duct tape over my mouth. He ties a cloth over my eyes to blind me.
“I’ll see you soon, I swear. We’re going to end this. We’re going to make everything right again.”
I hear their footsteps, followed by the van doors closing.
Then I’m alone.
But not for long.
