AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Is that something I can use against them?
The thing is, I’ve watched enough television, and read enough books, to paint a vivid picture of what comes next. Knowing their depravities—or at least Scott’s, I’m extrapolating to Dean Alder—it’s not a stretch to connect the dots.
While the dean greedily laps up my fear, savoring every bit of it, Scott glares at me from the passenger seat with a face set in stone.
At the mercy of two psychopaths, my mind turns to escape. It’s the only thing keeping me from dropping into the pit of despair.
But what do I have that can help me?
With my wrists shackled at my back, even if I had a key or a hairclip, I couldn’t use it.
I come up empty and more scared than before.
After what seems like an eternity, the silent ride finally comes to a stop. My heart pounds in my chest as I look out the window. There’s nothing but trees and darkness. We’re in the middle of nowhere, far away from civilization.
Dean Alder turns to me with a leer and speaks to me like I’m barely human. “This is where we’re keeping you until I figure out what to do with you. Don’t try to escape. I’ll find you, and you’ll wish you were dead.” With that, he gets out of the car. Scott follows. The car doors open and close, leaving me inside.
Alone.
A wave of terror washes through me and a chill penetrates deep into my bones.
The two of them step some distance away. Their aggressive gestures, and the harshness of their yelling, tells me everything I need to know. They’re fighting over me.
It’s also clear who’s in charge.
It’s not Scott. He’s not the one in control here—it’s Dean Alder; a far more menacing man than Scott could ever be. I turn away from the window, unable to watch anything else. My heart beats faster as I wait, powerless to change my fate, trembling from fear that clots the very air, it’s so intense.
That fear intensifies, becoming a heavy weight pressing down on me. I’ve never felt this powerless. I’ve never felt this scared. I want to scream, but I can’t bring myself to do that and waste my breath. I’m completely at the mercy of my kidnappers, ensnared in a living nightmare of my own making.
And Zeb?
Tears sting my eyes as I wonder about Zeb. He’s alone and wounded, left to die on the side of the road. Visions of his body and far too much blood, flash through my mind like the lightning of that storm. I want to howl with grief and rage with fury.
There was so much blood.
Is he alive?
Something inside of me snaps. My sanity unravels knowing he might be dead because of me. My choices led us here. I’ll never forgive myself for destroying the man I’m falling in love with.
My hands are like ice, so numb I can barely feel my fingers. My wrists ache from the metallic bite of the cuffs. My back is a twisted pile of knots. My mind races with all kinds of possibilities, but I can’t seem to make any sense of anything.
What is Scott going to do to me?
Why does he defer to the dean like he does?
Is there some reason he’s so loyal to Dean Alder?
What does the dean want with me?
Every cell in my body screams that he definitely wants something from me, yet I can’t fathom what that might be.
I try to keep calm, but it’s getting harder and harder. I’m consumed by fear; all I can do is pray Zeb survives, and that somehow I’ll escape this too.
Without warning, the back door opens. Scott grabs me violently, yanking me from the vehicle. His grip is like an iron vice: cold and unforgiving. He drags me through the woods, never once saying a word. The trees overhead tower over me like eerie specters who stand witness to what very well may be my last moments on earth.
I scream, desperate to save myself. He rewards me with a punch to the gut that leaves me gasping for breath. Then he hauls me, stumbling and in pain, to a small clearing where a decrepit cabin snuggles beside a burbling brook.
A chill runs down my spine as the dean opens the door. “Welcome home, my pet.”
