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My vision fades as the darkness tries to claim me. I fight it, wanting to protect her. I know I’m losing the battle when her screams sound further away, even though I feel her in my arms. Her cold fingers touch my face as I lie there, trying to hang onto her.
“Oh, God, Chase.” She squeezes my hand, but I’m too weak to squeeze back.
“Kenz,” I rasp. It’s all I can manage before my eyes flutter and then close, the world spinning as the darkness creeps in.
The last thing I hear is Mackenzie’s pleading voice. “Chase, please be okay. Open your eyes. Please.”
I want so badly to respond. To tell her I’m sorry I failed her. But the darkness swallows me whole.
9
MACKENZIE
“Chase, please,” I sob, my body pressing against his. I’m gripping his left hand, my arm cradling the back of his neck. “Wake up.”
I know evil lurks behind me. The vile presence of the man with the upside-down white cross, a contrast to the black paint on the rest of it, makes me quake from terror. I cling to Chase’s unconscious form, scared to death.
I don’t know what the hell this strange man wants from me, but his words haunt me.“Hello, gorgeous. You’re exactly what I’m looking for.”
The man’s large hands dig into my hips as he tries to pull me away from Chase. Whimpering, I tighten my grip, squeezing my eyes closed and praying for a miracle.
“Orpheus. I hear a car.” A woman’s voice from behind me jars me from my prayers. My eyes pop open.There’s a woman here?
The large guy she called Orpheus freezes before he commands, “Inject her and drag her to the vehicle. We’ll have to take the boy, too.Now.”
Everything happens in a blur. The woman’s black pumps and the lace fabric of her long, black dress infiltrate my vision seconds before she jabs a needle into the side of my neck, the burn of whatever is inside flowing through my veins. I squirm, trying to escape the needle, but Orpheus’s large hands hold me in place.
I stare at the woman, memorizing her features. A lacy black veil covers her face, the long, black dress covering most of her body, reminding me of a grieving widow.
If I was with that creep with the painted face, I’d be in mourning, too.
Whatever swirls through my veins causes my vision to blur. My hearing is distorted, their whispers sounding like a foreign language, not making sense to my muddled brain. My limbs weaken as the drugs take over, my body sagging against Chase.
The woman lifts me off Chase, and though I try to cling to his hand, whatever she injected me with renders my limbs useless. As she begins dragging me away from him, I open my mouth to scream and hopefully wake Chase. Instead, all that escapes is a plaintive whimper.
I’m bereft as I look at Chase’s body growing further away as the woman drags me across the pavement. I will my limbs to work, to fight against her, but my body betrays me, refusing to move. And though my eyes are so heavy, wanting to close, I refuse to let them.
Inside my head, I’m screaming for Chase.
Orpheus bends over and grabs Chase, throwing him over his shoulder. His heavy boots thud across the pavement as his brisk strides hurry past me and the woman.
I hear a thud before Orpheus’s impatient voice snarls, “Rosario. Stop singing and get her over here.Now.”
Although I’m having trouble functioning, I recognize the lyrics coming from Rosario’s mouth as she drags me toward the car. She’s singing“Amazing Grace.”
Orpheus grabs me from her, then tosses me inside the trunk beside Chase. His musk and amber scent comforts me during this madness.
The trunk is slammed shut, and their hurried footsteps grow fainter before disappearing.
I’m terrified, but I’m fairly certain the drug Rosario injected me with is preventing me from having a panic attack, which I’m grateful for. That’s the last thing I need right now.
Turning my head, my tired eyes struggle to adjust to the darkness, but finally, I can make out Chase’s features as he lies unconscious beside me. I wish I could touch his face, but my limbs refuse to move.
The vehicle engine roars before the car accelerates. My body rolls against Chase, my forehead smacking against his lips. Tears fill my eyes when I feel his breath against my face.He’s alive. Thank God.
I send up a silent prayer before the darkness pulls me under.
10
