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As I head back outside, tears sting my eyes. It was so stupid of me to get into Dr. Thornton’s personal business. I hope he doesn’t fire me for snooping around. I shouldn’t have pried. I always get ahead of myself and read too much into things.
A wave of guilt washes over me. I can’t shake the feeling that I completely overstepped by prying into his personal life. I know it isn’t my place to dig into his past, but my curiosity got the better of me once again.
Before I can spiral any further, my phone pings, alerting me to a text I missed from Dominic, saying he had to go take care of Serpent business. I look around, trying to decide if I want to go to the library to wait.
A car starts up and I jump, feeling on alert for some reason. Glancing over, I notice it’s a black SUV and when I turn towards the library, it backs out and starts to circle the parking lot.
Feeling as though it’s following me, I decide to double back. The SUV swings back around, cuts across, pulls in front of me, and stops short, one of the back doors opening.
Maybe they were just dropping someone off and I’m being paranoid again.
I turn to go around the car and suddenly there are three men on top of me. As duct tape is shoved against my lips, and my wrists are tightly bound, a surge of panic threatens to overwhelm me.
Shit! I think I’m being kidnapped! Tears well up and I struggle to breathe around the duct tape, feeling my lungs constrict.
Panic claws at my chest as I struggle against the restraints, my mind racing with questions. Who are these men? Where are they taking me? Will I ever see Dominic and the others again?
I need to think! I can’t let them take me somewhere without trying to get help. My phone is in my bra, and I reach in with my bound wrists, pulling it out. It’s hard to see the screen andI’m worried that the men who took me will notice I’ve got it so I fumble, trying to figure out who I could message.
My hands tremble as I fumble for my phone, the duct tape cutting into my skin. I have to send a message, I have to let the Ravenwoods know I'm in danger. Every second feels like an eternity as I struggle to send a text. I pray that it goes through and that someone gets my message.
“Diego says to bring her to the warehouse location,” one of the men says to the driver in a low voice. I try to pay attention to what they’re saying but it’s hard to do while I’m being shaken about. The man in the seat next to me cranes his neck and I catch a glimpse of a winding tattoo of a snake.
In the dim light of the SUV, I catch glimpses of my captors’ faces. Their hardened expressions send a chill down my spine. Who are these men, and what did they want with me? Snake-Tattoo catches sight of me staring.
“She sees us, she might make trouble if she knows anything,” he says, voice deep and rumbling.
“Then knock her out,” the man up front hisses. Panic grips me and I try to fling myself backward as he reaches down and punches me hard on the side of my head.
Pain eclipses me and darkness creeps into the edges of my vision. I struggle to remain alert but everything is growing dim. Finally, the world goes dark and I find myself falling into unconsciousness.
I wake with a gasp, searing pain throbbing inside my head. I feel cold and my vision is blurry.
Blinking several times, my vision clears and I realize where I am. I’m in the middle of a large, empty warehouse and when I try to move, I realize I’m tied up, sitting on the floor with my back against a metal support column.
The warehouse is dimly lit, with cracks in the concrete floor visible like jagged scars. Piles of cardboard boxes are stackedhaphazardly against the walls, covered in layers of grime and cobwebs. Rusty metal beams crisscross the ceiling, and the air is heavy with the scent of mildew and decay, tinged with the metallic tang of rust.
The concrete floor is cold and unforgiving beneath me, sending a shiver up my spine. Nausea rises as I realize with growing horror that I have no idea where I am, no idea who took me, and no idea if I managed to send a message to anyone who can help me.
Oh fuck. I’m in so deep right now.
25
CALEB
“You okay?” Bastian asks as we haul ourselves out of the car and head into the house. “You got the worst of it.”
My pants are torn, cheek stinging from a fresh cut, and I feel like I’ll be sore tomorrow. But it could have been worse, and I’m glad that we all escaped relatively unscathed.
“Honestly, I’m just grateful we kicked their asses so they don’t dare come back and hurt Mr. Park,” I tell them.
“Me too,” Dominic says, wincing as he walks up the steps. “Wish it was faster. Asshole got me straight in the gut.”
“Did they get you anywhere else?” Bastian asks.
“Nah. They knew they were no match for me,” Dominic brags. “That’s why they were all trying to get in hits and that one slimer wanted to wear me down.”
“They got me good in the face,” Bastian admits. “I think I’ll have a black eye tomorrow.”
