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Nicholi cuts the engine and then steps out to open the back door. He drags me out and tosses me to the ground. Air whooshes from my lungs.
“Get up.”
“If you want me up, why’d you throw me down?”
Nicholi leans over and backhands me across the face. “Get the fuck up.”
I try, I really do, but it’s hard to stand with your hands and feet bound. He watches me struggle for a few minutes before cutting the rope at my feet. With them loose, I’m able to stand.
I take in our surroundings, turning in circles to make sense of where we are. It appears to be an abandoned warehouse—such a cliché—encircled with a tall fence. It looks familiar, but I don’t know why.
Nicholi drags me across the dead grass, through a hole in the fencing, toward the building.
“I really tried to get it right.”
“Get what right?”
“You’ll see.”
He leads me inside the building, then through a hallway to the left. When we reach the end, he shoves open a door and we go down a concrete staircase. The lower we go, the colder it gets, and the more trepidation fills me.
At the bottom of the steps, Nicholi flips a switch. The large space is awash in fluorescent lighting, and every muscle in my body tenses.
“Welcome home, Pepper.”
CHAPTER26
Nico
“I need you to stop pacing.”
I glower at Story. I’ve been helping her as much as possible, but the day is almost over, and we still have nothing.
“I can’t. It helps me think.”
“Yeah, well it distracts me.”
“Too damn bad.”
“Both of you,” Harlow snaps. “Stop. You two arguing isn’t going to find my VP.”
Story shakes her head but gets back to work. I, on the other hand, stalk to the window to look outside. The sun went down a while ago, which means the temperature did too.
Is Peppermint okay? Is she cold? Is she hurt? Fuck, is she alive?
“She’s alive,” I mutter to myself. “I’d know it if she weren’t.”
A hand rests on my shoulder. “Yeah, you’d know it,” Harlow says. “And so would I.”
I rest my forehead against the glass. “What if she’s hurt?”
“If she’s hurt, she’ll heal,” Harlow insists. “Pep is so much stronger than you give her credit for.”
“I’ve always thought she was strong. I just hated that she felt like she always had to be.”
“Nico, you need to pull yourself together. Can you do that?” Harlow’s voice cracks. “For me? Please?”
I turn and pull Harlow into my chest. Just like Peppermint, she shouldn’t always have to be strong.
