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I groan as the darkness swirls, forcing my eyes to squeeze shut. What in the ever living fuck is happening right now?
My eyes dart around the fucking blackness, trying to latch onto anything I can. A shape. A light of any kind. But there’s nothing. It’s like I’m lost inside a damp basement that’s a maze of corridors.
I inhale, trying to use my other senses to guide me in the right direction. Nothing but a sterile bleach scent filters through my nose. So, a clean basement? That doesn’t make any damn sense. Basements are notorious for a mildewy stench. Has someone created this space just for me?
I shake my head, running my numb fingers over my tired face.
Goosebumps erupt over every inch of my body as I ground myself in the heavy darkness blanketing the entire room.
“Hello?” My brows furrow when my voice echoes through the room like a cavernous space lies before me.
Right. This is how every serial killer movie starts. Poor girl left in the basement. Next, a man with a chainsaw will pop out of the wall and grind my body to pieces as I scream. How fucking morbid… I shake those thoughts out of my fucking head. I don’t have time to get all mopey about my newfound situation. I have to think and get the hell out of here.
Now, if I could only remember what the fuck happened to get me here, I’d be in a better place.
“Rivey, I knew you’d wake up soon.”
My entire body freezes at the sound of his voice. I run a shaky hand over my forehead, wiping the cold sweat breaking out over every inch of my flesh.
“So glad to see you sitting up! We have so much planned today…” His voice echoes again with a manic laugh from somewhere in the distance. Yet, he sounds like he’s all around me.
My fingernails dig into the edge of the mattress, grounding me to the spot. How the hell…
How did Van get to me? Where…
Like a whirlwind of memories, it all comes back to me at rapid speed. Nearly knocking me back from my seated position. My lips flop open, gasping for air.
The birthday party.
The needle at the rollercoaster.
The goddamn gunshot…
Asher!
“What did you do?” I shout through my sudden rage, shaking with every move I make.
I jump to my trembling feet, swaying like a tree in the wind. Fuck. Everything swirls again. I rub my temples, begging for relief from the constant wave of vertigo.
I grunt, stumbling through the darkness with my hand out in front of me. Come on, asshole. Show yourself so I can beat you to a bloody pulp.
My fingers prod my pockets, hoping without fail I brought my knife. Hope blossoms in my chest. Quickly popped by the reminder that I didn’t have it with me. Why would I? It was my child’s birthday party. I shouldn’t have felt unsafe there. Liv was there. Jordy was there. A whole slew of Veritas agents attended as well. Somehow this psycho broke through all the safety precautions we had in place and smashed them to pieces by getting to me.
My brows furrow when his confession rings in my mind. He was Trevor. The elusive boyfriend of my PA. How could we have been so trusting and blind?
“I brought you home!” His voice rings out again from all around me, sounding like an ever-present entity haunting all sides of my life.
“No,” I cry out in desperation. “This is not my home! Let me go, Van!” My fingers curl into fists.
Every ounce of fog dissipates into nothing, giving me back my sound mind. Replaced by massive amounts of rage boiling through my system.
I’ll fuck him up before he touches me. There’s no way I’ll let him get his hands on me like he promised. Fuck that. Fuck this. I’m River goddamn West. No one is taking anything from me again. I’ll claw his fucking eyes out until he’s bleeding on the ground.
“Pretty Girl.”
My chest heaves as my eyes dart around the darkened space. Where is he? God, where is he in this darkness? His voice caresses me through the shadows, knocking me back a step. Rad? Is he here to save me from Van’s clutches? Or is he a prisoner, too?
Van shot Asher. Will Rad be next?
