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The intruder’s hand shot out to clamp over my mouth. Cold panic instantly gripped me. I struggled and tried to scream, but my assailant was much stronger than me. Seconds later, a needle hovered above me.
My eyes bulged. “No!” I tried to shout, but it came out as a muffled whimper in my attacker’s gloved palm.
The needle sank into my neck. Darkness blacker than the night opened beneath me like a pit as the drugs rapidly took effect, and my frantic flailing slowed to a weak floundering on the mattress. Helpless to resist, I felt myself falling and falling, spinning into the endless abyss…
Jensen
I stepped down the sidewalk toward the Prescott house, keys jingling in one hand. Even though the world seemed like a bleak hellscape right now, I was still smiling at the thought of seeing Amerie. She was the singular bright spot on my world’s dark horizon, and it simply wasn’t possible for me to be angry or unhappy when she was around.
The anticipatory smile faded from my face when I spotted a police cruiser parked up in front of the house. The Prescotts must’ve called the cops after last night’s ‘prowler’ incident. Hopefully I hadn’t left any evidence in Piper’s bedroom, like prints on the floorboards from the dirt on the bottom of my shoes. If the investigators managed to figure out that it was me and Amerie behind the whole thing, we’d be screwed.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped up to the front and pressed the doorbell.
Piper answered the door a moment later. “Hey,” she said flatly.
“Hey. What’s with the cops?” I asked, jerking a thumb toward the cruiser. “Did you call them about the thing last night?”
She opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted by Ali stepping up behind her. “Morning, Jensen,” he said. “I’m glad you’re here. I was just about to call you.”
“You were?” I said, forehead wrinkling.
He let out a heavy sigh. “You better come in.”
I followed him and Piper to the front sitting room, pulse racing with a mix of concern and confusion. Zara was perched on the edge of a chaise, blotting her face with a tissue. Two police officers stood by, watching and listening intently.
“I just can’t believe it.” Zara paused and dabbed at her cheek again. “I only just got custody a few months ago. Now this is happening. I feel like such a failure.”
“What’s going on?” I asked sharply, looking around the spacious room. Amerie was nowhere to be seen.
Zara’s head whipped around. When she saw me, she gave me a watery half-smile. “Oh, Jensen. Thank god you’re here.” She turned to look at the officers again. “This is Jensen Lockhart. He lives next door, and he’s friends with Amerie.”
“Where is she?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“She left.” Zara’s lower lip wobbled, and she shook her head. “She’s gone.”
My heart dropped to my stomach. “What do you mean?”
“She ran away sometime this morning, before any of us woke up. She took all the cash in my purse and some of my jewelry.”
As her words sank in, my heart seemed to stop beating, and the world around me started spinning out of control.
It seemed like Amerie’s recent suspicion was correct after all. The society must’ve decided to take her a few weeks earlier than they originally intended, presumably out of worry that her pregnancy symptoms were becoming too obvious. Now they were setting it up to make it seem like the ‘unstable wayward teen’ had stolen from her family and skipped town to deflect attention from the sinister truth of her disappearance.
“Have you heard from her at all?” Zara went on. Her eyes were wide and filled with faux despondency. “Did she send a goodbye message, or anything like that?”
As she spoke, the deep horror of the situation continued to wash over me, making my body feel heavy and numb, like I’d just been hit by a truck. I couldn’t move. Could barely even breathe.
I’d failed Amerie. I promised to keep her safe. Promised to get her out of this heinous situation with the Rosmerta Society before it was too late. But it was already too late.
Now she was gone.
I swallowed thickly and forced myself to reply to Zara in a casual tone. “Nope. Haven’t heard anything from her today.”
She sniffed and opened her mouth to speak again, but one of the cops lifted a palm, signaling that he wanted to say something. “Jensen Lockhart, was it?” he said, writing something on his notepad.
“Yup.”
“And you’re close with Amerie?”
