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“I don’t know what was in it, but it made me sleepy, and my limbs wouldn’t work.” She bites her lip, frustration rolling from her. “My brain is slower to remember the details than I’d like. But I… I remember Rosario saying, ‘Orpheus. I hear a car.’ He demanded they take both of us, and that’s when she injected me.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t awake to prevent that from happening.”
Mackenzie shakes her head. “It’s not your fault, Chase. If anything, it’s mine that you’re in this mess.”
“No, Kenz. I?—”
Her finger over my lips causes the words to die in my throat.
“I selfishly clung to you, refusing to let go. While I didn’t want to be captured, I knew I couldn’t prevent it. I couldn’t do this alone…” Guilt radiates from her, every word from her mouth slipping from trembling lips. I can tell she’s sobbing from the quiver in her voice.
I wipe them from her cheeks with my thumbs. “Kenz, you did the right thing.” I swallow hard, knowing I shouldn’t make this confession. But considering our present circumstances, I need to get this off my chest. “Ever since the first time our eyes locked, I’ve been drawn to you.” We hit a bump, and my head bangs off the floor of the trunk, a pained hiss escaping my lips. Mackenzie slides her hands beneath my head, cradling it.
I open my eyes, staring deep into hers. And it hits me.She’smy strength and comfort.
“Being here… Breathing the same air you breathe… That’s all I want.” I swallow around the dreadful lump clogging my throat, trying to get the words out. “I don’t know what’s in store for us, but I imagine it’s going to be hell. Despite that, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than with you, regardless of what lies ahead.”
“Chase.” My name is a reverent whisper from her lips. “How do you always make me feel better? Even when I do foolish things, like putting your life in danger.”
“Because I care for you. More than I should.” My hand slides to her arms, feeling her cold, damp shirt. “Jesus, Kenz. You’re freezing.”
It takes a lot of effort, but I finally pull my hoodie off and put it on her. “It’s damp from the rain, but it’s the best I can do.”
The warmth in her smile lights up the darkness. “It’s perfect.” Her face inches closer, and my heart stutters inside my chest seconds before she plants her chilled lips over mine.
I’m stunned for a few seconds before wrapping my arms around her as tightly as I can, my lips moving against hers. I inhale her soft whimpers and breath, exhaling my groans and air inside her. Our hearts beat in unison with the urgency of passion and whatever horrors lie ahead.
Fear tries to take over, but I refuse to let it. There will be time for that later.
Right now, I just need her. And she needs me.
My mind whirls as I hold Mackenzie in my arms, my body aching from the beating and from lying in the cramped trunk of the vehicle. Each scenario passing through my head is worse than the last. My fingertips stroke Mackenzie’s back as she slumbers against my chest.
What’s going to happen to us? Where are Rosario and Orpheus taking us? Why do they want us?
I’m analyzing everything, replaying what Mackenzie said, my body rocking from the movement of the car.Orpheus took me because he had to. But he wanted her.
I flashback to his chilling words, the predatory gleam in his eyes while his hands dug into her arms.“Hello, gorgeous. You’re exactly what I’m looking for.”
When Rosario warned Orpheus she heard a car, his chilling words that Mackenzie recited to me swirl inside my head.“We’ll have to take the boy, too.”
That means I’m disposable.
Is he planning to kill me before driving off with Mackenzie?
I glance down at Mackenzie’s sleeping form in my arms. I may be an eighteen-year-old high school boy, but I’ll fight to protect her with every ounce of strength inside my body.
I’d just begun dozing off when the car jerks to a stop. My eyes fly open, and my ears strain, listening as the doors open. I feel around for any weapon in the dark trunk, like a tire iron or something, but there’s nothing.
Shit. What the fuck do I do now?
The trunk lid springs open, and there stands Orpheus, the creepy smile on his lips stretching the upside-down cross on his face.
Mackenzie’s eyes spring open, fear coursing through her amber irises as they lock onto mine before she slowly turns her head. The second she lays eyes on Orpheus, her mouth opens. His hand clamps over it before she can scream, and I release her, hitting his arm.
“Rosario. Now.”
Rosario is beside him in seconds, her movements silent and quick as she jabs the needle into the side of my neck. I jerk and thrash, but Orpheus grabs me with his other hand, holding me down.
