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Groza walked over. She had a strut like nobody I’d ever met in my life. It was no wonder she turned heads wherever she went.
“Duncan? We’re getting company soon,” she said, like a chiding wife.
He didn’t move, so I did.
“Have a good night,” I said, making my escape while I could.
He might not be jumping when she snapped, but I wasn’t stupid enough to believe he’d follow me while she watched.
Chapter Four
I mademy way out the back exit, which was closer to the cottage, with Charlie’s red wagon. It was easier to collect wood than tell anyone I was having problems. The person I would’ve most likely talked to was literally sleeping with the enemy. Turning to him was a nonstarter. Wasn’t like he was the first man in my life to abandon me and fall down on the job. As soon as I started to count on them, they were doomed to disappoint. Why did I even bother?
Then he had the nerve to chase me down and carry on about civility. He could shove his civility.
I walked over to a downed tree, giving it a kick to see if it would break apart, pretending it was Duncan. It was being stubborn, which shouldn’t have come as any surprise, so I kicked it again, and a couple more times, cursing it as I did. I was about to give it another barrage of kicks when a crushing pain made my head feel like it was going to split open and my world went dark.
I woke with duct tape over my mouth, arms tied behind my back. Both my knees and ankles were tied and looped a couple more times in between for good measure. The amount of rope they used could’ve tied off theTitanic. Not even Houdini could’veescaped this. There was a sliver of light under the door of what seemed to be a small closet.
I tried to shift around and get my bearings, but there wasn’t much room. It didn’t help that my limbs were numb and my head was pounding. They hadn’t even cleaned out a space, just thrown me on top of a pile of junk that was poking me indiscriminately. If this had been planned, it wasn’t planned well.
This wasn’t Groza. She wouldn’t have bothered to tie me up. I’d be dead and buried already. So who? Some random human looking to use me later on? I tried to wriggle around, but not only was there no slack in the ropes, they were so tight that they felt as if the rough bindings were rubbing the flesh from my bones.
Don’t. Panic.
I lived with shifters. Buddie would realize I was missing and come looking for me. He’d track down my scent and find me. All I needed to do was remain calm and alive long enough for them to locate me.
Not panicking wasn’t as easily done while I was sitting in a dark closet, dying of thirst and waiting for what was to come. Was it going to be some greasy, gross man who would try to use me as a broodmare? Would he try to share me with his friends? The only benefit to my current situation was that it was hard to hyperventilate through your nose. Still, I gave it my damnedest.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d sat there in the dark, because time warped like honey in an hourglass in the winter, every second dragging out. By the time there were muffled noises outside my door, it might’ve been fifteen minutes or two hours for all I knew.
“Okay, what is it you need to show me?” a male voice said from the other side of the door.
Was I a prize for someone? A gift?
The door swung open, and I squinted into the bright light. Two men stood there, one holding the door open, smiling and waving a hand toward me. He had a dull look about his eyes and a nose that had taken too many hits.
The other man let out a sigh, displeasure written all over his brutally handsome features. His shadowed jaw seemed to grow squarer as he dragged his fingers through midnight-black hair and nailed the other man with a glare.
“Magnum, what did you do? Where did you find her?”
Magnum’s face fell. “It’s their new guide, Kicks. She was walking around in the forest by herself. You always said how it would be good to have our own guide, and she was just there all alone. If they wanted her, why was she all by herself gathering wood?”
So not only were they shifters, I was quickly getting the feeling that Kicks was one of the alphas who was planning on visiting. From the way he was taking deep breaths, he also didn’t seem very happy with Magnum’s plan. Perhaps not so much a plan but a mishap?
“You can’t just take one. That’s not how it works. Remember, I told you, you cannot do things like this without talking to me.” Kicks spoke to Magnum similar to how I would Charlie.
Magnum dropped his chin. “Sorry, Kicks.”
“It’s all right. I know you had good intentions.”
What? This is okay? Come on!
I would’ve been screaming that, but the duct tape was muffling my words into an indiscernible mumble.
Kicks knelt in front of me, taking in my bent form with eyes so green they’d make a spring pasture jealous. He leaned his arms on his legs, sleeves shoved up, showing off muscular forearms. Every inch of this man looked like it was carved.
“Seems there was a slight mistake.” He had a smile that was smoother than a gold medalist’s dismount. It felt like a weaponto disarm and distract from the muscularity of his body and the hardness I could feel behind his eyes. He could put on a clown nose and blow a horn on a tricycle and I’d still spot it. One trait that the end of the world had honed in me was spotting a predator when I saw one. I would’ve seen him coming from miles away.
