Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
My eyes dart around the space, there is nowhere to go. I’m trapped. Zane told me to run, to hide. I can’t die like this. I won’t die like this.
“Don’t even think about it.” If his voice didn’t scare me half to death, the scar running from eye to chin on his face would.
What do I do? I feel the panic rising, bubbling over inside of me. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. This is bad. Something terrible is going to happen. Zane was right. He was right. The next moment, the door behind me opens and the before I can turn around a hand slams over my lips while an arm wraps around my middle.
Releasing a blood-curdling scream, I struggle with all my might, kicking my legs and flailing in his grasp. One kick must hit its mark because a second later, the guy releases me, a harsh fuck filling my ears. I don’t think I just start running. I make it all of ten feet before I’m cut off. My lungs burn, and my muscles are tense, fear and panic overtake my body. It’s fight or die, and I can’t die yet.
“We told you we’d take it easy on you if you were a good girl, but of course, you couldn’t come quietly… looks like we have to do things the hard way.” One of the men pulls out a gun, and I open my mouth to scream, but the sound never comes. Before I can react, he’s on me, the butt of his gun flashes over my vision before it connects with the side of my head. Crumpling to the ground, the entire world goes dark around me.
When I come to, my entire body is throbbing, and my head feels like someone ran it over with a bus. Blinking my eyes open, I resist the urge to cringe at the bright light dangling above my head. What the— I don’t finish the thought as I realize by looking down at my hands that I’m tied to a chair, my wrists bound to the arms. Flickering through my memories, I try and recollect how I got here.
Donna. Hospital. Zane. Knocked out.
“Help! Someone help!” I call out to anyone who might hear me while pulling against the ropes that bind me to the chair. I need to find Zane, need to get out of here and away from these people. A soft chuckle fills the room, and I whip my head around, looking for the person the voice belongs to, but I don’t see anyone. Darkness surrounds me, except for the tiny light hanging above my head. I try and swallow down my fear, but it’s suffocating me.
“Well, hello, Dove.” A man appears before me, he looks like a mobster, in a nice suit. His beady eyes trail over my body, and I can feel every single movement. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, granted it’s not under the best circumstances.” He motions to the rope and chair. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t offer you better accommodations. I’m Christian,” he says his name like I should know it.
“Where is Zane? Where am I? Why did you take me?” The questions pour out of me like an overflowing sink. I doubt this man will give me an answer, but I still ask. I have to.
“Zane?” He leans into my face, and I crane my head back to put some distance between us. The man’s voice smells of liquor, and that only intensifies my fear. Tremors wrack my body, and I start to shake as if I’m cold. “Zane is dead. I left his body back in the parking garage.” He pauses as if to take in my facial expression. Then his lips curl up into a tiny smirk as he watches me take in what he just told me.
Zane is dead. My chest tightens, and my heart hurts. I feel like a piece of my soul shatters. Rationally, I shouldn’t care if he’s dead, but for some reason, I feel connected to him. Like I’ve known him my entire life.
“I mean, it really is such a shame that he dies after all this time. It took you so many years to find each other again just for him to leave you...” Christian frowns, and then without warning, he reaches out and grabs me by the back of the neck, his fingers digging into the tender flesh hard enough to leave bruises.
“I… I don’t… understand. What are you talking about?” Confusion swirls. “I don’t know Zane. He kidnapped me, and…” The words keep coming until Christian squeezes the back of my neck so hard the words cut off, and pain consumes me.
“Don’t lie to me, you little bitch. I know all about your connection to Zane. It took me long enough, but I finally figured it out.”