Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 100470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
I’m fucked without my glasses.
“Rae,” I whisper, my voice raw as if someone clawed at my esophagus for hours straight. “Rae?”
Why is my throat so ravaged?
My fuzzy mind connects the smokey scent to the equation. In and out of my consciousness, I remember fire. Not a campfire. No, something big. Worse. Catastrophic.
Panic swells up inside me. Where are my parents? My siblings? What’s happened?
“Dez?”
Jace nudges me hard in the ribs with his elbow. “They’re passed out. Can’t hear you, dude.”
I go to rub my eyes but learn they’re bound behind me. When I begin to struggle, Jace chuckles. Ignoring him, I squint, trying to learn where my sisters are. They were taken with me. I remember their hushed, terrified mewls.
We were kidnapped.
It’s so absurd and mind-boggling, I can’t begin to understand why or by whom. Was Jace kidnapped too?
The thundering inside my skull is relentless. The more I try to figure out what’s going on, the worse it gets. I’m tempted to close my eyes and forget all about it.
So I do.
Sometime later, I jerk back awake.
The sun peeks over the horizon behind the trees as our vehicle rolls to a stop. So much for figuring out this nightmare. How could I fall asleep?
A wave of dizziness washes over me. Something’s not right. The blow to the head fucked me up. I wonder if I have a concussion. My sisters may need me and I’m over here snoozing.
I sit up, squinting once more, to see if I can place where we are. We’ve driven for a while down the sole road that leads to our home but haven’t made it anywhere near town yet if the never-ending forest surrounding us is anything to go by. The truck’s engine shuts off and car doors open.
So many faces in this truck that all blur together.
Where are my sisters?
“Finally,” Jace grunts, pushing a sleeping kid into my lap. “I need to piss.”
My own bladder screams in protest, but I don’t dare ask to join him. I look over the child, blowing dark hair out of his face. Not a Jamison. Definitely one of theirs. The relief is short-lived because I soon hear a small voice.
“Ronan?”
I can’t see him, but he’s here somewhere. How did Kota get here? Is the rest of my family here as well?
No.
If Dad or Rowdy or Ryder where here, I wouldn’t be tied up in the back of this truck. Sickness curdles my gut. It takes a deep breath to keep from puking all over the kid sleeping on me.
“Ronan!”
“I’m here.” My voice crackles, but I think he hears. “I’m here, Kota.”
A woman’s voice whispers something to him and he starts to cry. I want to free my hands so I can yank him away from her.
What the hell happened?
“Looks like this is where we abandon ship,” a familiar voice grunts, slapping the side of the truck. “Best to hide the truck and get a move on.”
Logan.
Unable to stop myself, I jerk my head over my shoulder, seeking him out. He’ll help us.
“Logan?” I rasp out. “Help.”
The tailgate whips down and I fall with it. A thud followed by crying tells me the kid who’d been thrust in my lap just got a rude awakening. Strong hands drag me off the tailgate, depositing me roughly to the ground. I moan in pain, my shoulder smarting from the impact. With my hands still bound, there was no way to brace myself for the fall. I’m lucky I didn’t face-plant. The same two hands haul me back to my feet. Logan’s face comes into view as he leans in.
“You’ll be okay.” He smiles at me. “Stick with me and you’ll be fine.”
Despite the friendliness in his tone, his eyes flash in a disturbing way that sends chills down my spine. I can’t feel my fingers or my feet.
“I’m going to need you to stand, and soon, walk.” Logan grips my chin, tilting my head to the left and then to the right. “Who did this to you?”
I blink at him in confusion. “I, uh, don’t know.”
CJ playfully punches him in the ribs. “You’re welcome. I did what I had to do.”
“You could have killed him,” Logan growls, shooting his cousin a nasty glare. “Leave my things alone, CJ. You’re lucky I don’t break yours out of spite.”
CJ mutters an apology before storming off. I nearly whimper when Logan gently runs his thumb over the goose egg on my forehead.
“You really will be fine,” Logan assures me, but then his tone turns threatening. “I expect you to behave and do as you’re told. You hear?”
I nod because I’m afraid of what’ll happen if I don’t. I can’t afford to take another whack to the head. Not now. Not when I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on around here and what’s happened to my family.