It was a man. A man I knew, his face twisted with rage and something darker, something that made every instinct I had shout,Run.
“Hello, Dakota.”
I opened my mouth to scream, but a wet cloth clamped over my nose and mouth before I could make a sound. The chemical smell burned my nostrils, sharp and medicinal and wrong.
No, no, no.
I clawed at his hands, tried to shove him away, but he was so much bigger than me. So much stronger. My nails raked across his wrists, drawing blood, but his grip only tightened.
“Stop fighting,” he hissed against my ear. “This is your fault. All of it.”
I held my breath until my lungs burned, but I couldn’t hold it forever. When I finally gasped for air, the chemical flooded my system, the room tilted sideways, and my legs turned to water.
Axel,I thought desperately as darkness crept in from the edges of my vision.
My muscles went limp, arms dropping uselessly to my sides. He caught me as I collapsed, throwing me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry like I weighed nothing.
“Excuse me,” he said cheerfully to someone as we passed through the door. I could hear the smile in his voice, the perfect act of concern. “She had a little too much champagne. Better get her home.”
I tried to lift my head, tried to wave my hand, tried to do anything to signal for help. But my body had betrayed me completely. I was nothing but dead weight in his arms.
The last thing I heard was the emergency exit door clicking shut behind us, cutting me off from the warmth and laughter and safety of the reception.
Cutting me off from Axel.
The cool night air hit my face as I realized with growing horror that no one had seen us leave.
No one was coming to save me.
55
AXEL
A flicker of unease sparked in my chest. A nagging feeling when something’s slightly off. She’d probably just gone to talk to someone else or something. But as my eyes swept the crowd again, that flicker grew brighter.
My feet started moving toward the restrooms. Casually at first, just checking.
“Excuse me,” I said to an elderly woman emerging from the ladies’ room. “Is there a woman in there? One of the bridesmaids?”
She looked puzzled. “Oh, no, dear. It’s completely empty.”
Empty.
The unease in my chest shifted, hardening into something sharper. I pushed open the door myself, ignoring the scandalized gasp from a passing guest. Seven stalls, all open. All vacant.
The wariness was spreading now, creeping up my spine like cold weeds.
She was probably getting a drink. Maybe I’d missed her in the crowd; three hundred people made it easy to lose someone. Right?
So, why were the hairs on the back of my neck standing up?
“What’s wrong?” Jace asked.
He and Ryker appeared at my side when I returned, all traces of our earlier banter evaporated.
“I can’t find Dakota.”
They caught the edge in my voice immediately. Jace’s expression shifted from casual concern to sharp focus.
