The hand of my assailant comes into view before pressing two fingers to the pulse point at Riley’s neck. “Just barely.”
I feel relief only for a split second before true, undiluted fear sets in. I can read Guy’s intentions without even needing to see his face. “Good enough. Get his ass inside and fix him,” he says, chuckling darkly. “I want him alive and awake enough to watch every bit of the punishment I give to mylittle girl.”
The man who took us pulls so hard on Riley’s body that his neck drops back at an unnatural angle.
“No, no, no, give him back!”I cry, fighting to grab hold of him again because Ican’tlose sight of him.I fucking can’t.If they take him, I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again. I manage to hook my finger into a hole in Riley’s shirt, but it’s slick withblood, and I lose my grip again. “Where are you taking him? Give him back,please!”Everything goes unanswered, but it doesn’t stop me from begging and pleading.
Ihaveto keep my eyes on Riley. What if he doesn’t—doesn’t make it? They said he’sbarelyalive. How much longer could he possibly last from a half-assed patch job on a bullet wound? I fucking hate that he’s here because of me, but I won’t survive this world if he isn’t a part of it.
I’m so hyperfocused on Riley being dragged away that I don’t see Guy’s massive hand reaching for me until it’s gripping my hair so tightly at my nape that I fear it will rip from the roots. I suck in a breath but refuse to make any kind of noise for him.
I hear a metal door clang shut in the direction Riley was just taken before I’m yanked unceremoniously to my knees in the trunk.
Guy’s face is finally illuminated before me, and I hate to say that he looks exactly the same. He’s still the same sickeningly handsome man with a venomous soul. The way he smiles at me has me frozen in place, my mind threatening to shut down on itself with the fear currently claiming my body.
He just stares at me for the longest moment, and I have to work to take controlled breaths through my nose to try and calm my nerves. To keep myself rooted in reality.
“You know,” he starts, his eyes raking down my body and snagging on Riley’s shirt that I’m still wearing. Anger flashes in his eyes before snapping them to mine, and what I see there is a promise of pain for all kidnapped parties. “You were a very,verynaughty little girl for running away from me, Collins. Especially when the fun was just getting started.”
I can only imagine what he’s talking about, since I managed to escape his clutches when I had just turned eighteen. Without thought, I spit in his face, which seems to take him by surprise for only a moment before pain blooms across my face as hebackhands me. I do my best to keep my eyes pinned to his face, because looking away would be detrimental to my life.
“You’re a fucking psychopath,” I grit out through clenched teeth as the metallic taste of blood blooms across my tongue.
My insult only makes him grin like a fucking maniac as he shifts his grip to the front of my throat before squeezing, cutting off the flow of oxygen to my lungs. I feel a sharp pain at the same time a trickle of warmth beneath his hold drips down my neck. The wound left from that man who attacked me must have reopened. Guy’s eyes flare with excitement at the sight of my blood, and his expression only turns more unhinged. “Is that any way to talk to a father?” he tuts, still eyeing the blood like it’s the key to unlocking his every violent desire.
“I wouldn’t know,” I grit through blood-soaked teeth, “I’ve never known a decent one worth respecting.”
That wipes the sadistic smile right off of his face, and for a second, it’s got me confused. Surely he doesn’t think he’s posed as a man worthy of any kind of respect or love from me? The fury in his eyes sends a fresh shock of fear skittering down my spine. It only amplifies tenfold when he releases my hair and yanks me up by my bound wrists, throwing me over his shoulder.
My body screams in protest at his rough handling, but I ignore the pain as I beat against his back with my fists while simultaneously trying to knee and kick him wherever I can reach, anything to try to get him to loosen his hold on me.
I manage to land a hard jab of my kneecap into his ribs, and the air whooshes from his lungs. His steps falter, and I use the momentum to hit him again, causing him to drop to his knees and lose his grip on my body. We both crumble to the ground, I land at an odd angle and pain rips up my arm from my elbow, but I don’t waste a moment to try and get away. Guy growls as he grapples for one of my ankles, but as soon as he grabs hold, I rear back with the other foot and bring it down hard on hisface. Something cracks beneath the force of the hit. He releases a sound that’s a cross between a roar and a groan, and every part of me wants to grin at the small victory, but I don’t have time to do such a thing.
Right now, I don’t give a fuck what noises he’s making because they’re fading from my ears as I scramble to my feet and take off running. Everything hurts and I have no clue where I’m going. All I know is that I have to get away from him. Not seeing any other options, I make for the treeline.
Part of me can’t believe my legs were never bound. I’ll have to thank the idiot who kidnapped me for his dumbfuckery with a kick in his dick before I stab him in the fucking heart.
Not daring to look back, I hear a bellow of undiluted rage in the distance at the exact moment I break into the treeline. As fast as my bare feet can move, I wind and curve my way around the trees as quickly as I can, ducking around the low branches and dodging the underbrush of the woodland floor. My lungs burn with each breath I take, and my heart feels like it’s going to explode in my chest with the exertion of running, but I don’t dare stop.
Twigs snap somewhere behind me, and I’m tempted to look back, but the sound of a jake-brake rumbles distantly ahead of me.
I’m close to the highway.
My heart soars with the hope that maybe I can reach it, that maybe I can flag someone down… who can possibly help me and save Riley.
I surge on, forcing my tired legs to move as fast as they can. I make my way toward all of the vehicular sounds that are gradually growing in volume.
Keep going, Stardust. Run like hell.
Creed’s voice suddenly echoes repeatedly in my head. It encourages me to pick up the pace, pushing my body to its limit.Another branch snaps, heavy thudding footsteps charge toward me, and it causes me to make the most terminal mistake.
I look back.
Guy is no more than fifty feet behind me with an animalistic look on his face. He has always been so well put together, but right now, he wears a mask of pure savagery. A promise of pain to come. A predator who can’t wait to play with his prey until they beg for death.
No crueler fate could have befallen me in my moment of weakness that prompted me to look over my shoulder. A raised tree root rolls my ankle, and I stumble. I manage to remain upright, but the one misstep costs me dearly. Pain radiates up my leg, and my knee threatens to buckle beneath me.
I see passing lights dancing between the tree trunks ahead of me, but before I make the clearing, I’m knocked to the ground by a hard force against my back. All of the air is knocked from my lungs as I come in contact with the cold, hard ground. I don’t even have a moment to catch my breath before I’m quickly flipped from my front, and my head snaps to the side with the force of Guy’s slap.
