“Did he say where he was taking her?”
Peter shakes his head. “He took my car though.”
I give dispatch the description of the car and have them issue an APB before ending the call.
Please don’t let anything happen to her. I just found her, please don’t take her away from me now.
Chapter 24
Marley
My head throbs relentlessly as I pry my eyes open, my mind still skating the line between lucidity and unconsciousness. Darkness engulfs the room, the only light coming from beneath the door. I attempt to sit up but quickly discover my hands are secured to the bedposts with handcuffs. I jerk it several times, panic causing my throat to restrict my airway. I take several breaths, trying to calm down so I can recall what happened before I blacked out but my mind is nothing but a fog. Tears leak from the corners of my eyes, slipping down my temples into my hair.
“Lyla,” I croak, but my voice doesn’t sound like my own. It sounds like I’m screaming into a barrel. “Lyla!” I attempt again and this time it’s louder. The sound of footsteps approaching the door has my muscles growing tense. The door swings open but I can’t see the face of the figure standing in the doorway due to the blinding light.
“Steven?” I inquire, but the man remains quiet as he enters the room and shuts the door. My pulse thrums with fear as the figure moves toward me, the dark shadow coming to stand over me. Suddenly, light floods the room when he flicks on the lamp next to the bed and my eyes squeeze closed as they attempt to adjust to the blinding light. I shift away from the figure, desperately trying to open my eyes. Finally, after a few breath-robbing moments, I’m able to focus on the figure before me.
“Who are you?”
He takes a seat in the vacant chair across from me. “My name is Zayne.”
“Where is my daughter? Where is Steven?”
“Your daughter is safe and will remain that way as long as you cooperate.”
His dark eyes are intimidating, not to mention how muscular he is, giving a clear indication of his physical strength.
He pulls a cell phone from the pocket of his shirt and swipes the screen a few times before holding it out in front of my face to show me a video of a man beaten beyond recognition and tied to a chair. He groans in agony as he slowly lifts his head at the darkened figure approaching him.
The man tied to the chair shakes his head, jerking at his bindings, desperate to break free.
“No, please,” the man begs, and I gasp when I realize it’s Steven. The man circles behind him, the glint of a steel knife catching the light hanging above Steven’s head.
Bile rises in my throat as the man grips Steven’s hair and yanks his head back as far as it will go.
“This is what happens when you betray me.”
