It can’t be.
I shook my head as the sun beamed down against the front of that van, turning on a dime when I saw the man in the passenger’s seat. I scrambled backward, racing back toward the house as I tripped and stumbled over all sorts of humped cracks. Tears sprang to my vision. Flashbacks bombarded me as the faint outline of the house upon the horizon came back into view.
But the van swerved in front of me, cutting me off without a second thought.
“You,” I glowered.
The passenger’s side window rolled down and I found myself staring right into Bullet’s eyes.
“I swear,” he said as he shook his head, “Fangs and his boys really thought they were clever hiding you all the way out here.”
I refused to mention my sister, just in case they didn’t know that part. “And?”
His smile fell. “Get her, boys.”
I screamed at the top of my lungs as the back van doors swung open. “No! I don’t want to go back there again! No, please!”
“Should’ve thought about that before,” Bullet said as he rolled his window up.
“No! Please! Stop it! I’ll do whatever you want!”
“Oh, we know,” a brutish man said with a chuckle.
“You get her arms, I’ll get her legs,” another man said.
I snarled as I continued backing up. “Don’t you lay a fucking finger on me.”
It was no use, though. They were taller, faster, and stronger than me. The second they scooped me off my feet, their touches wrapped around my wrists and ankles. I bucked heavily into the air, hoping to throw them off-balance. And as my head tilted backwards, I thanked my stars that the dust they had kicked up with their vehicle covered the house.
Because as long as they didn’t have my sister, I’d be okay.
So long as they left her alone, I’d take whatever punishment came my way.
19
FANGS
I tapped my earpiece and it dinged, signaling that I had turned it on. “Testing, one.”
Bender was the first to speak. “Testing, two.”
“Testing, three,” Viper said.
“Testing, four,” Angel said gruffly.
“Testing, five,” Goose said.
“And last, but certainly not least, testing six,” Reaper said.
I drew in a deep breath as I lowered my voice. “I’m doing my rounds one last time, anyone need help with anything?”
“I could use some help with this last set of explosives,” Goose said.
“On my way, I’m closest,” Viper said.
I nodded. “Reaper? You good?”
He clicked around on his keyboard. “Ready and waiting. Goose, let us know when that last set is up.”
