Everything is happening faster than my eyes can track, but the man who grabbed my arm is on the ground now and his eyes look lifeless.
Oh my God! Is he dead?!
My heart hammers so hard in my chest that it hurts.
But it feels like someone puts life in slow motion when Rook turns toward me. His eyes find mine, and the urgency and command in his voice are undeniable.
“Kylie,” he says. “We have to go.”
“Who? What is—?”
“Now, Kylie!” he shouts, and his tone slices through me. “We have to go now.”
But I’m frozen in place. My head bobs back and forth, my mind a disoriented swirl of fragmented thoughts. “Rook, I—”
“I’m sorry, Ky,” Rook says in apology as he gets even closer, my feet now treading backward toward the garage. “Really, I am.”
“Rook…” I beg, both knowing what’s coming and praying I’m wrong. “Please. Don’t.”
He’s on me in less than a second, pinning my arms to my sides and hoisting me over his shoulder like I weigh nothing. I open my mouth to scream and do it loudly. “Rook, no! Put me down!” I gasp, kicking instinctively.
He doesn’t.
He carries me across the driveway and toward their Suburban idling at the curb. Kane is already at the driver’s side, yanking the back door open.
“Rook!” I fight harder, pure terror taking over. “What are you doing?”
His jaw is locked so tight it trembles. “Saving your life.”
“By kidnapping me?!”
“You can hate me later,” he snaps. “Right now, you’re breathing.”
I open my mouth to scream at the top of my lungs, but Cal is there already, holding a hand over my mouth while Kane keeps hold of my legs.
I scratch and fight as hard as I can to no avail as the three brothers carry me to their Suburban. I swear, even if I’d have been able to get a scream out through Cal’s hand, it wouldn’t have been loud enough to wake anyone.
Rook shoves me into the back seat. It’s neither gentle nor cruel, but efficient.
Calloway hops into the front passenger seat, slamming the door, and Kane peels out so fast my head snaps back against the seat.
The locks click automatically.
The world outside blurs.
I twist, trying to look back through the rear window.
The black SUV. My house. The men.
Did they kill all of them?!
But it’s gone behind a curve of forest and houses before I can make sense of what just happened. Before I can even know if those men are alive or if they're dead or if they’re currently in the Escalade following us.
Terror grips me, as the very worst-case scenario in every woman’s mind grabs me by the tits and drags me to the deep end of its waters.
There were three men I didn’t know trying to force me to go with them to an undisclosed location for completely undisclosed reasons, and I’m pretty sure at least one of them is dead in my driveway.
And now, the Slater brothers—whom I do know—have successfully managed to take me. Against my will.
