Hours Later, Unknown Location
Flames are everywhere. Smoke in my lungs. Wait…
Is this a dream?I spin in a circle. Nothing looks right. The fire hisses like a snake. No. Wait, it is a snake.
Something wet hits me in the face. Icy cold.
“Wake up!”
Adrenaline shoots through me. My eyes flutter. Why can’t I open them?
“Wake UP!” A rough shake jolts my body.
I snap awake. Cold water is running off of my nose, dripping from my chin, my mouth is open from shock.
Where am I?
Jerky and unstable, my eyes skate left then right. I don’t recognize this place. This is not a room, it’s an open patio of some kind with wooden beams above me and the forest to my left.
A man drops down into a crouch in front of me and I blink to bring him into focus.
“So she lives.”
His mouth is hidden by a black mask, but the cruel smirk reaches his eyes. They’re blue-gray and could be attractive if they weren’t in the face of a monster.
“Where am I?” I ask, my throat completely shredded. I remember yelling.
It’s clear I’ve been kidnapped.
The asshole splashes me with cold water again, making me gasp.
Rage sweeps through me as the restraints cut deeper into my wrists.
“Where am I?” I demand, but break into a coughing fit which makes me realize I’ve got a rope around my chest, and a stiff collar biting into my neck.
Jesus, did they put a dog collar on me?
“What do you remember?” he asks, studying my face with amusement.
“That I hate men like you.”
This time it’s not water, it’s a smack with an open palm.
My ears ring, sharp and loud. But with the biting pain, every memory of the last week comes flooding back into my head like a dam broke.
“Ah, there she is.” He watches me come fully awake.
With a satisfied chuckle he drops the empty metal pail on the concrete. It rolls around, the hollow sound sickening to my collapsing nervous system.
I look down for the first time, realizing I’m in a dress. It’s not mine.
A memory flitters through. Sweatshirt and sweatpants on my body. Lying against a cold metal floor. Before that, Ryker was slumped in the wreckage.
“Don’t you want to know where your boyfriend is?”
I twist my wrists until slick wetness slides down my fingers. “Where is he?” I hiss.
Through the opening in his mask, his eyes narrow with humor.
