Page 60 of Niall

I opened my mouth and screamed. Then again.

There was only silence.

I shut my eyes again, forcing myself to calm. I could breathe—the air was stale and warm, but I wouldn’t suffocate. But I needed to get out.

I twisted and tried to kick my legs. Tugged and jerked at whatever was holding my wrists, ignoring the sharp pain of the restraints. I pushed on the enclosure, trying to use my strength to break open the suitcase. Then I remembered it was hard-sided, and I stopped, panting and terrified.

Where was I?

Who the hell was Heidi?

Tears built in my eyes, and I stilled, needing to think.

My bracelet. Niall told me it had an undetectable tracker on it. And a backup. I tried to recall if I had managed to push the alarm button before Heidi had drugged me.

I wasn’t sure. Could he already be looking for me? I prayed that he was.

I felt a wave of dizziness sweep over me, and I pressed my head into my chest.

I knew once he found out I was gone, he would search for me. Like Una’s faith in Finn, I had absolute trust in Niall. He had come so far, admitting his feelings, confessing to his hopes of a future, that he wouldn’t stop until I was safe. I need his over-the-top possessiveness now more than ever.

“Please, Niall, find me,” I whispered. “I need you. I need you so much.”

A noise made me fall silent. Footsteps approaching made me tense. They were heavy, measured. I had no idea where I was. If the suitcase I was trapped in was visible. If it was Niall, I needed to help in order to be found. I screamed his name. Begging. Pleading for him to find me.

“Niall! I’m here! Help me!” I cried out.

The footsteps stopped, and I felt the suitcase being shifted. The sound of the zipper sliding open was a low growl that seemed to fill the small, enclosed space I was trapped in. I felt the rush of cooler air hit me as the lid was thrown open. I opened my eyes and blinked in confusion.

The room around me was bright with hideous colors. Red, gold, purple, in blazing tints and textures. There was no rhyme or reason to it—just pattern after pattern thrown together, creating a dizzying kaleidoscope of hues. It made me woozy simply to look at it. I inhaled deeply, shifting my gaze and meeting the face of a woman—a stranger. I blinked.

Or was she?

Pale ice-blue eyes, like frost, met mine. A head of blond hair so light it was almost white surrounded a familiar face.

I had to lick my lips. “H-Heidi?” I asked.

She smirked, her expression frigid.

“The real me,” she stated, her voice a lower register than I was used to.

“Please, don’t do this. Whatever you want, Niall will give it to you.”

She threw back her head and laughed, the sound sending chills down my back.

“Your doughy Irish man can’t give me what I want.” She smiled a cruel smile. “I like pain. Giving it. Taking it. I am so going to enjoy watching you be broken.”

I started to hyperventilate.

She tilted her head. “Oh, I told you my husband was joining me. How rude of me not to introduce him.” She stood, waving someone over. “And I lied a little. The gift wasn’t for you. It was for him.”

I dropped my gaze, unable to look. Not wanting to see who was there.

A figure stepped beside her, and my eyes widened in horror at what I saw. Red sneakers.

My focus dimmed, and I felt myself shaking. Whimpering. Struggling to get enough oxygen in my lungs.

Then he hunched down, and Juan’s face came into view, his ugly, evil smile curling his lips.