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A soft moan of protest falls from my lips.
I struggle to focus on the face that appears in the lowering window. When I see who it is, my stomach clenches. I know the man. Deputy Craddock.
Help. Help. I mouth the words over and over.
Craddock’s face is expressionless. “Hang tight while I get on the phone with my supervisor.”
No! my heart screams. Come back. Help me.
Please strokes a finger down my cheek. “Save your screaming for later. You’ll need all your strength for our movie.”
Tears blur my vision, despair engulfing me.
As I drift in and out of consciousness, I overhear brief snippets from outside the limo. Craddock. “…It’s her, I’m sure of it… Understood…Good night, Mayor Hale.”
Hard boot stomps and then Craddock comes back to us, sliding his cell phone in his back pocket. He leans down to face us, an overstretched smile filling his face.
“I apologize for delaying your evening, sir. I’ll let you and your…wife be on your way.”
My heart drops. Panic, adrenaline, horror—it all floods my system. He knows who I am. He knows who I am, but he doesn’t care.
“Thank you, officer.” Please cradles me against his chest. Slips the strap of my dress down to kiss my bare shoulder. “My wife and I plan to have a very good night.”
The men share a laugh of understanding. Tears stream down my face, choking on the revulsion, the rage that spreads through my entire body.
Craddock’s tall silhouette disappears. Doors slam. There’s the crunch of gravel as the police cruiser passes us by, and then the limo starts to move.
“We do it here,” Please says through tightly gritted teeth. “Before she gets loose again.”
“Yes sir.”
My head lolls against Please’s chest. A tear slips down my cheek.
“I love you, Lady Lawless. I promise, I won’t hurt you too much.” I barely feel it as a soft kiss is pressed against my brow. “But I have a few surprises in store for you and your cowboy.”
No. Not, Cole…please, please…
The sharp prick of the needle causes me to gasp.
“You’re a monster,” I choke out, stubbornly clinging to my last few seconds of consciousness.
“I’m truly sorry about this. I’m not a monster. I’m merely a man who loves to hunt very pretty things.”
My fluttering eyes look up in brief confusion, in rage, at the man who holds me, then, after one last deep inhalation, my world tumbles mercifully into blackness.
45 Cole
I cut the truck’s engine and leap out. My brothers are close behind me, tearing their trucks into the empty lot.
My heart hammers when I see Vaughn, Wyoma, and Wells running across the distillery grounds. “We can’t find Bugs!” Wyoma shouts.
Fuck.
“When did you last see her?” Warren runs toward them.
“About an hour ago.” Wyoma’s hands clasp her heart. “She was playing in the tunnels.”
Ezra curses, panic etched on his face. “I told you to keep her out of there.”
