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Rage fills my veins and I know it’s pure adrenaline spurring my body to stand and throw myself at my attacker. I scream and hit and kick, not even sure what I’m aiming for anymore. I just want the pain to stop but it doesn’t. It only gets worse.
As though I weigh nothing, this guy pushes me back against the wall and punches me twice in the face then goes to town on my stomach. By this time, the pain is too much for me to even stand so I just let the weight of my body bring me down to the snow-covered ground that is now sullen with red splotches.
My blood. My nose is bleeding over the new snow as the man kicks me, over and over again. My stomach, my ribs, my thighs. I can’t move anymore, I have used every ounce of strength I had and now I just want it all to stop.
And it does. When I blink open my eyes, I don’t see anyone and I can’t remember the last time I felt so grateful. Grateful that he’s gone, grateful that the cold snow is numbing my pain.
I blink again and it feels like hours or months have passed but I’m too tired to keep my eyes open. So I don’t. I let sleep take me away and hope and pray that someone finds me before it’s too late.
Chapter sixteen
Hayes
“Where the ever-loving fuck is Miss Jones?” I’m pacing beside the town car waiting to take us to the air strip, unable to control myself because we’ve been here for what feels like a lifetime. “We should have done this without her. We’d be in the air on the way to Cali already if we didn’t have to wait for an incompetent executive assistant.”
“You know she’s not incompetent, H. Considering she’s only been on the job for a month, she’s only fucked up a couple of times.”
“You’re only sticking up for her because she sucked your dick, Ry.”
“Woah, shots fired, big bro!” Hadley points finger-guns toward Orion and fake shoots.
“You’re only jealous because she hasn’t sucked yours yet, H.”
“And Orion brings out the big guns, he shoots…he scorrrres!” Hadley turns his finger-guns to me. “Boom boom!”
“You’re a wanker, Hads.” Fixing my glare on my brother, I silently beg him to stop because this is not the direction I want this conversation to go. “One of you should call her, see wherethe fuck she is. She has five minutes or we’re leaving without her.”
“Stop pretending to be a heartless fuckwit. We both know you like her as much as we do. And I’ve already tried to call her but she isn’t answering. She’s not answering my cute texts either. I think we should go and pick her up from her apartment.” Hadley continues rambling while Orion and I have a stare-off.
With it, we’re saying everything we need to without words. I know he’s pissed I kicked her out of our apartment last weekend, he knows I have my reasons and suspicions, and we both know this woman is trouble for us because Hadley’sstillobsessed.
Usually, he’s bored within a week, but he’s really enjoying the chase with Miss Jones. So much so, he’s halted his yearly planning and we may actually get through this year without having to bury someone.
But at what cost?
The unknown is what’s worrying me the most. Okay, maybe not the most. The fact that I have any feelings in this situation at all is probably my biggest worry.
“Get in the car, knobheads, we’re going hunting!” Hadley interrupts—no surprise there—and I sigh heavily, tearing my gaze from Orion.
“Fine. Let’s go.” Pulling out my cell, I dial her number as I slide into the back of the town car beside my twin. She’s probably ignoring Hadley’s incessant calls because like I say…obsessive. It rings for longer than usual, but eventually the line clicks.
“Hello?”
“Who the fuck is this?” The voice that answered was not that of Miss Jones.
“Er…Sorry, I just found this phone on the sidewalk. I think it belongs to the woman who just went off in the ambulance from my building. I’ll put the cell in her mailbox.”
Then the line goes dead. And I. Am. Livid.
My whole body begins to shake, my heart beating a million miles a minute, and my breaths get deeper, heavier, as I clench my teeth so hard they could crack.
“H…? Hayes? Hey, what’s going on?” Orion is kneeling in front of me in the back of the car, his palms on my biceps, gripping firmly and bringing my attention solely to him.
“Call all the hospitals. She’s in an ambulance.”
After what felt like an age, we finally found her in Lenox Hill Hospital.
In reality, it took us twenty minutes.