Page 24 of Stolen Temptation

Bastard.

He reaches for me, and I want to fight him, but my arms are as heavy as two tree trunks and every bit as coordinated. I slump into his embrace like a doll as he hoists me up.

Lucidity drains from me as quickly as sand from a smashed hourglass.

My thoughts slow, as if spread apart by oceans.

I’m in just as much trouble as ever, only this particular type of trouble comes in the form of a charming, unscrupulous man.

I was afraid today would mark the end of my life. Despite my best efforts to change that, my fears may have come true.

That’s my last coherent thought before the darkness eating at the edges of my vision swallows me whole.

Chapter 8

Rory

When Darren melts into view from the shadows of the small vendor parking lot, I nod at the dead guards slumped on the ground.

He nods back, then his eyes flare with surprise as they land on Kiara. “Was she unconscious before you bid on her, or did the sight of your ugly mug frighten her into a coma after the fact?”

“Very funny. Hide those two for me.” With a grunt, I haul the rest of Kiara’s body into my arms and book it to the van.

Darren snipes even while dragging the bodies into some bushes. “Is Sleeping Beauty why you took so long?”

Ignoring him, I crush my body and Kiara’s against the back of the vehicle until my fingers connect with the door handle.

In the process, her scent crawls up my nose again. Sweet and a little spicy, like brown sugar mixed with cloves.

Her unconscious face is close to mine.

Urgency boils in my stomach, making me sweat. Paranoia chews at my skin like a school of piranhas.

Whoever this girl is, she’s important. Those guards recognized her immediately, and soon, everyone will realize she’s missing. We should have been out of here already, butthose guards slowed me down. Shooting them didn’t feature into my original plan.

And nowthis.

Her relaxed expression, peaceful as a fucking angel’s, angles at me like a mirror reflecting the worst part of my self.

With difficulty, I slide the door to the van open and gently set her down in the depths of the cargo space. The back has no windows, and it’s so dark that the only body part I can identify are feet.

Even looking atthem, limp and unmoving, pisses me off for some unknown reason. Darren brushes past me, climbing into the van and snapping me back into focus.

“I knew you hadn’t hooked up with anyone lately, but I didn’t realize things were so dire that you had to buy a woman at a black auction.”

“Do you think maybe you could stop testing out your comedy routine and restrain her, or do I need to suffer through a few more shitty jokes first? On the plus side, if we wait long enough, Leo will find us and shoot me in the head, which I suppose is one way to end my suffering.”

I slam the van door in Darren’s face before another word falls out of his smart-ass mouth.

Or did I do that because I don’t want to watch him zip-tie her ankles and wrists together?

Or gag her mouth?

I rip the driver’s side door open with too much force and throw myself behind the wheel, turning the engine over with the same speed.

Why won’t my heart stop pounding like a manic drum?

My eyes flit left then right, scanning the perimeter as I swing the van out of the private lot and onto the same unnamed access road that led us here.