Page 7 of Deviant Reign (Knight's Ridge Empire 6)

It’s empty.

“EMMIE,” I scream, frantically looking around in the darkness for her.

“EMMIE!”

My fingers fumble with the seat belt, but I get it open after a few seconds. Sadly, the door isn’t so successful.

“Fuck. Fuck.”

My entire body screams in pain and I attempt to pull my legs from the footwell and crawl over the centre console to the passenger door.

If she’s not in here, then it must open.

She’ll just be out there calling for help.

Please. Fucking please let her just be calling for help.

I want to believe it, but the dread sitting heavy in my stomach stops me from allowing myself to do so.

That truck. It wasn’t some random attack.

They wanted this.

Whoever they were set out to fucking run me off the road.

But why?

And where the fuck is Emmie?

“EMMIE,” I boom again as I slam my hands against the door, putting all my weight behind it to force it open. But it doesn’t fucking move.

The window is shattered, same as the back one, and I figure it’s how she’s escaped.

“Fucking hell.”

I manage to get out without slicing my body up too badly, but when I get to my feet, I quickly discover that my legs don’t actually want to hold me up. I also find that I’m alone.

“EMMIE,” I shout as loud as I can. But the only thing I hear is my voice echoing through the trees and a couple of birds flapping away in fright.

“FUUUUCK,” I scream before collapsing in a heap on the ground.

* * *

Ihave no idea how long it takes for headlights to light up the side of the road where I’m sitting feeling utterly hopeless.

None of the calls I’ve made to Emmie have even connected, and there’s no sign that she was ever here. She was, though. I know she was.

And knowing that she’s gone cuts me like a knife right through my heart.

What I said to D was meant to be the truth. I was going to bring her home safe.

But how am I meant to do that now?

And how can I turn up on his doorstep without her?

Pushing to my feet, I lift my hand to the thumping pain that’s radiating from my head from where I must have hit it against the wheel as we tumbled.

“Holy shit, man. What the fuck happened?” Alex barks out, rushing over with his brows pinched as he looks from me to the mess that is now my car.