Page 20 of Devoured

Roland.

“I’m afraid this cargo is ours now,” one of the men responded.

“I’m only going to tell you once. Give me the woman,” Roland said.

The woman, me?

Wait. Why was Roland here? How did he—

“She’s ours now. Boss’s orders.”

“Trust me, I can make an appropriate arrangement with your leader,” Roland said, “But there are no guarantees you can make one with me, if you don’t hand her over now.” There was an edge to his voice like he was sneering at them.

“The hell you want with a whore?”

“I’ve got unfinished business with her.”

“Move your car or we’ll move it for you.”

Gunshots sounded. Two—no, three. What the fuck?! Then a loud wail. What was going on? I listened, trying to figure out who was still alive. If Roland died trying to defend me, then they would probably kill me too, saying to hell with their boss’s orders.

Footsteps. Only one person.

The doors to the back of the van opened.

Light flooded inside of the van, silhouetting his face. Roland held out a hand.

“Come on,” he said. “We’ve got to run.”

“What?”

He pointed to the woods. “Go. Before the others come.”

“You don’t have a car?”

In a louder voice, he howled: “Go, Iris!”

I jumped and ran into the woods. Twigs crunched under my feet, the rustle of the vines of ivy leaves brushing against my clothes. Roland followed behind me. Once we got deep enough, I looked back. There was nothing. No cars. No backup. Nothing. Had we lost them? Or was it something else? Heavy breaths panted through me. Roland slowed too. The road was far away. It was dark. I could barely see anything.

Roland leaned on a tree next to us. Then he looked at his palm, staring at the sap. He shrugged, then resumed leaning on it again. There was dirt on his pants, and his button-up shirt was undone at the top, no tie.

So he had enough time to relax, but not enough to change into casual clothes. How had he known where I was?

“What happened back there?” I asked.

“I don’t know for sure,” he said calmly, “but it looks like you were kidnapped. And I saved you.”

The smirk on his face was irritating. I wanted to slap him. But he wasn’t lying. He had saved me, though I wasn’t sure from what. And I had to make myself valuable, which included holding back those urges to slap him. Still, the sarcasm escaped me.

“Yay,” I said dryly. “All hail my knight in shining armor.”

“This is serious, Iris,” he said. “Do you have any enemies?”

Besides Kendall? I shrugged. “None that would abduct me.” I took in a sharp breath, the adrenaline still pulsing in my veins, my heart trying hard to catch up. “Did they know you?”

“Probably. Most people do.”

I rolled my eyes. “How did you know where to find me?”