Page 15 of Ever After

I race to my house, and Finley’s car isn’t there. I call her phone, and it rings before the voicemail picks up. The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. Something isn’t right. My heart races, and I go on autopilot to get to her place.

“Finley, it’s me. Call me as soon as you get this. You promised you would come over to my house, and you’re not here. I’m coming to get you.”

I hang up and peel out of my driveway, racing down the darkened roads. The lights from the cars coming the other way blind me momentarily, but not enough to make me slow down. I make it to her place in fifteen minutes, and her car is parked in the driveway. I call again, and still no answer. I run up to the building door and buzz everyone, hoping one person will let me in. I get a few people that call out to me from the intercom, which I ignore. Someone decides I’m enough of a nuisance and lets me in.

I race up the stairs to the second floor and come to a dead stop when I see her door is wide open. My blood runs cold, and the pounding in my ears gets louder the longer I stare at the destruction in front of me.

No. This isn’t happening.

I pull my gun from the holster and hold it in front of me as I peer inside. Whoever broke in struggled to do so. The door jamb is splintered, tables and chairs are turned over, and personal effects are littering the floor. The window is open wide, and I see fingernail marks on the windowsill. It’s like my worst nightmare coming true.

I walk further into the condo and notice a sheet of paper sitting on the kitchen counter. I take a step closer to read it.

She’s going to be great for business. I warned her if she kept talking, she’d be sorry, but she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Stay out of my way...

“Fuck!” I’m shaking with anger as my blood boils. Tonight was a ploy to get to her. They knew I’d go to the drop location and couldn’t be around to protect her. I dig my phone out of my pocket. “Amelia, she’s been taken. Tonight was about getting her. It was never a drop. Get a team over to Finley’s,now!”

“Shit. Is her computer still there?”

I walk through the house, trying to disturb as little as possible, scanning everything. “I don’t see it. They must have taken that, too.” I want to punch something; the rage inside me is all consuming.

“I’m on my way. We’ll get her back.”

We’d better. I’m not ready to lose her yet.

Chapter Eight

Finley

I blink my eyes a few times as the room comes into focus. My head hurts, and my body is sluggish as I try to right myself. I look around, except I can’t see a damn thing. It’s pitch black—no windows, no light, noanything! Where the hell am I? I feel like I have the worst hangover of my life, and my mouth feels like it’s stuffed full of cotton. I’d kill for some water right now.

“Hello?” I croak.

No answer.

I’m not surprised. I rub my eyes, hoping they’ll adjust to the lack of light so I can see where the hell I am. I hold my breath listening for any noises but come up short. Slowly moving to stand, I walk around the length of my room, my hand trailing along the cold sheetrock walls and in front of me to not bump into anything. The room is about ten-feet by ten-feet, with a mattress on the floor and a small toilet in another corner. I feel a crack in the wall, which I assume is a door, but there’s no light coming from around the frame.

Sitting on the thin mattress, I pull my knees to my chest, rocking back and forth. The urge to cry overwhelms me, and I drop my forehead as my body shakes with my tears. Grayson’s voice pops into my head.Stay strong, you can do this.If I want any sort of chance of surviving this, I know I have to stay strong. I take a few deep breaths and slowly release each until my body is back under control.

The drug he injected me with seems to be out of my system, but without light, I have no idea how long I’ve been out for or what time it is. The last thing I remember is being dragged out of my home by the two men. I don’t remember a car or, God forbid, a plane ride. I can’t remember much in between passing out and now.

What did they inject me with?

“Is anyone there?” Silence. I suck in a shaky breath, and my eyes water again.No! I won’t give these assholes the satisfaction of me breaking.I wipe the stray tears and grit my teeth. Grayson’s going to find me. He’s going to come and save me, or I will find a way out myself. I pull the musty blanket over my shoulders; it’s the only form of comfort I have in this dark cell of mine.

I’m not sure how much time has passed. All I know is I fall asleep again at some point, waking when I hear a key turn in the lock, and the door swings open, a flashlight shining in my eyes. The build of the man in front of me looks like Grayson. I jump up, my head pounding from the sudden movement, and I take a step forward.

The same dark chortle from my apartment infiltrates my ears. I want to shrink back against the wall, but now isn’t the time. In spite of my fear, I drop the blanket from my shoulders and stare at the dark form. He doesn’t move the flashlight from my eyes, and I know when he leaves me again, I won’t be able to see for a while.

“We’ve never had one as smart as you, Doc. You’re going to make someone very happy. We just need to break you in first. Come here.” He points to the ground in front of him.

“Where am I?”

“Pets don’t talk. Come. Here,” he spits.

I shake my head and bite my tongue. I wait for him to do something—a slap, a hair pull, anything, but it doesn’t come.

“That’s one day.”