Page 1 of Journey To Sunrise (Protectors of Jasper Creek #6)

Chloe

Four Months Ago

The cabin floor scraped against my chin. Wood dust filled my nose. Five other girls lay zip-tied around me, wrists behind backs, ankles bound tight.

Where’s Zoe?

Dammit. I’d been depending on her to be at this party, but she was probably out with some guy she spotted. Maybe if she’d been here, we could have thought of something to get us out of here.

Jennifer's sobs filled the cabin. The wiry man pacing near her kept flexing his gun hand.

I tried rolling toward her.

“Stop!” A boot slammed into my shoulder. Fire shot through my body. I bit down hard, swallowing the scream.

“Don't move. Don't want no funny business.” The man bent close, his breath hot and sour. “You hear me?”

I nodded, chin grinding against the floor.

“Answer me!” Spit sprayed across my cheek.

“I won't move.” My voice came out raw. “I promise.”

“Louder.”

“I promise. I won't move.”

“Good.” He traced my cheek with his pistol barrel. Cold metal against skin. “Be fun to make you cry.”

The gun moved to Jennifer. He nudged her with his boot tip. “Quit your crying, or I'll give you something to cry about.”

“Ed, quit playing with the hostages.” The second man's voice carried authority. “Find out which one is the Avery girl. We need to flush out that Evie bitch.”

My stomach dropped. Avery. They wanted one of us specifically.

What did you do, Evie? What did you get us into?

“Your last name Avery?” Ed kicked Jennifer. Hard.

“Me!” The word ripped from my throat. “I'm Chloe Avery.”

Ed grabbed my hair, yanking me halfway off the floor. My neck screamed but I clamped my jaw shut.

“What did you say?”

“I'm Chloe Avery.”

He cackled. “Quinn, I've got a winner!”

“Does she have brown eyes? Her sister has brown eyes.”

Ed lifted me higher. I forced my eyes wide.

“Yes siree, brown eyes.” He dropped me.

I twisted, taking the impact on my ear. Pain exploded through my skull.

“Bring her over.”

Ed dragged me between bodies. He dumped me between Quinn's legs.

Quinn held up a cell phone. “You're going to make us a video. Give me your sister's phone number.”

“Never!”

Quinn's boot connected with Lacie's ribs. She screamed.

“No, please.” Tears burned my eyes. “Don't hurt her.”

“Then give me Evie's number. Or should I work on each girl until you do?”

“Why do you want Evie?”

“She has something our boss needs. Bitch better get here and give us what we want, otherwise… well she’ll be down a sister. Now quit with the questions.”

The numbers tumbled out. Evie answered on the first ring. They put her on speaker phone.

“Hello?”

“You Evie Avery?”

“Yes.”

“We have your sister Chloe. Say hello, Chloe.”

I pressed my lips together. If I stayed quiet, maybe Evie wouldn't come. It was a trap.

Quinn's hand exploded across my face. His ring split my forehead open. Blood ran into my eye.

“Don't hurt her!” Evie's panic cut through the speaker. But it wasn’t Evie, it was Maddie.

“Tell me what to do. I'll do anything.”

Where is Evie? Why was Maddie answering Evie’s phone?

“My boss wants the passports. You get them, or...” Quinn smiled down at me. “Well, let's show you what 'or' looks like. You're going to count every hit, Evie. Every scream. You're going to listen to what happens when you don't cooperate.”

His fist drove into my side.

“That's one,” he said conversationally.

I gasped, couldn't breathe.

“Count it, Evie.”

“One,” Maddie whispered through the phone.

Another blow. Something cracked inside me.

“Two,” Maddie's voice broke.

“See, she screams so pretty for you.” Quinn's fist connected again. “Every sound she makes is because of you, Evie. Because of what you got her into.”

Where is Evie? Oh God, this guy will never stop hurting me, then he’d start on the others, without Evie. Where is she? Why isn’t she here to help us?

I started to cry.

I tried to stay quiet. Tried so hard. But the fourth blow ripped a scream from my throat that seemed to go on forever.

“Please stop!” Maddie sobbed through the phone.

“Five more minutes of this, or three hours to get the passports. Your choice.”

I couldn't hold back anymore. Each hit brought sounds I didn't know I could make. The other girls were crying. Someone threw up. And through it all, Quinn kept that phone close to my face, making sure Evie heard everything.

“Seven minutes down,” Quinn announced. “She's tough, your sister. Most people pass out by now.” He paused. “Ed, come hold the phone so I can do this right.”

It’s going to get worse? Please Evie, save me.

My vision swam. I wanted to pass out. Begged for it. But my body wouldn't let me escape.

“You know what's beautiful about this?” Quinn's voice stayed calm between blows.

“She's suffering because she loves you. Every hit she takes is because she won't let us hurt these other girls to get to you. Noble, really.” The beating continued.

Systematic. Calculated. Not meant to kill, just to break.

And through it all, that phone stayed live, broadcasting my destruction to my sister.

“Thirteen minutes,” Quinn finally said. “I think that's enough of a preview.”

“Three hours, Evie. Or we do this again. And again. And again.”

“It’s a trap, Evie, don’t come.” I gasped out.

Quinn roared with laughter. “She’ll come.”

The last blow sent me into blessed darkness, but not before I heard Maddie screaming my name and Quinn's satisfied laugh.