Page 307 of Second Sets Omnibus

The birthday party.

The needle at the rollercoaster.

The goddamn gunshot…

Asher!

“What did you do?” I shout through my sudden rage, shaking with every move I make.

I jump to my trembling feet, swaying like a tree in the wind. Fuck. Everything swirls again. I rub my temples, begging for relief from the constant wave of vertigo.

I grunt, stumbling through the darkness with my hand out in front of me. Come on, asshole. Show yourself so I can beat you to a bloody pulp.

My fingers prod my pockets, hoping without fail I brought my knife. Hope blossoms in my chest. Quickly popped by the reminder that I didn’t have it with me. Why would I? It was my child’s birthday party. I shouldn’t have felt unsafe there. Liv was there. Jordy was there. A whole slew of Veritas agents attended as well. Somehow this psycho broke through all the safety precautions we had in place and smashed them to pieces by getting to me.

My brows furrow when his confession rings in my mind. He was Trevor. The elusive boyfriend of my PA. How could we have been so trusting and blind?

“I brought you home!” His voice rings out again from all around me, sounding like an ever-present entity haunting all sides of my life.

“No,” I cry out in desperation. “This is not my home! Let me go, Van!” My fingers curl into fists.

Every ounce of fog dissipates into nothing, giving me back my sound mind. Replaced by massive amounts of rage boiling through my system.

I’ll fuck him up before he touches me. There’s no way I’ll let him get his hands on me like he promised. Fuck that. Fuck this. I’m River goddamn West. No one is taking anything from me again. I’ll claw his fucking eyes out until he’s bleeding on the ground.

“Pretty Girl.”

My chest heaves as my eyes dart around the darkened space. Where is he? God, where is he in this darkness? His voicecaresses me through the shadows, knocking me back a step. Rad? Is he here to save me from Van’s clutches? Or is he a prisoner, too?

Van shot Asher. Will Rad be next?

“Run,” I rasp with tears streaming down my cheeks. “Don’t come any closer. He’s got a gun,” I plead, nearly dropping to my knees as they knock together.

“Pretty Girl,” he says with a sigh. I swear the faintest touch against my cheek has me jerking back.

My fingers graze against the phantom touch, instantly relaxing me.

“Mine!” Van’s voice echoes through the space like a menacing ghost, growling the word. “You’re mine! You’ll always be mine!” My ears ring at the sound of his frantic shouts.

“No. No. No!” I hiss, covering my ears. “I’m not yours. Let me go!”

“Come on, Pretty Girl!” Rad’s voice echoes through my skull with desperation. “You’re having a nightmare. You need to wake up. Please wake up. It’s been twelve hours already.”

Twelve hours? Of what? My unconsciousness? My imprisonment?

I blink several times until a blinding light pierces through the veil of shadows. Squinting against the brightness, I gasp, jolting forward.

My eyes snap open, greeted by the bright lights and a loud beeping sound filling the room. Several articles of clothing rustle beside me, getting closer as I come back online.

“Little Star.”

A yelp leaves my throat when I jerk back into a warm embrace. Heavy hands hold me steady, wrapping around my front side. A drum beats in my chest, moving toward my ears and taking over my hearing. My breaths shudder when theunknown hands travel up and down my arm in a soothing manner.

“We got you, Pretty Girl.” His voice cracks with emotions, murmuring in my ear.

“Rad,” I croak sharply, turning to look over my shoulder.

Warm brown eyes filled to the brim with concern and exhaustion greet my vision.