Page 113
AVERY
B efore my eyes even opened, I felt like the world was spinning and upside down, like I was stuck on a rollercoaster. That, along with the roiling nausea in my gut, had woken me up. In flashes, my memories came back, snapping like individual photographs.
Blood smear on a car door… men chasing me… pain… terror… darkness.
I opened my eyes, but my vision was too blurry to make anything out. Blinking, I tried to orient myself, but before I could get a clear look at my surroundings, a hulking shadow rushed forward, blotting out the light source.
“Oh, thank God.”
“Wha?” I said, and my voice sounded slurred and drunken to my ears.
Hands wrapped around me and strong, muscular arms encircled me, embracing my body. Unsure who was touching me, I swung my hand out to strike them in the face—at least, that’s what I tried to do. Attempting the maneuver only resulted in a feeble wave of my hand.
“Are you okay?” The arms released me and began to feel around my body, squeezing my shoulders and legs gently, probing for injuries. “Can you hear me? Mom? Are you okay?”
Mom ? I blinked rapidly, and my vision finally cleared enough for me to see Ashton gazing down at me with concern.
“Ash?” I rasped.
“Yeah,” he said, and grinned. He looked so much like his father that it sent a surge of love through me so powerful that I managed to throw off the rest of the effects of the drug.
“Oh my God.” I sat up, pain exploding in my skull. He frowned as I ran my hands over his face, arms, and chest. I couldn’t believe he was real. Alive and within reach.
“Mom, chill.” He took my hands. “I’m fine. What about you?”
“I’m okay,” I said, then promptly swooned and nearly fell back over. Ashton barely managed to catch me and ease me back down. “Holy shit,” I muttered, putting a hand to my head. “My head is throbbing.”
“They drugged you. It’s the same thing they did to me,” Ashton said.
Staring up into his face, I couldn’t help but think he’d aged in the time he was gone.
The soft corners of boyhood had fled, replaced by the masculine angles of manhood.
It hurt my soul knowing he’d been here alone all this time.
I couldn’t have controlled the tears even if I’d wanted to.
They streamed out of my eyes as I reached up and brushed my son’s cheek.
“Ah, jeez, Mom,” Ashton said, his mouth twisting to the side. “Don’t cry.”
I clawed at his shirt and dragged him down to hug him. Regardless of how big he was, he would always be the tiny baby I held in my arms after the hours of agony to bring him into the world. Nothing would change that. He could be sixty years old, and he’d still be my baby.
“Mom, you’re choking me,” he croaked.
Reluctantly, I released him and sat up again, this time more gingerly. I looked around. We were in a bedroom. It looked nice and comfortable, with expensive furniture, hand-carved wooden accents, high-end wallpaper, and antique wall sconces.
I’d known Kyle had sent the men who killed Porter.
Had sent them to take me, but it hadn’t truly sunk in until right at that moment.
We were in a very dangerous situation, but seeing my son again made it bearable.
I knew that once Cole realized I’d been taken, he’d burn the world down to get us back.
All we had to do was survive until he came for us.
“What happened?” Ashton asked. “How did they manage to grab you? I thought you were staying with Dad.”
I blinked at Ash, confused about who he was talking about.
Then, in a flash, I realized why it was strange.
He’d never called anyone “Dad” before. The fact that he was calling Cole that nearly brought me to tears again.
There was too much going on for me to dissolve into a puddle of emotion, though.
“Two men came for me,” I explained, still looking around at the room.
“They…” I stopped, unsure how to go on. Ashton knew Porter.
He’d been a family friend like Zayde and Langston.
I didn’t want to devastate him, but with everything going on, he needed to know exactly how dangerous things were.
“I called Langston to come help get you back, and?—”
“Langston’s here?” Ashton asked. “For real?”
I nodded. “He brought Zayde and Porter with him.” I put my hand on his cheek again. “Baby, those men killed Porter. He’s gone, Ashton.”
He stared at me, face emotionless, as though he were some image on a screen that had frozen in place. Then, slowly, his forehead furrowed, and his face twisted into a mask of incomprehension.
“Porter is… he’s dead ?” He shook his head as if he could negate the facts with that simple movement.
“He is. I’m sorry, sweetie. He was a good man. One of the best.”
Ashton jerked away from my hand, standing up and pacing around the room, his fists clenching and unclenching. I’d never seen such anger from my son.
“I hate him, Mom,” he growled. “I hate him . It was all I could do not to try and tear his head off when he carried you in here earlier. Now, I wish I had. He deserves it for what he did to Porter, to you .”
“What did Kyle say when he brought me in? Anything?”
Ashton gave his head a vicious shake. “Nothing. I told him to get away from you, and he did as I asked.”
“He did what you said?” Kyle didn’t seem like the kind of person to take orders, especially not from a teenager.
Ashton stopped his pacing, though his hands still clenched and unclenched unconsciously. “He’s messed up in the head. The guy’s crazy. He actually thinks of himself as my father or father figure or something. Has me calling him Dad. ” He grunted in disgust and resumed pacing.
I shivered at the thought of Ashton calling Kyle that. The mere thought of it nearly made the contents of my stomach come rocketing out of my mouth.
“What do you know about this place?” I asked. “How many people are here? What have they been making you do? I want to know.”
He stopped and took a steadying breath before sitting on a chair.
“It’s a big place. Lots of rooms and stuff.
Kyle’s got an office downstairs where he spends a lot of time.
He’s been having me spar and train against some of his guys in what used to be a big den or living room or something.
Things would be a lot worse if Dallas wasn’t looking out for me. ”
“What?” I nearly choked on the word. “Dallas? Ashton, he’s the one who kidnapped you. Why would he be helping?”
“He keeps Kyle’s guys from being dicks toward me. He and Sydney have been coaching me on how to get on Kyle’s good side so he doesn’t hurt me. Stuff like that.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, rubbing my temples. “Are you saying Dallas is the one who’s been trying to get you to act like Kyle is your father or something?”
Ashton groaned. “No. He hates Kyle.”
“That makes no sense.” My frustration was reaching a boiling point. “He’s helping Kyle. He’s been helping him.”
Ashton was shaking his head before I’d even finished talking.
“He only acts like that. He’s done everything he can to get on Kyle’s good side.
Pretending to agree with everything Kyle says, making it look like he hates Cole.
I think he got in too deep, and when he realized what Kyle was, it was too late to back out.
So, he’s been staying close, trying to find a chance to take Kyle down. ”
His story didn’t add up in my mind. I’d seen the images of Dallas doing Kyle’s bidding.
Doing awful things. He’d injected that poor man with a drug that turned him into a wolf.
Could all of that really have been an act to get closer to Kyle?
If so, it meant Dallas might have more guts than anyone had given him credit for.
I refused to believe it, though. He’d stolen my son. Before I trusted him, I’d need to see it with my own eyes.
Stewing on that information, I said, “You mentioned Sydney. Are you saying that Kyle’s computer expert isn’t really on his side, either?”
Ashton nodded gravely. “Her story is even worse than Dallas’s. She hates him even more than Dallas does. They’re afraid of what he’ll do if they try to run, so they’ve stayed. I’ve seen what happens to people who don’t do what Kyle says,” he added, a dark and distant look seeping into his eyes.
My heart shattered as I imagined the awful things he may have seen.
“I think they’re making some sort of plan, though,” Ashton said.
“Why do you say that?”
“Sydney came to my room last night,” he said. “She told me that at midnight tomorrow, I need to be ready to run.”
“Run? You mean escape?” I asked.
“Yeah. Only, now it looks like it won’t just be me getting out, but you, too.” His lips twitched. “Sorry. Looks like your vacation won’t be as long as mine was.”
Vacation? Very funny. I was glad his time here hadn’t dulled his sarcasm and humor.
Still, the prospect of escape filled me with hope, pushing aside the hopelessness roiling through me.
But if what Ash was saying was true, I’d have to put my life in the hands of Dallas and that computer woman.
Two people who, until about three minutes ago, I thought wouldn’t have pissed on me if I was on fire.
The bedroom door opened, and fear jolted through me as I assumed it was Kyle coming in.
Instead, the woman I’d been thinking about a few seconds before strode in with a tray of food.
She looked different from when I’d seen her on Zayde’s computer screen.
Less callous, less vicious. She looked calm and almost timid.
A complete one-eighty. Could Ashton be right about her and Dallas?
Sydney kicked the door shut behind her and crossed the room, setting the tray on a small table. She smiled at Ashton, then slid her gaze to me.
“Hello, Ms. Carlisle. I’m Sydney Blake. You don’t know me and have no reason to trust me, but please believe me when I say this: Dallas and I are going to get you out of here tomorrow night.”
“How are you going to do that?” I asked warily.
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