Page 27

Riley

Ouch

I stared at the soap-scum yellow and chipped porcelain tile that was well past its use-by date while the haze of drugs cleared from my mind. There was a small mark on my chest where he’d pierced it with the needle. I hoped that was the worst of the damage.

You’re not dead yet.

I sucked in a slow breath to calm my racing heart before I did something stupid like scream and alert him I was awake. Slowly, I flexed my hands and feet.

He hadn’t tied me up.

I rolled my head to the side, testing my range of mobility. The pulsing throb in the back of my scalp intensified as I rubbed it against the hard bathtub.

He must’ve dragged me by my hair.

It wasn’t the first time Drew had used that particular move. There was a reason I’d started wearing it short. I hated trying to work out the knots.

As quietly as I could, I pushed myself up onto my elbows.

I was in a cramped bathroom, lying in the bathtub, next to a toilet with stains on the seat. A vinyl shower curtain hung from one of those cheap aluminum tension rods above me. To the left was a bathroom vanity with cigarette burns on the counter bolted to the wall. A small window—not big enough to push even Harper through—was cracked open a bit near the ceiling.

At least I’m in here alone.

I patted my hands up and down my body, checking for injuries as the fog continued to clear.

My clothes were still on. Nothing was sliced open or broken. I was a little uncomfortable, but I’d live.

A silver lining.

Look at you, practicing gratitude.

I continued to slowly sit up, listening for sounds from the other room. The window had a metal screen on it. But if I could climb on the counter, maybe I could call for—

The bathroom door swung open.

“I was wondering when you’d wake up.” Drew unbuttoned his pants as he came into the small room.

I pushed myself back against the tub, feeling my heart beat faster as I looked around for a weapon. “You drugged me.”

“The way I see it, we’re even.” He unzipped his fly and started pissing all over the toilet seat. His hairy butt peeked out from under the waistband of his jeans.

I shuddered.

What did I ever see in him?

Nothing now. I didn’t know how I’d fallen into his clutches in the first place. I was smart. Pretty-ish. Not weak. But maybe it didn’t matter who or what I was—even the best of us could be trapped in a nightmare if we weren’t careful where we went to sleep.

“Are you all right?” He shook himself dry before tucking back into his pants. “Did you want to rinse off or something?”

The fake concern in his voice made me sick.

“You. Drugged. Me,” I spat through clenched teeth as I slowly climbed to my feet.

“You drugged me first.” The world swayed a little as Drew put his hands in the air. “And you were the one screaming, out of control. I figured it’d help you calm down a bit so we could finish our little talk.”

“Are you crazy?” I asked in a rush.

For so long, I wondered if I was the crazy one, but if I’d just listened to my gut, I’d have known the truth.

“Crazy?” He tsked. “Come on now. You’re the one who rode in on a random guy’s motorcycle like some Harley Davidson slut.”

Random guy? A laugh bubbled in my chest.

If only Drew knew…

Hope flittered in my stomach.

Lucan.

I had to survive this for him.

“And you really dropped your phone on the road?” Drew was still talking. “It’s a good thing you made it to me. The desert isn’t a safe place for women to be alone.”

I glanced at the door, knowing my purse was out there somewhere. He must’ve gone through it. That meant he had my knife.

At least I had the foresight to dump my phone before he could get into it and read my texts. It was probably the only reason we were still here talking instead of on the road.

I should’ve expected this, though. Should’ve stayed one step ahead.

In your defense, where’d he even get drugs?

On second thought, I didn’t want to know.

But I needed to keep him talking for a minute until my head completely cleared and I could think my way out of this.

“What exactly did you see happening after you shot me full of drugs?”

“Quit being dramatic.” Drew rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t that much. Sheila takes twice the amount and she’s skinnier than you.”

Sheila…

You know what?

I also didn’t care to know.

“Fine.” I forced myself to smile. “What do you want to happen now?”

“I told you.” He reached forward and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “We can help each other out.”

Somehow, I didn’t recoil from his touch. The numbness must’ve been seeping in again, wrapping me in her embrace.

“There are other places you can go,” I said, keeping my expression blank. “Your friends had a plan, didn’t they?”

Wrong thing to say!

I watched the anger roll across his face in slow motion, wishing I could swallow back my words. Something happened. The flash of disgust in his eyes said he partially blamed me.

But it wasn’t my fault.

It was never my fault.

I knew that now.

“I know what I said,” Drew spit, making me flinch. “The investors didn’t commit. Everyone got cold feet.”

Lies! I wanted to scream.

“Oh, you poor dear,” I said instead.

It was so damn hard to not call him out.

After all the years of conspiracy talk—the bunker they planned to build and the land they were going to buy—it was always just that… talk.

He never had a real plan.

Not like Lucan, who had an answer for everything; a quiet sort of strength that wasn’t showy. He handled what needed to be handled and took care of whatever needed to be done.

I trusted him to be true to his word.

Unlike Drew.

How did I ever compare the two of them?

Lucan was so far out of Drew’s league. Maybe he was out of mine too. But I knew I didn’t deserve this sniveling weasel crowding me in a cheap hotel bathroom.

“It’s okay.” Drew’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, acting brave. “You know I’ll always take care of things. It’s better this way without all of them dragging us down.”

I felt like I was watching my life play out on a movie screen, seeing it from a bird’s eye view. This song and dance we’d done a hundred times before.

I hadn’t realized how fake it all was.

But I knew how to act the part, how not to rile up a delusional patient. “That must’ve been hard.” I kept my eyes trained on his face but let my gaze drift to the window again.

“So hard.” He nodded. “You know I was the one who gave them intel and coordinated all our plans. Then when the tanks came into town, everyone just bailed.”

“Screw them.” I gave a playful eye roll so I could look up at the shower curtain.

“Exactly.” Drew snapped his fingers, pulling my attention back. “It always was just me and you anyway. I’m glad I made it here. Now, you know I can help with security. I brought cameras with me to set up at the cabin.”

“Oh wow, you thought of everything.” I glanced at our reflection in the mirror firmly affixed to the wall.

“Of course I did.” He liked to hear himself talk. “We’ll need some sort of perimeter to protect against anyone who wants to attack. That’s where I come in.”

I bit down on my bottom lip, pretending to think as a plan started to take shape. “How will the cameras work? We don’t have power.”

“I knew you wouldn’t have thought about electricity.” His smug smile made my stomach twist. “Don’t worry, babe. I brought solar panels. We’ll get you all hooked up.”

My smile was so fake it hurt. “I’ll have to talk to Ember, but I broke my phone. Maybe we can both head over there and ask what she thinks.”

Drew puffed out his deflated chest. “I knew you’d come around.”

“You make a good argument.” I nodded. “I’m going to get out of the tub now, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, yeah. Yes. Come on out.” He took a step back. “Sorry about putting you in there. It seemed like the safest place to keep you propped up so you didn’t choke. You know how much I worry about you.”

He held out his hand, wearing the same apologetic grin I’d seen a hundred times before—usually, while I was nursing a bruised arm or brushing the knots from my hair after it’d gotten tangled on his fist.

“I sure do.” I blew out a steadying breath, making sure I was as clearheaded as I could be and giving him my left hand while I stepped onto the tub ledge.

“You’ll see.” Drew started pulling me towards him. That calculating gleam shone in his eyes despite his playful tone, “I’ll make you regret ever wanting to leave me.”

“Ha.” I laughed.

His eyes widened as I yanked my hand free.

“Ha. Ha.” I grabbed the shower curtain tension rod from overhead.

“Ha. Ha. Ha.” I screamed as I shoved it against his jugular, pushing him backward with all my strength.

Drew’s hands flew into the air.

We slammed against the tiled wall.

I pinned him there with the bar against his throat.

He smacked at me.

I held tighter, gritting my teeth and ignoring the pain of his hits.

I was so much stronger than I used to be. My muscles were trained and strengthened from weeks of testing Lucan’s patience.

Drew’s fat belly shuddered between us. His unshaven face bulged purple and red as he tried, and failed, to get his feet straight underneath him.

I pressed tighter as his arms weakened and the fight started to drain out.

“Not so tough anymore,” I cried.

My rage boiled over, filling the small bathroom. It was thick enough to drown us both.

“But you never were strong,” I continued to scream. “You were the weak one. Pathetic. What kind of a little bitch hurts someone smaller than them?”

He went limp and still I held onto the bar.

Tears streamed down my face. “I’m strong. You’re nothing. And you won’t hurt me again.”

My arms started to shake from holding up his weight. I dropped the bar, taking a step back as his heavy body slumped to the floor.

Spit ran down his chin.

I wiped the tears from my face.

Oh, shit. What did I do?

I knew I should check his pulse and make sure he wasn’t dead.

Or maybe make sure that he is…

Shaking my head, I took a step back. And then another. My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking. I needed—

“Riley!” The bellowed roar preceded the sound of an explosion.

I stepped out of the bathroom to a blast of heat and flying splinters of drywall and doorframe.

Shadows seemed to race toward me, causing a cooling breeze that pushed the debris away and created a cocoon of safety in the storm that was his anger, reacting to mine.

Lucan!

Every part of my body relaxed upon seeing him marching through the ruins of the hotel room. Rage swirled in the shadows that danced around him, but compassion for me burned in his turquoise eyes.

“Are you hurt?” And that was his first question.

Not what was I doing here or why did I leave.

It took everything in me not to sag into his arms as he crossed the room in two long strides, closing the distance between us and gripping me by the shoulders.

I shook my head in answer to his question.

I couldn’t speak.

My throat burned from screaming and I was still in shock about what I’d done.

Lucan gathered my hands in his and pressed them against his chest, nodding as if he didn’t need to hear my words to know.

His lips brushed against my forehead as he whispered, “Wait outside.”

I let his strength take this one and my feet obeyed, carrying me to what was left of the door.

“There she is! Riley!” Ember screamed as she hopped out of the Bronco. Willow was right beside her. The two of them left the vehicle doors open in the parking lot as they raced toward me.

The ground shook when Kieran’s dragon landed on the road behind them.

An angry roar came from the hotel room.

I kept moving forward in a numb daze.

“Are you all right?” Ember cried.

Willow pulled me to her chest. “What happened? Why didn’t you call?”

Some of their worry seeped through the numbness and I forced another smile, patting their arms as I found my voice again. “So… I didn’t get around to changing my number and then I sort of broke my phone.”

“This isn’t your fault,” Willow said in her motherly tone that left no room for argument. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for him coming here.”

“I don’t.” When I stepped away from their loving embrace, I let them see the truth in my eyes. “I didn’t deserve this. I never did. And hopefully, I won’t ever have to deal with it again.”

“Wait, where are you going? Come with us to the Bronco. We’ll go to the cabin where it’s safe.” Ember reached out to keep me in the friend huddle.

Willow put her hand on Ember’s shoulder, holding her steady as I started to back up. “Give her a minute. Riley needs some time alone.”

I gave Willow a real smile, hoping she’d see my gratitude for everything they’d done, before I turned and walked away.