Page 110 of Unwritten Rules (Rules 1)

This can only mean one of two things: Ian is new to this whole kidnapping thin

g, or everything he does is for a reason and it’s all part of a bigger picture.

All I know is, evil plan or not, the only thing keeping me going is the hope that Kendrick will find me. Too bad my luck has run dry too many times in the past for me to get my hopes up. I’m the girl who gets her head stuck in a damn helmet for God’s sake. Where’s the luck in that?

I haven’t screamed since I woke up, terrified I’ll do nothing but catch my kidnappers’ attention and bring an even worse fate upon myself. But I know that if there’s even half a chance that someone could hear me, I have to try.

So I do. I scream as loud as I can through the tape blocking my mouth. Over and over again. Just then, the footsteps stop.

“She’s awake,” I hear a deep voice mumble.

The only bright side is, I can hear everything they say. If I do get out of here, I might know exactly who took me. When the door creaks open and footsteps come down the stairs, I know that I was right. This is a basement. My first instinct is to close my eyes and pretend to be sleeping.

“I thought you said she was awake,” a husky voice says.

“She is. I heard her.”

“What do we do with her?”

“Now…” He pauses and says the one sentence that makes me wish they’d killed me at the Downside instead. “We have some fun.”

“She’s pretty cute, isn’t she?” They sound older—multiple years older. I might not be able to see their faces, but my guess is they have the creepy looks to go with the voices.

“He said not to touch the girl,” Man Number Two reprimands.

“He doesn’t have to know.”

“He’ll find out. He knows everything.” His voice quakes with fear.

I hear one of them take a step forward.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing, man, relax.”

Tears well in my eyes. A hand is laid on my shoulder, pressing onto my skin. It moves downward to my chest. I start to wiggle, desperate to get his hand off me. I thank the Lord when the second stranger takes care of that for me.

“Back off, Owen. I’m serious,” he threatens.

Owen. I got a name.

“Damn it, don’t you know what fun means?”

“I know what trouble means, and that’s what we’re going to get into if anything happens to that girl before he says so.”

Before he says so? This means that Ian is only keeping me safe to make sure he can hurt me later at his convenience.

“What’s so special about that girl anyway?” Owen spits.

“Haze Adams and the East Side would throw themselves in the fire to keep her from harm’s way. That’s what’s special. Let’s go. Girl might not see, but she still got ears.”

They go back up the stairs, slamming the door and bolting multiple locks on the other side. I let out a breath, relieved that it’s finally over… Or at least, for now.

E I G H T E E N

The Ugly Truth

EXTERN