Page 138 of Until the Sea Runs Dry

“I’ll call us a ride, Boy,” she told Loki, whose tail thumped a response.

She summoned the car using the app on her phone and was told the car would be there in ten minutes. “Not long now. We’ll be home soon and you can see your dad.”

Loki’s tail began to wag when he suddenly tensed. A growl came from deep within his throat.

“What’s the matter?”

She started to look over her shoulder, to where Loki was staring, when someone grabbed hold of her, dragging her off the bench and away from the circle of light that she sat under.

Loki went crazy, barking and leaping toward her, but his leash got caught on one of the planks of wood that formed the bench. He wasn’t able to break free. He howled into the night, trying desperately to reach her.

Terror had turned Jane’s blood to ice.

Her head snapped back as she tried to get a look at her attacker when a piece of cloth came over her face. The smell that hit her was overly sweet, like Vodka mixed with sugar.

Her head started to feel light and her body, limp.

Her last thought as she fought to remain conscious was that she recognized the eyes that held her in their grasp.

She knew the hate that lay within them and that dark wickedness she had forgotten about, but which now seared its memory into her heart.

Before she could scream for help, the world faded away.

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