Page 105 of Wanted

I fight against closing my eyes and breathe through my nose.

I hope.

“You had to use that brain of yours and figure it out. I’ll give you something, Frankie, you’re smart and pretty. It’s no wonder it didn’t take you long to find someone ready and willing to fuck ya.”

“Hey!” Aiden shouts on my behalf. Ashe releases a startled, sharp bark.

Dillon raises a maniacal eyebrow, the gun resting loose in his hand. “Didn’t get a turn yet? She was a virgin when she got here, did you know that? Doubt she is any longer. Maybe if you stick around long enough, you can have a go at her too.”

“You’re sick.” Saliva sticks in my throat.

“Consider it a parting gift for your new beau. This guy can tell him you cheated and left. He might as well enjoy a piece before the other guy beats his face in. Looks like he has a temper on him.”

“No, Dillon, that’s you.” As resignation replaces the fear, my fire reignites. The reflective coating on the leash bites into my skin.

“Hm.” He smirks, scratching his chin with the gun. “Maybe it is. I have become a little more… unstable… since you fucked up my entire life.”

I run my tongue over my dry lips. “How did I do that?”

“Everything was going fine. We were getting out of here. I just had to get you out of the state, and you’d stop fighting me about going back home. I don’t know about this Dillon,” he mocks in a high-pitched voice. “Of course, I didn’t know what you had put together before me, and when I showed up alone in California, they took everything.”

“Who took everything?”

“The agency!” he screams.

Ashe snarls and gnashes her teeth, lunging at Dillon. For a split second, I consider letting her attack him.

“Get that fucking thing under control before I put a bullet in its head.”

I jerk the leash, removing all slack.

“Why did the agency take everything?” I ask, steering us back to the conversation and away from the dog. Aiden shifts a step closer again and discreetly pulls the leash from my hand. When I make eye contact, he mouths the word, “Run.”

I shake my head. There are too many possibilities for how Dillon would react.

Thankfully, Dillon doesn’t seem to notice the interaction. He paces in front of us. Leaves and sticks snap beneath his feet.

I remember Dillon working with a temp agency. He was slim on the details, only said they promised low-income housing and a stipend to get us started.

“Because you weren’t with me. It was you they really wanted after all. I promised them a virgin artist, so you can imagine how unimpressed they were when all they got was me.” He thrusts his hands out to his sides before letting them fall limp. The gun dangles in a weak grasp.

Even though I still can’t remember what happened to us in the car, pieces are starting to come together. A temp agency seeking a virgin is, at the very least, a scam and, at worst, a front for trafficking. The bigger reason I threw myself from his car snaps into place. All the wrong turns and broken promises Dillon made. It wasn’t ever real. He dug himself a hole and just keeps digging himself deeper.

“Dillon, what did you do?” My voice is barely a whisper as my heart pounds in my throat.

He stops moving and cocks his head. His eyes are empty. Soulless. “When I told them I knew where you were, they promised to reinstate my advance, and return my things, if I came and got you.”

“No.” Anguish rips the word from my throat.

“First, I had to track you down, which wasn’t too hard with a social media post. The people here were eager to reconnect me with my troubled fiancée.”

Sickly heat coats my veins, making every inch of my skin burn.

He continues moving again, faster as his agitation rises. “That night at the bar I saw you get into that dude’s van with the logo on the side. I knew you wouldn’t come with me, so I went back home to get your mom. Promised her a ten-percent cut of the advance. You should have seen how fast she agreed. That woman would have sold you for her next fix if she thought she could get away with it. It’s impressive you made it to adulthood without becoming a street corner whore turning tricks for your parents’ addiction.”

I tremble so hard my teeth chatter. Jude’s face swirls in my mind. The thought of never seeing one of the smiles he reserves for me again sends a wave of tears to my lash line.

“When that didn’t work, I dropped your mom off at a bus stop and stole the hundred bucks you gave her. I’ve been living in my car, biding my time, but I’m done. My money’s gone. Your time’s up, Frankie. I’m here to take what’s rightfully mine.”

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