Page 103 of Mine

My gaze frantically darts for Astor, but I know he’s still in his office, at the opposite end of the house.

Adrenaline surges through my veins.

I thrust my elbow backward, connecting with Prishna’s stomach. She grunts, relaxing her hold just enough for me to lunge forward.

“Astor!” I scream but my throat is too constricted. His name comes out in nothing more than a desperate squeak.

Prishna tackles me from behind, knocking the air out of my lungs.

We tumble to the floor, me at a disadvantage because I fall facedown. I try to twist, try to fight, but she grabs a fistful of my hair and slams my face into the hardwood floor. Fireworks burst behind my eyes. A blinding pain ricochets through my head, followed by a dropping feeling in my stomach.

The prick of a needle barely registers before everything goes black.

Sixty-Three

Astor

“The tires are slashed.”

“What?” I look up as Cillian strides across the office.

“All four, slashed. Fresh, best I can tell.”

“On the Tahoe?”

“Yes—and your car is gone too.”

My stomach drops.

“Where’s Sabine?” I croak.

“I don’t know.”

I lunge out from behind the desk and sprint down the hall, yelling her name. With each vacant response, my pulse beats faster.

Is Carlos here? How did he get past the security cameras?

I burst into her bedroom.

A half-packed bag lies on the bed, a glass of water on the nightstand.

There’s an energy in the room that sends a chill up my back. Something bad lingers here. Something evil.

Screaming her name like a madman, I check the bathroom, the closet, even under the bed like a fool.

“Check every room in the house.”

“On it.” Cillian spins on his heel and jogs down the hall.

My heart roaring, I pick up the black sweatshirt lying on the bed—my sweatshirt—as a million thoughts run through my head. But there is only one that matters.

I need to find her. Period.

Taking the shirt with me—no clue why, other than it feels like a piece of her with me—I jog out of the room and meet Cillian in the foyer.

“She’s not here.”

“Outside? The dock?”

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