Page 34 of Striker's Yield

So much can happen. Not just to the body but to the mind. She doesn’t deserve what’s happening right now and the fact they took her like they did.

God what must be going through Lila’s mind.

Bile burns in my throat at the different scenarios that flash in my head at what she’s going through right now.

Without thinking, I text the person back.

Me: I’ll do it. What do you need me to do?

Not even a moment later, my phone chimes again.

Unknown: Go out the back door. There will be a car parked not too far away. The driver will open the truck. You climb in.

I suck in a breath, glance around the room, and send another text.

Me: Fine, but you promise to let her go?

Rather than a text, the phone rings showing the unknown number calling. Swiping my finger along the screen, I answer and lift it to my ear.

“You don’t tell anyone you’re leaving. Trade yourself, and you have a deal. No harm will come to her,” a husky male voice states.

“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” I ask.

“Guess you’ll just have to trust me,” he says and hangs up.

Swallowing down my nerves, I do my best not to throw up and take a deep breath. I’m sure I should leave behind a note or something, but there’s no time to waste. I know what it’s like to lose a sibling, I won’t see Striker go through what I have. Nor Lila, for that matter. They need each other. I see it whenever they’re in the same room. If they lost each other, either one of them would be in the same position as I was when I lost Avery. I can’t let that happen to them.

Setting the phone down, I take the time to scribble ‘I’m sorry.’ on a sheet of paper. Leaving it with my phone, I make my way to the back door. I can hear the others in the front, laughing and joking while cleaning up. Good. Them being distracted means they won’t notice I’m gone right away.

At the back door, I look back for a split second and push open the door just enough to slip through. I blink against the glaring sun and glance both ways before heading in the direction I was told to go. I spot the car and walk quickly toward it. Once I’m close enough, the truck opens, and the passenger gets out. He doesn’t speak, he just stands there and lets me pass. I do as I’m told, and the man who’d stepped out of the car closes the lid on me.

This might have been a bad idea. Who knows. But it’s too late now. My hands are in the fate of whatever is about to happen next. Whatever that might be.

CHAPTER 17

Autumn

The ride to wherever these men were taking me seems to take forever. There’s nothing else I can do but hold out and brace for each bump they go over, which they didn’t try to deter from the potholes. Considering I couldn’t see, I didn’t know which way was north or south, so tracking the turns didn’t help me either.

By the time the car slams to a stop, I’ve all but been battered from rolling around. The trunk lid pops open, and I raise a hand to block out the sun to help prevent it from blinding me.

“Get out,” one of the two men, this one must have been the driver, commands.

I do as I’m told, and the passenger guy grabs hold of my arm. Neither man attempts to shield their faces from me nor their displeasure in having to run the errand of picking me up for their boss, whoever he may be.

With both men on either side of me, they escort me into a building, a warehouse of some sort. It looks similar to the peanut factor in town, but this one is older. There are fields on either side and a train track behind it. Honestly, it looks like it’s straight out of a horror movie, where you just know a man with a chainsaw is coming after you, yet you still run headlong into the building in hopes of hiding from him.

Unfortunately for me, I’m not going in to hide. It’s me going in to save Lila. Or I hope I’ll be saving her.

I’m taken farther inside until I’m brought into a wide area that has boxes scattered around. At the farthest side, I see Lila, her head is cocked, lude to the side, eyes closed.

“Lila,” I whisper.

“I see you were good to your word.”

I twist around, recognizing the voice, my eyes widening. “Tony?” I murmur and stare at him with wide eyes.

“That would be me.” He grins and nods to the two men on either side of me. “Go ahead and take Lila out of here,” he commands. “Drop her off at school.” Tony’s gaze comes to me, and he takes a step forward. “I told you I’d keep my word.”

---