Page 83 of Unhinged

We all exchange glances before reluctantly getting into the car with him. He’s powerful. And not in the way that Ileana was powerful. Gaston could have any of us disappear without a trace, and no one could link it back to him.

Blake tries to sit opposite Gaston, but he grabs her wrist and forces her next to him. He firmly grips her thigh. “Don’t worry, beautiful. I had no intention of really letting you go. You’re too damn addictive.”

“And you’re a cocky asshole,” she retorts.

He isn’t angry; he merely ignores her. “A cocky asshole who owns you.”

Alice sits by my side, her brow furrowed as she watches her friend with the man who bought her. And silence falls over the back of the limo, cloaked in tension. Gaston’s grip tightens on Blake’s thigh. She swallows down her fear, her gaze never leaving his. “I don’t belong to anyone,” she insists.

He chuckles, his pale blue eyes gleaming under the dim light. “We shall see, beautiful.”

Alice and I share a glance. This isn’t over. Our rescue mission remains incomplete as long as Gaston possesses this unsettling power over Blake.

I wrap an arm around Alice, hoping to offer comfort. I can feel her worry mirroring my own. The rest of the ride is silent, each of us lost in our thoughts. Only time will tell whether Blake can break free of this powerful man’s shackles, but something tells me it’s her fight. And none of us can fight it for her.

35

EPILOGUE

ALICE

One year later…

Under a sky streaked with hues of a setting sun and serenaded by the soothing whispers of the ocean, I watch Blake as she moves down the aisle marked out on the sand. This place is beautiful and must have cost a fortune, not that cost matters to her husband.

She looks like a golden-haired angel, eyes fixated on Gaston’s. He’s watching her like a hungry wolf. I move my attention to the man opposite standing as best man. Taren. His eyes aren’t fixed on the bride like everyone else’s. They’re fixed on me.

I tear my eyes from him, focusing on my best friend’s wedding. Luna and Kali stand on either side of me. We’re all Blake’s bridesmaids, and she said she couldn’t pick a maid of honor, so we all have to fulfill the role.

Luna subtly wipes a tear from her cheek as she watches. Kali smiles as she watches Blake get closer. We’ve had one crazy whirlwind of a year after surviving being kidnapped by the cartel.

Gaston, as he promised, followed Blake back to Brown and spent months stalking her like some psycho. And to all of our surprise, it worked. Blake fell for him of her own accord, and now they’re getting married.

Since I graduated, Taren and I are living together in Boston. Kali and Luna got their own apartment in Boston, which Matias and Thiago have moved into. I’ll never understand how Kali has fallen for Matias. All three of us can’t understand it, as he’s a true psychopath, and Kali is so sweet and innocent. It makes no logical sense. But she loves him.

It’s amusing, or perhaps ironic, how our chaotic experience in Mexico plunged us into relationships with the men implicated in our capture. But then again, maybe we’re all beautifully messed up in our own ways.

As Blake stands in front of Gaston, he takes her hands. A bloom of pink taints her cheeks just from how he looks at her. The officiant starts the ceremony and everyone is silent. Only the soft murmur of the ocean waves and the officiant’s voice pierces the air.

After meeting and getting to know Gaston, I must admit they’re meant for each other. They’re both so similar in so many ways. I think it’s why they clashed at the start, although Gaston just somehow knew they were meant for each other.

They begin to recite their vows. Gaston’s voice undulates over the soft murmur of the ocean waves. He’s oddly poetic for a man that comes off cold and calculated.

And then Blake says her vows. Her voice is soft and yet firm.

The sun begins its descent, setting just behind them, casting a warm, golden hue over the scene. The picturesque setting is like a beautifully painted canvas, with the ocean as its backdrop and two unlikely lovers pledging their eternal love as the centerpiece.

As the last word of Blake’s vow fades away, a momentary silence descends over the crowd. Then, as if on cue, Gaston leans into Blake, their lips meeting in a soft, lingering kiss that seals their vows.

A cheer erupts from the crowd, a symphony of joyous whoops and applause that blends with the lapping waves. And as the sun dips below the horizon, Gaston and Blake, hand in hand, turn to face their guests.

Then they walk back down the altar toward the huge gazebo set on the beach where the reception will be held.

Taren joins me, his hands slipping into mine as he maneuvers through the crowd. “I didn’t like being apart from you,” he breathes into my ear.

I shake my head. “Don’t be silly. It wasn’t for long.”

He squeezes my hand. “Anytime apart is too long.”

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