Page 10 of Unbroken

One little touch was all it took to reassure me that everything was going to be okay.

FIVE

Blakely

I’d never gotten physicallysick from nerves, but there was a first time for everything.

I’d parked across the street from the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Hazel. It was directly between our two apartments and was a place I remembered Luke had mentioned he’d liked. So, when it came up in my search, I thought it would be great.

It looked really nice from the outside, and the menu online looked interesting, but I didnotwant to go in.

I was also annoyingly early. Hazel likely wouldn’t be there for another thirty minutes, so all I had to do to fill the time was contemplate how horribly wrong it could go.

I’d been imagining all the worst-case scenarios since I’d received her text the day before:

Hazel: Hi, Blakely! I think we should talk. Want tomeet for lunch?

Unable to sit in my car a second longer, I grabbed my bag and pushed open the door. One glance at the sky and the dark clouds gathering, and my plan to take a walk to clear my head was quickly nixed. Instead, I scanned the rows of shops around the restaurant and spotted a quaint boutique next door.

I looked left, then right, and jogged across the street. I nearly missed a deep puddle of water gathered by the curb, hurtling over it at the last second, because I was too busy scanning the boutique windows and eyeing a long black dress I would probably never wear. But I imagined where I might wear it anyway. Maybe to a black-tie wedding or a charity event. Neither of which I would likely ever attend, but it was fun to?—

My distraction worked so well that I didn’t notice the person who had approached me from behind until his large hand was covering my mouth, and his even bigger arm had wrapped around my stomach.

On instinct and adrenaline alone, I began fighting. Flailing my arms and kicking my legs, I didn’t make any sort of progress. He picked me up and carried me quickly into an alleyway between the boutique and the restaurant. My pulse was hammering, and I was trying not to let panic take over. But it became impossible not to panic when he threw me down on the ground in a spot hidden behind a fence and a dumpster, and my head collided with the brick exterior of the building.

I didn’t give myself a chance to comprehend the pain that radiated from my head down my neck. Planting my hands on the ground, I turned, preparing to scream, only to be met with the barrel of a gun.

The hammer clicked, and I stopped. The man holding it was large, well over six feet tall, and wide to match. He had plain brown hair and an unkempt scruff high on his cheekbones and down his neck. The only distinguishable aspect of his appearance was a long-healed scar running from his temple through his eyebrow.

I tried to lock the information away in case I, by some chance, escaped and needed to give a description. That’s what you were supposed to do, right?Fuck. I hoped the last time a gun was pointed at me was the first and last time.

“What do you—” My words faltered. To my right, from the end of the alleyway that opened to the back of each store, there was the sound of steady, confident steps. Hope bloomed in my chest that someone had stumbled upon us. But that hope lasted all of a second before I saw her face.

The world came crashing down around me. The ringing in my ears made it impossible for me to hear what Valerie said to the man, but he lowered the gun to his side.

She smiled at him, nodded, and then turned to me. Still slumped on the ground, I looked up at her. Black hair in immaculate waves and makeup applied to perfection, she looked the same. Including the cruel, evil glint in her dark eyes that made me shudder.

The ringing finally stopped, and I heard the final click of her heeled boots before she stooped. “It’s so good to see you, Blakely,” she crooned. A devious smile split her face. “Stand up.”

She stood, and I did, too, only much slower and on precariously unsteady legs. Even with heels, she was still a few inches shorter than me, but I didn’t doubt that was planned. She’d always hated that I was taller.

“We don’t have a lot of time, so I’m not going to mince my words here,” she began, taking a step back so we weren’t breathing the same air.

As subtle as I could, I glanced to the left and to my right. We were in the center of the alley, both directions about equal distance. But if I were to run, I knew running toward the front would be the better option. There were likely to be more people there than in the street that ran behind the stores.

I just had to wait for the right opportunity.

Looking back at Valerie, my attention snagged on the manonce again. His eyes had never left me, and he slowly shook his head.

My hands trembled, and my legs willed me to move.

“Fuckinglisten, Blakely,” Valerie snapped. She was back in my face before I had a chance to take a breath. “I’m not surprised you failed at breaking the two of them up, but now you have a chance to redeem yourself. The hostess knows where to sit you—at this little table in the back. She thinks I’m surprising my two best friends and was more than eager to arrange the entire thing.”

Her Cheshire Cat smile was back. “And the part you play is very simple. I need you to go in there, sit down at the table, and wait. But if you try to talk to anyone, if you even think about running or causing a scene trying to be a savior, not only will Shelly die, but I will kill you, too. But before I do, I will run through every one ofyourfucking friends until there is no one left and you’ve watched everyone you care about die.”

Fear like I’d never felt, consumed me. It was cool outside, yet sweat dampened my forehead, and my eyes were burning with hot, angry tears. My mind raced for a solution, for some way out, but panic and fear clouded my judgment. Making a plan required a clear mind and the ability to consider all consequences and options, none of which I was capable of.

It was all too perfect, too convenient. She must have known that Hazel had texted me, but how…

---