Page 40 of Reclaiming Adelaide

“She does.”

I raised a brow and winced, pressing my fingertips to the cut there, then peeled away the towel from my hand.

“And she’s okay with all of that?”

He sighed, his shoulders dropping slightly as he put the kit on the table.

“She is.” He tore open the new package of gauze and doused my hand in cool iodine.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

He shook his head. “It’s my first time.”

“Oh, look, Tonk has jokes. Hilarious, man.”

Tonk grunted, sounding similar to laughter, then patted my palm dry with clean gauze.

“Looks like you only need a stitch or two. Or I can put a liquid stitch on it.”

“Yeah, let’s go with the painless version.”

Tonk pinched the skin together while I skimmed over my phone, hoping answers would pop up at me.

“How good are your interrogation skills without hurting people?”

I knew nothing of the men who wanted to take her, and until she woke up, my searching would end in nothing but a wild goose chase.

Adelaide knew them. She knew their motives and what they wanted. I was sure of it. That’s why she ran. Wasn’t it? If she didn’t give me the information I needed, I’d feed her to the wolf until she did.

12

Aspitefulachepinchedmy belly, followed by a rumbling mimicking a groan from my lips. My head pounded with each heartbeat as though I’d kicked one too many back. I needed water.

I stretched, relishing the sweet burn in my muscles.

Flashes of Jake pinning me down to the ground, his friend injecting me with some sort of cocktail.

After that… nothing.

My heart vaulted in my chest, and I opened my eyes.

Open…

I exhaled, deflating my chest as my breath left my body.

“Open.”

Wake up.

I drew my hand down my face and gasped. “What’s going on?” I was awake, but the room was pitch-black.

Where was I?

Where had Jake taken me?

Was I buried alive?

I sniffed the air… Clean. No repugnant iron or mildew stench in the air.

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