Page 3 of The Harbinger

Was this normal?

I bit back a fearful sob as he pulled me faster than my weakened legs could muster, my bare toes scraping against the rough cement with each step until we stopped at the table and my knees buckled.

The commanding man glanced down at me. His piercing black gaze struck me in the chest like a spear made of ice. He shook out his sleeves and adjusted the metal pieces attached to his suit at the wrist.

I pulled myself up, my legs shaking with nerves and lack of nutrition, when the man behind the table pushed a small clear plastic baggie filled with that wicked white substance my way.

The urge to partake squeezed me like a snake wrapped around my chest, pulling the life from my body.

“Otvedat. Try it.”

I glanced at him and then at the cocaine, the pull too great to resist.

Grabbing the baggy, I dumped the powdery substance onto the flat plate sitting on the table, then formed a perfect, even sugary line with the razor blade provided. I glanced up and spotted the man on the other side of the table, his fingers braced on the edges with the wordloyaltytattooed across the back of his hand. Another man with silver streaks in his hair stared at me with a darkness that rivaled the lackey behind me.

My gaze landed back on the man beside me, his curious stare boiling my insides.

He nodded, and my heart momentarily slipped to an irregular rhythm.

I bent over the table with my symmetrical line and picked up the cut straw. With one pinched nostril, I inhaled the entire line in one smooth go.

The sweet, floral cocaine melted into my nostrils, flagging its purity, then dripped down my throat. My mouth, throat, and sinuses numbed as I sniffled and wiped my nose with the back of my hand.

It was better than my first hit since myawakening. Silent music notes flowed through my veins as my heart picked up the tempo. I dipped my head back and stared at the glowing white rafters with a pink hue, their decay more beautiful than they should have been.

A trilling high note broke through the cloud, shattering my newfound tranquility.

“Sorry,” the man on the other side of the table said.

I groaned and stumbled back a step. The stocky man’s gaze beside me burned as if he wanted to punch a hole in my chest to see what was inside. Shivers bubbled up against my flesh.

“It’s good.”

Was that what he wanted to hear?

He snapped his fingers, his stoic expression like stone. The man who dragged me from the car grabbed my shoulders, then hauled me back to the vehicle, my senses alight as he threw me into the car and slammed the door.

The man in the driver’s seat twisted around to look me up and down, my hands roaming my body clad in short shorts and a thin tank-top. “You spoke, didn’t you?”

“It was an accident,” I breathed. “But how was I supposed to tell him it was worth it?”

The side door opened, and the other man slid inside with a furious scowl pinching his lips.

“Ivan,” the driver warned as if he could sense the anger emanating from the man beside me like a potent cologne.

Ivan grabbed the back of my neck and shoved my face into the seat in front of me.

My cheek smashed against the pristine leather, the lack of pain astounding. I laughed as words spewed from his lips, spittle flying from between his teeth.

It wasn’t the first time I’d felt nothing since I’d escaped my hell, but this was the numbest I’d ever been. Not even Jenny’s coke had this effect on me.

My body floated in the weightlessness as his lips moved with words I couldn’t understand, and I smiled. Happiness washed over me as if this was okay. This was where I should be. My head swam, but still, the happiness grew as the vehicle drove out of the warehouse, following the others.

Who was that man? Why was he buying drugs in a shady warehouse when he could’ve paid someone for it?

Now that I’d done what they asked me, I could meet back up with Jenny and apologize for ditching her. Not that it was my fault. He’d shoved me in the vehicle and drove off like I was a prized possession.

I frowned at the thought.

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