Page 110 of Pretty Monsters

I try to slow down and get around the car ahead of me by moving behind the car on my left, but another car speeds up, tailgating me. I'm starting to get nervous for entirely different reasons. I'm trapped with cars all around me, except for a sidewalk filled with pedestrians.

A couple of more cars slide behind Lucien, and I can barely follow them anymore. Less than a mile down the road Lucien turns off on the freeway ramp to go to the hospital, and I make a mistake.

I flip on the turn signal, hoping the car behind me backs off, but before I can make it to the turn the car to my left turns into me with enough force to make the truck spin.

Surprisingly, I manage to stay calm and regain control of the truck, but before I can maneuver to face the right direction, the car behind me strikes the rear corner of the truck.

Another vehicle, one I hadn't paid attention to in front of me stops preventing me from getting away. The driver's side door of the car in front of me opens, and a mountain of a man climbs out.

My door is wrenched open, and I'm dragged from the truck. "Hello, Raven. We've been looking for you."

34

Betrayal

Sin

A senseof foreboding overcomes me. There's a hole in my chest, and I can't place where it's coming from.

"Let's get this over with. I've got a bad feeling, and I want to get back to Raven."

"How did she even get all the way here? She doesn't have a car or money. Hell, she couldn't even call for a ride because she didn't take her phone," Ted wonders aloud.

He's right. We didn't see her take one on the cameras, but then again, there weren't any cameras in the bathroom. She could have taken either Amber or Jen's from them.

My phone dings with an incoming text from Lucien.

We're at the hospital. We found Amber and Jen unconscious in the bathroom. Jen has a head injury, they're rushing her into get an x-ray now, and Amber has already regained consciousness.

I try to convince myself this is where the sense of doom is coming from, but the ache in my chest isn't dissipating.

What about Raven?

Waiting for his reply is torture.

She's following behind in Ford's truck. We wouldn't all fit. I'm about to call her, because she fell a few cars behind. I'm sure she'll be here any minute now.

I wasn't. Something was off, and I didn't have any way to get to her. Not willing to wait for him to report back I try to call her myself, but the phone goes straight to voicemail.

"Ted, something's wrong. I don't think we should go in."

"We're already here. Just open the door and let's get this over with."

The crunch of gravel sounds under footsteps. "I see you have the same poor instincts your father had. Looks like you'll meet the same fate."

A gun shot rings out, and I watch in horrifying slow motion as Ted clutches his abdomen. Blood trickles from his mouth, and he slumps to the ground.

I look into the smiling face of Damien Blackthorne. "I'm disappointed in you, Sin," he says motioning with the gun for me to move to a car parked along the side of the building.

One of his men, another nameless slave like I was before this morning, pops open the trunk. Inside Jess lies bleeding. Her eyes are frozen open in horror, and I don't have to check for a pulse to see that she's dead.

"You can either climb into the back seat with me and have a chat, or join the girl in the trunk. I suggest the former. I've still got a use for you, but there are always multiple avenues to arrive at the same place."

I don't have time to pull a gun, not with two trained on me already. Deciding it's better to play along and find a chance for escape later, I climb in the back.

"Good decision," Damien says as he slides in next to me.

"Take us to the meeting spot," he orders his muscle.

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