Page 115 of Pure Vengeance

CHAPTER FOUR

Apocalypse

Hannah

Hannah heaved in a breath, her eyes flickering open only to close again. Her lids were heavy, unusually so, although she couldn’t remember why. She hadn’t had that much to drink last night, had she?

No.The thought was emphatic in the haze of her blurred senses.I only had one glass of wine, remember?

The thought echoed in her head, forcing her to recall the events of the night before. She’d gone to the restaurant to meet Saul, and the bastard hadn’t shown. She’d been on the phone to Shannon, hadn’t she, ordering an Uber to take her home? She could recollect those moments, the glumness that had resounded in her chest at Saul’s rejection and how she’d resisted Shannon’s offer to come and take her home. She’d been crestfallen, sure, but not drunk. So why was her head so unwilling to cooperate?

“There she is.” A male voice floated from somewhere overhead, interrupting her confusion. “My Sleeping Beauty.”

She froze.

His Sleeping Beauty?

His?

Hannah wasn’t anyone’s. That’s what her alleged date with Saul had been about—taking her first tentative steps out into the world of men since her awful abduction—but she was light years away from being ready for a commitment.

“Who are you?” She forced the words out, but her voice sounded distorted and strange.

Inwardly, she compelled her eyes to open, but this time, they refused to obey. She longed to go back to sleep, to forget whatever foggy drama was transpiring and just rest, but the dread furling in the pit of her belly warned her not to.

Something was wrong.

Instinctively, she knew it.

She’d lived it before.

“Who amI?” His tone was wry. “That’s rather insulting, Miss Bowman.”

Tension stiffened her muscles at the way he knew her name.

‘Miss Bowman.’

She knew that voice, didn’t she? Anxiety strained at her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

“Given everything we’ve been through together, I would have expected you to know me.”

As though he’d ordered them to open, her eyes fluttered at his retort, though as she blinked around the gloomy room, she was struggling to focus. Unhindered by her pupils, panic exploded in her mind, sending adrenaline flooding her system.

He said we’d been through something. What does that mean?

Terror knotted in her tummy as she realized who could be looming over her, but still, she rebuffed it.

It couldn’t be. It wasn’t him.

This isn’t happening.

“It’s okay.” His voice was softer that time. “You’re okay. It’s only the sedative wearing off. Be a good girl, and look at me.”

Nausea simmered in her stomach as she turned her head and acknowledged him. Whoever he was, he seemed huge, towering over her, but she couldn’t persuade her head to lift and take in his features.

“My face, little girl.” He chuckled, as if her confusion was amusing.

Hang on.Her mind was battling to keep up.Did he say sedative? Why was I sedated?

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