Page 78 of Dangerous Devotion

I struggled to my feet, ready to follow her, and played on the chaos she created.

I jumped out, and my field of vision narrowed to Birdie’s backside. I stumbled but caught myself and sprinted after her.

The gate was slowly but surely closing.

Too far—shit. I got cracking and picked up speed. I would make it through that gate if it was the last thing I did.

The gap was getting smaller and smaller.

Birdie did an impressive sliding motion and slipped right through.

Almost there.

I dove headfirst but sensed someone grabbing me and dodged to the side.

For a split second, I thought I could make it.

Until I was pulled back by rough hands clamping around my arms and my torso.

I flung back, suspended in midair.

I kicked, screamed, and tried to get some kind of leverage.

In vain.

I watched the gate close with a final thud. And all the fight drained from my body.

This was my one chance to escape—gone.

Whoever had caught me, put me back on my feet. “Move,” a gruff voice commanded, shoving me back toward the van.

I stumbled, slightly dizzy. I suddenly became aware of my breath, sawing in and out.

I caught a glimpse of Isa, Mira, and Milli being carried in different directions, and my legs went weak. What would they do with us?

Then a hood was placed over my head, and I was doused in darkness.

I flinched—not that it helped, and my stomach was suddenly rock hard while my knees barely kept me upright.

My heartbeat thrashed in my ears. Without the ability to see what was going on around me, the situation suddenly became ten times scarier. I whimpered, barely holding myself together. Oh my God. Was this it? What would happen now? I could feel the panic rising in my body like hot lava rising up a volcano, ready to erupt and bury me. I took a deep breath and focused on the scent, which was a mixture of antiseptics and something I couldn’t quite place. Were we at a hospital?

Someone urged me to walk, and hands gripped my arms, tight like shackles.

The floor was cold beneath my feet as I was marched forward, my captor’s grip tight on my arms.

I tried to focus, to memorize the route we were taking. Two rights, then a left. The echo of our footsteps suggested we were in some kind of corridor or tunnel. The air grew cooler, damper.

Not a hospital then.

I was suddenly lifted into the air, carried somewhere—up the stairs?

My mind raced. Who were these people? What did they want with us? Did Vince already know we’d been taken? Would he come for us? Would he even find us?

At least Birdie got out…if there wasn’t security outside.Please let her make it.

Suddenly, we stopped. I heard the beep of a keypad, then the hiss of a door sliding open. The hands on my arms propelled me forward once more.

“Sit,” the voice ordered as I was pushed down onto what felt like a metal chair. They cut the zip-ties, released my wrists, and the sudden increase in blood flow made my wrists throb. Instinctually, I rubbed the skin, somehow too exhausted to fight.

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