Page 55 of Sacrifice

Sebastian gulped down half his glass before letting out a low whistle. “Damn. That’s nice stuff.”

“Yes, it’s delicious.” I grinned at him. “I’m surprised you could taste it, though, considering how fast you drank that mouthful.”

He chuckled and slowly sipped at the remaining champagne. “Better?” he asked, sliding one arm around me.

I smiled and stood on my tiptoes, tilting my chin upward to kiss him. His lips hungrily pressed against mine, the tip of his tongue probing my lips, demanding entrance. At the same time, his free hand moved from my arm to the back of my neck, fingertips leaving a blaze of heat on my skin.

An excited shiver rippled through me, and I parted my lips to allow his tongue to slip inside and tangle with mine. It didn’t, though, and I quickly noticed that his hand had gone limp and fallen from my neck.

“Sebastian?” I murmured, pulling away. “Are you okay?”

His head dipped slightly, eyelids fluttering. “Yeah…” he mumbled. “All good.”

Even though he said he was fine, his voice was sluggish, and his body was slumping forward slightly, as if the weight of everything had finally become too much. I knew he couldn’t possibly be drunk, because it had barely been two minutes sincehe downed his champagne, and it wasn’t enough alcohol to cause inebriation anyway.

“Are you still tired?” I asked. As I spoke, I noticed my own eyelids were growing slightly heavier too.

“I… I don’t know. Maybe I—” Sebastian stopped abruptly, and the glass suddenly slipped from his other hand, shattering on the floor.

Panic surged through me. I tried to grab his arm to keep him steady, but my own limbs suddenly felt as if they were made from lead. My vision was going blurry too, and a sudden wave of dizziness washed over me, making me wobble.

“Sebastian,” I whispered. “Something’s wrong.”

He didn’t respond. He simply collapsed onto the bed, body limp and eyes closed. The room started to spin around me, and I tipped forward too, awkwardly landing on the end of the bed.

The door creaked open on the other side of the room. I blinked, unable to move or make a sound as I watched a dark figure approach the bed. Another figure followed a moment later.

“He’s still alive,” the first one muttered, leaning down to check Sebastian’s pulse. “Totally out, though.”

The second figure roughly rolled me onto my side and pressed a finger to my neck. His dark, unfamiliar gaze focused on my face, taking in my slowly blinking eyes. “She’s almost out too. Any second now.”

I tried to scream, but my voice still wouldn’t come. The edges of my vision were blurring even more now, narrowing until the rest of the world felt distant, like I was slipping into a deep, bottomless void.

The men’s voices became muffled, their words blending into a low hum, and the grip on my arm tightened. It didn’t hurt. In fact, I no longer felt anything at all. It was as if I was no longerpresent in the moment, my body drifting further away from my control.

I struggled to hold on, but my eyelids were becoming impossibly heavy. The last thing I registered was the faint scuffing sound of footsteps. Then everything fell away, and I was finally swallowed by the darkness.

18

Rose

I woketo a dull ache in my head, and my eyelids felt heavy as I tried to blink the sleep away. The cool leather beneath me was unfamiliar, the soft hum of a car engine vibrating through the seat. I groaned and tried to move, but my wrists were bound tightly behind my back, rope digging into my skin with a sharp bite.

Panic flooded my veins as I glanced around. The light from the dashboard barely illuminated the interior, but I could make out Sebastian slumped beside me in the back seat, completely unconscious. His head was lolled to one side, and his breaths were shallow but steady.

I shifted and squirmed, heart pounding painfully fast, but my restraints held firm. I looked to the front again, and this time, I saw Adam Thorne in the front seat, his silhouette framed by the faint glow of passing streetlights. He was driving in silence, his posture unnervingly calm.

My mind raced, trying to piece together how he’d caught us.The room. The champagne. The men.That had to be it. Somehow, he’d traced us, drugged us, and sent people to spirit us out of the hotel.

But how?

I swallowed the panic rising in my throat. I had to stay calm. Had to find a way out of this situation. Sebastian had swallowed a lot more of the laced champagne than me, so I doubted he was going to wake up anytime soon. That left it up to me.

I shifted yet again, straining against the ropes binding my wrists. Adam’s cold gaze flickered to the rearview mirror, catching my movement.

“Don’t bother,” he said, voice cold and detached. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“How… how did you find us?” I croaked, blinking rapidly to stop the exhausted haze from descending upon me again.

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