Page 6 of Oh, Hell No

One thousand dollars and fifty-two cents’ worth of supplies, which had taken me two hours to pick out, were now loaded into the back of my VW Bug. I made my way to the cart return, feeling accomplished.

Sam’s Club’s pizza pretzels had been on my mind since I’d told Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome about them. I had a good mind to go shopping with some more of my birthday money at Sam’s Club. I could get bulk supplies of Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, and tissues, which I’d always run out of last year. They also had a great collection of children’s books. I had sixteen kids in my classroom, and it would be a nice back-to-school treat to have a book waiting on each of their desks as a gift. All the while, I could have a pizza pretzel for lunch.

When I reached the driver’s door, I was lost in thought about what all I could use for my classroom when I felt somethingmove in close behind me. Startled, I tried to spin around, but an arm wrapped around my waist like a band of steel, and a hand shoved a cloth into my face, holding it there so I was forced to inhale through the fabric. I tried to scream and break free, but there was no use. Whoever had me was too strong.

“Easy.”

The familiar voice caused me to freeze. He turned me around and shoved me into the back of a black SUV, hiding my struggle from the parking lot. Shock snatched away my fear, but only briefly.

Oz. The godlike man I had helped inside.

I blinked, staring straight ahead, trying to understand what was happening. Beautiful men did not need to abduct women to get their attention. Asking them out would be successful. Well, except for me—at least, I liked to think so. Regardless, I doubted this was an abduction of attraction. This was something else.

Oh God. He was a serial killer. That was it. A psychopath. I had entertained a psycho, and he was going to take me and cut me into tiny pieces.

The darkness started to ease over me as my nostrils burned. I couldn’t fight it. What was happening…

I was lying on something cold and hard. My eyes felt heavy as I tried to open them. Shifting my body, I felt several aches, and the rough touch of concrete rubbed over the back of my legs. Fighting hard, I pried open my eyes, and the sharp pain in my head caused me to wince.

Was I hungover? I hadn’t felt like this since my sophomore year of college. I rarely drank alcohol.

The exposed wooden beams over my head were all I could make out in the darkness. This was not my apartment. It wasn’tPerry’s either. I opened my mouth to call for him, confused as to where I was, hoping my brother was with me, but it was a hoarse whisper. My mouth was so dry that I couldn’t swallow. Wheezing, I sat up, struggling to breathe deep.

My eyes closed again tightly to fight off the pain. I inhaled deeply through my nose, then scrunched it up from the scent. It smelled like mildew and earth. Something soured as well.

I had to get out of here. Figure out where I was.

Placing my hands on the hard concrete slab, I tried to push up and failed at my first attempt. My legs felt weak and shaky.

Panic began to seep in, and I scrambled to remember what I had done. Had I gone somewhere with Alec? Another frat party? Had I been drugged? No…no. I wasn’t in college. There was no more Alec in my life. I was a…I was a teacher. I taught second grade.

I opened my eyes slowly again. The throb was still beating on my skull like a drum. Squinting, I surveyed my surroundings.

Concrete floor I had already established. Walls were also concrete. The ceiling was wood. There were no windows. There were no lights. I saw nothing close to me. No furniture or other life-form.

Why wasn’t there saliva in my mouth? I had never wanted water this bad in my life. I had seen something about this. Dry mouth, headache, confusion. I should know what this was. I felt like it was right on the tip of my tongue, which was currently stuck to my teeth.

Footsteps echoed from somewhere in the darkness, and fear had me scrambling backward on my butt, using my legs to push me. If I trusted that I could stand without falling flat on my face, I’d get up and run. I wasn’t alone, but this felt bad. Something very wrong was going on.

A light appeared, glowing around a figure as it drew closer. I held my breath, waiting.

Please be Perry. Please, please, please.

I would even take Alec right now. Just someone who wasn’t going to kill me.

The sound of a key clanging against metal startled me.

When the lantern light was feet away, I could see a man. A tall man with slate-gray eyes, black hair, the face of a god.

I sucked in a breath, staring up at him. The man from Hobby Lobby. The one who had needed directions to the paint supplies. The voice I had heard in my ear before…

“What did you do to me?” I asked frantically. My own voice sounded unfamiliar. Hoarse and weak.

He tilted his head to the side, as if to study me, before pulling out a metal chair that I hadn’t been able to see in the shadows. When he sat down, he placed a brown paper bag he had been carrying in his other hand on the floor beside him. Still, he said nothing.

Serial killer. He’d put something over my mouth and nose that made me pass out. What was that called? I’d seen it before in movies. Chloroform or something like that.

He’d taken me from the parking lot to do what? Kill me in his basement?

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