Page 121 of Dozer

Blade came up behind us. “There are empty cans and wrappers in the other room. He had to have been waiting for her for a while.”

“I fucking taunted him, and now, he has her. Did you try her phone?” I asked.

Blade shook his head. “She left it in the car. Gabi is making calls. We could go to the cops. Gabi and Vance want to trust in their guy. I think she said his name is Alex. She promises he can find Anatomy.”

But would we find her in time. I dropped to my knees. Fuck, he could have already hurt her.

“Why didn’t the alarm go off?” Romeo asked. “Dozer set if off with a sneeze. How did this guy get past it?”

“Power supply is damaged,” Vance said. “He must have disabled it when he broke in the first time. No one noticed because none of us have been here.”

A few minutes later, Sully and Jazzy arrived. Jazzy rushed across the room and launched herself into my arms.

“She’s going to be okay,” she promised. “Pippa is a fighter.”

Breath swooshed from my lungs. No, my Pippa was kind, funny, and sweetly innocent. She wasn’t hardened. She didn’t fight. Whereas violence bled through my veins. The only thing keeping me together was knowing I’d fucking watch the life drain from Anatomy after I’d broken every fucking bone in his body.

Pippa

The sedan bounced down a rutted, dirt road. Overgrown trees created a canopy of green over them. I wasn’t sure how far off the old highway we’d driven, but I’d guess at least a mile maybe two. And that would only get me back to a paved road, not that there would be much help in the way of traffic.

This was hell, in the middle of nowhere. Quinn droned on about his grandpa’s hunting cabin. A place where we could rekindle our romance.

“We don’t have a romance,” I spat. “You have a knife, Quinn.”

“I love you, Pippa. That’s what I’m trying to show you.” One hand gripped the steering wheel, the other the knife. “I haven’t been with anyone since you, and you’re out whoring around with a biker gang.”

I shook my head. Inside, I trembled with fear, but I clung to the thin thread of hope that I could get through to him. “This isn’t how you show me you love me.”

“You left me no choice. You shut me out. Then I realized something must have happened to make you change. All I need is time alone with you.”

He set the knife on his lap and reached out to touch my cheek, but I batted his hand away. The brutal shove to my head took me by surprise. My forehead slammed into the passenger window. I groaned, clutching my head, testing to see if I’d broken the skin.

“No one knows about this place.” He glared at me. “No one will hear your screams so don’t annoy me with theatrics. No one is going to find you out here, and I’ve taken a leave of absence with the university. Your biker friends won’t find me either. Once you get away from the highway, there’s no cell coverage and no neighbors.”

He was right. How would anyone ever find me? I had no misconception of why he’d brought me here, and what he planned to do with me. But seeing how isolated I’d be, I had to consider that I wouldn’t be leaving here either.

The car rolled up to a single-room, log cabin. From the condition of the building and the wild tangle of bushes, trees, and tall grasses, no one had used the property in years.

Dust billowed around the tires as we slid to a stop. “You’re here, Pippa. Get used to it.” Quinn exited the vehicle. As soon as he lifted the handle on the passenger door, I shoved hard, knocking him off balance.

Run.My mind screamed at me.Run!

I jolted from the car and took off in a sprint.

“Fucking, bitch,” he cursed.

Going through the woods might have given me coverage to hide, but I made the split-second decision to run for the road.

Adrenaline surged through me. I fucking ran. My eyes burned. My pulse raced. Footfalls sounded behind me. Closer.

Run.Getting closer.No.

Run. Just run.I didn’t look back, didn’t want to know if he would catch me.Run.

“Oomph.” My body crashed to the ground. I slid to a stop, embedding gravel into my forearms. My face slammed into the hard ground.

Quinn’s heavy weight landed on my back. “I can stop you from running.” He sliced the knife along my thigh, cutting through my pants and into my flesh. I screamed from the searing pain.

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