Page 112 of Queen Of Dark Money

FireatRiver’sclub.I’mokay.AtKCHwithJasper.RiverMIA.

Ihad to hope they’d mend their little spat and find each other.IfIthought for a second that something could have happened to him,Iwould spiral.Andnow wasnotthe time for all that.

Iwatched several doctors and a bunch of nurses rush around, dealing with the influx of people who’d come from the club to get treated, but not a soul that walked past my window was him.Ihad all but given up hope, convinced he’d either died in the fire, saving someone else, or that he’d been just fine, escaping in time, and was now sitting at the club waiting on a call from us to tell him where to meet.

Ormaybe he lost his phone.

Ifelt like a truck had run me over when a new orderly came into the room, a mask over his face, wearing scrubs far too big for his frame.Heglanced down at my chart, then up at my face again, and nodded to nobody, muttering to himself wordsIcouldn’t quite make out.

Myhackles rose instantly.

“Haveyou seen my nurse?IthinkI’dlike to be discharged, please,”Iasked him, aiming for sweet and innocent.Iwas sitting here in a pair of men’s boxers and a tee shirt that was clearly not mine,Iwas tired, felt like shit, and really wanted to get the fuck out of here and findJasperandRiver.

WhatIdidn’t want was to deal with this creepy fucker who gave me all-around bad vibes and made me wanna run screaming for the hills.Somethingabout him felt off, andIdidn’t plan to stick around to find out what it was.

Heinched closer to my bed, a needle in his hand, andIwent into full panic mode, fight or flight kicking in just in time for him to stab me in the arm with the needle, press the depressor, and fill my veins with who knew what.Ifaded fast, the whole world slipping sideways asIgroaned, blackness closing in.Mylast thought was a plea for the universe to help the guys find me beforeIslipped into unconsciousness,Jasper’sname on my lips as a soft sigh.

Pain.

Thefirst thing that registered whenIstarted to wake was the sheer pain.Itfilled every muscle and joint in my body, radiating from my shoulders and wrists, traveling down every nerve ending with every breathItook.Iwinced asItried to flex my fingers, the numbness tingling down my arms like the worst case of pins and needlesI’dever experienced.Somehow, the fact thatI’dbeen hung like a slab of meat took a few more moments to register, and thenIfinally felt the cold steel cutting into my wrists, restricting my circulation, holding me in place.Itwitched my feet, my toes scraping the floor, andIrealized with a pang of horror thatIwasn’t alone when an evil, familiar laugh echoed across the warehouse.

“So, we come full circle,Kenzie-bear.Howironic, isn’t it, this world we live in?”

Ipried my eyes open against the pounding headache forming behind them and blinked away whatIfirst thought was water, but realized belatedly was blood. “Theo.Can’tget a date the old fashioned way, so you’ve resorted to kidnapping women who turn you down.Howunoriginal.”

Hislaughter grated on my nerves, but more than that, the sound instilled a fear in meIcouldn’t shake. “Oh,Kenzie-bear, you’re hilarious.Stilltrying to cope with shit situations by cracking dumb jokes.Somethings never change.”Hewaved at a dark corner, andItried and failed to focus on whatever he was trying to show me. “Smilefor the camera,Kenzie.Thosepieces of shit you let fuck you are going to be watching soon.”

Ileered in the direction he pointed, hating that they’d see me like this.Thefire,Irealized, had all been a ploy to get us apartand out in the open.Thisfucker didn’t care how many innocent people he killed, all that mattered to him was revenge for a perceived slight.

Boy,Ireally knew how to pick them.

“You’vegot a lot of nerve, stealing me from a fucking hospital, you creep.What’sa’matter?Mommydidn’t give you enough titty when you were little?”Ispat a glob of blood from my mouth onto the floor in front of him, wincing when the pain in my head ricocheted around my skull from the motion. “Fuck, did you drag me down a flight of stairs by my toes?I’vehad hangover headaches with less punch than this.”

Hisgrin was feral, unhinged, and it started to settle in thatIwas invery deep shit,butIcouldn’t help myself.

Iwould go to my grave cracking jokes at assholes like this.

“Yousee,Kenzie-bear, we’ve got another guest here with us who also wants to talk to you.FromwhatIhear, you and he are well-acquainted already.”

Iwatched in abject horror and a little bit of irritation as my fuckingfatherwalked out of the shadows, a smile on that stupid face of his like he’d won the fucking lottery. “Kerenza,” he spat, like my name left a bad taste in his mouth. “Youand your little publicity stunt cost me dearly.”Helooked me up and down, his gaze settling on my bare legs. “Noteven wearing shoes,Isee.Likethe classless street urchin your mother raised you to be, no surprise there.”

“Youleave my fucking mother out of this,”Isnarled, hating him with every fiber of my being. “She’sa saint compared to the likes of you,Sinclair.”

Ispun in a circle as the force of my anger dislodged the precarious hold on the ground my toes had.WhenIcame back around,Iwas ready for him and lobbed a bloody wad of spit right at his face.

HowIwished it had actually landed.

Instead, the mess landed on his pristine white shirt, and he frowned at it like it offended him.Fairenough; it’d be offensive to me, too.ButIhadn’t takenEddySinclairfor a squeamish bastard.

Hepulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped it away, leaving a pink streaky mess across his pecs.Withone lip lifted in disgust, he flung the stained cloth at my feet and turned around, fiddling with something just beyond my vision.

Whenhe turned back around, his fist came for my face, and there was nowhere for me to go.Icouldn’t duck, couldn’t dodge, couldn’t even flinch away.Itslammed into my jaw with enough force that he had me wondering if he’d broken something.

“Youjust don’t know when to quit, do you, you bitch?”Heturned to the camera, andIfinally noticed the red flashing light on the camera in the darkness.Iwas being recorded or streamed live, no doubt linked to a feed the boys were seeing right now.

Myheart went out to them.Iwouldn’t be able to stand it ifIhad to watch someone torment any of them.ButIfelt things deeply.Withany luck, the guys weren’t that invested in me yet.

I, on the other hand, was so wrapped up in all of them thatIwas beginning to think it might be time for a big emotional reveal of my feelings.Toobad there might not be any time left for that.Ifthese two had their way,I’dbe dead before the guys found me.

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