Page 71 of Finding Her Strength

The blood drains from my face, sheer terror hitting me for the first time since Antony grabbed hold of me. “What?” I whisper.

“Well, I couldn’t let the little bastard continue breathing when he’d stolen what was mine. It’s time to go now. We have places we need to be.”

Levi’s dead?

I don’t… I can’t…No.

“Oh, yes, he very much is, my dear. Get over it.”

I didn’t know I’d spoken those words out loud, but to hear them confirmed is unbearable. How can I live withoutthe love of my life? I know with everything in me that Levi was the one for me. He was everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner.

Loving. Happy. Safe. There is no life without him. There’s no way I can be strong enough to survive life with Antony again. Especially knowing the one person who meant everything to me is no longer in this world.

I can’t do this.

It’s then I notice Antony has dragged me out of my store toward a waiting car in the alleyway.

“No! I won’t go with you!” I scream, dropping my body weight in an attempt to break Antony’s vice grip around my arm. For a moment, his grasp slips, and I push against the car, running down the alleyway.

Hope blooms in my chest as I get further away until my hair is yanked, pulling my body backward. Antony drags me back to the car by my hair. I have to hold on to the strands to alleviate the pain. I’m unceremoniously thrown into the back seat of the car, then tied to the passenger seat headrest by my hands. The zip ties are entirely too tight, cutting off the circulation in my hands quickly.

Antony gets into the driver’s seat, taking a moment to compose himself. “We will discuss your insolent behavior when we reach our destination. Until then, I don’t want to hear a sound out of your bitch mouth. Understand?”

I remain silent, knowing it’s the only answer he wants. He nods when my silence continues, then starts the car. We drive for several minutes before pulling into the driveway of a house I’ve never seen before. I have no idea where we are, only that we’re on the edge of Sonoma.

In the span of about ten minutes, Antony is out of the car, in the house, and back again with a duffle bag in hand. When he throws the bag in the trunk, I fully understand the seriousness of the situation. We aren’t staying in Sonoma. He’lltake me as far away as possible so there will be no possibility for me to escape.

I will be a prisoner for the rest of my life if I don’t fight him.

But what’s the point of fighting for my life if the one I love can’t share it with me?

No.

Levi would yell at me for those thoughts.

He wouldn’t allow me to become a shell of myself again, even if he’s not here to see it.

When Antony climbs back into the driver’s seat, he doesn’t even spare me a glance. It’s disconcerting knowing exactly how angry he is with me. His body is rippling with it. I’ve never seen him quite at this level before. What’s worse is if he succeeds in taking me away, he will do everything it takes to break me. I know it deep within my soul.

If we get to where we’re going, I will not survive this.

We back out of the driveway, taking roads that lead us to the highway. My mind is swirling with thoughts of what’s going to happen next. I have no idea what to do or how to get out of this situation. All I know is if we make it to our final destination, I will die there.

The silence stretches out as we get onto the highway, my fear ratcheting up higher the further we get away from Sonoma. I’m going to have to do something soon if I want to survive.

Antony’s phone rings, disrupting the rising tension. When he answers, I let out a deep breath, feeling like I can relax for a minute while he’s distracted by his conversation. I don’t even listen to what he’s saying. It doesn’t matter at this point.

I look down at my aching hands, already white from lack of blood flow, and notice the headrest has been lifted to its highest setting. If I can lift the bar a smidge further, I couldpop the headrest out of its track, freeing my hands from being immobile.

I quickly glance at Antony, his right hand is holding his phone to his ear, blocking his peripheral vision. Looking back at my hands, I slowly shift so I can push the button to lift the headrest.

My heart is pounding in my ears, and I do my best not to hurry. I don’t want to draw attention, but I also have no idea how long his conversation will last. Despite having limited range, I’m able to squeeze the bar in between my thumb and forefinger, pulling up until the end of the headrest comes out of the track.

I freeze. If I move too quickly, Antony will notice what I’m doing, phone call or not. Silently, I take another breath, forcing myself to listen to the call. If he’s close to being done, I will either need to move lightning fast or wait for the right moment.

“I don’t give a fuck what happened, Dominic. Fix it.”

I wait, hands throbbing from the tension they’re under.

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