Page 83 of Safe and Sound

At the sight of the bathroom, I rushed forward. I blew through the door and into the first open stall. I barely made it before I heaved the contents of my stomach into the toilet.

Over and over, I retched. Each time I thought I was finished, an image of the man tied to the chair and Dare’s bloody hands and clothes would replay in my mind.

Dare was a killer.

Dare was a torturer.

Dare was a criminal.

“Oh God,” I murmured, swiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

When I finally stopped heaving, I flushed the toilet. Lumbering out of the stall, I splashed water on my face. Once I finished washing my hands, I staggered out into the lobby.

Desperate for an Uber, I reached into my purse to take out my phone, but my shaking hands caused me to drop it. “Dammit!”

As I bent over to get it, a pair of pink house shoes stepped into my line of vision. When I jerked my gaze up, Isla stood outfitted in pink pajamas and a floral robe with her hair a mess. Since she lived in the building, I wasn’t too surprised to see her.

“Hey, Ava.” she said softly.

“What are you doing here?”

“Dare wanted me to see if you’d let me take you home.”

Furrowing my brows, I countered, “How did he know I was still here?”

A sheepish expression came over her face. “He has a tracer on your phone.”

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

She shook her head. “I can assure you it’s only for your safety.”

A maniacal laugh burst from my lips. “Jesus, for a smart woman, they sure have gotten you to chug the Kool Aid.”

“It’s not like that at all.”

When she took a step towards me, I stepped back. “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll scream!”

Her face paled. “Please, Ava, just talk to me.”

Shaking my head, I countered, “Just like I told Dare, I don’t want anything more to do with anyone from his world.” Waving my phone at her, I then pulled my arm back before launching the phone against the marble wall. It shattered into pieces on the floor.

“Tell Dare to leave me alone.”

Without another word to her, I stalked out of the lobby. After the doorman flagged me a cab, I asked the driver to take me to the nearest hotel. In the morning, I would have Nick or one of the girls come get me.

Until then, I planned on getting plastered from the alcohol in the mini-fridge.

Chapter Nineteen: Dare

Long after Ava left, I remained sitting in front of the floor to ceiling windows, staring out at the city. Although Quinn and Isla had tried talking to me, I’d ignored them. I didn’t even respond when Quinn threatened to give me the sedative he’d planned for Ava. Finally, they’d left me and went back upstairs to their condo.

Instead of standing at his post outside the door, Niall had set up watch in the living room. Without uttering a word, he brought me a bottle of my favorite whiskey before hanging back at a respectful distance. He allowed me my peace while at the same time watching to make sure I didn’t slit my wrists or blow my brains out.

At the moment, both were very tempting.

The optimistic side of me argued to keep my chin up. Ava wasn’t the only woman in the world. I could have any number of beauties front and center with just a phone call.

Deep down, I knew that was bullshit.

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