Page 27 of What Doesn't Kill Us

Then I turn, sparing a passing glance at the group of men still deep in a conversation in our living room as I head down the hall to my room.

It’s time to prepare.

Chapter Eleven

Dare

Shockingly,Agathaisrunninga few minutes behind. I wait for a few moments, then a text comes through from her, saying she’s parked on the other side of the parking garage.

I walk over that way until I see her taillights, where she pulled into a spot on the far end. I pause, pretending to check my phone as I assess the current situation.

There’s no way Agatha would be so stupid as to pull all the way into a parking garage and then park nose-first, but that’s her car. And the texts are coming from her number.

I send a text to Matt and Tony, which delivers immediately. I wait a few moments, hoping to see a read receipt on that fucker, to no avail.

I continue unhurriedly, sighing deeply as I resign myself to whatever shit show is currently in play. Considering I’m going in completely blind, and I have some concerns about the state of Agatha, I figure I may as well just roll with it. I crack my neck, then straighten my shoulders, lengthening my stride as I toss both phones away as nonchalantly as possible.

I walk over to the passenger door and fling it open, then fall into the seat without a glance at the driver. The first thing I notice, other than the silence, is the smell. I know that smell, and it’s not Agatha’s intentionally annoying perfume.

I turn my head, my eyes clashing with the eyes of one Carolina Tennent. I frown, opening my mouth to say something, but she gives a tiny shake of her head.

I feel the tension radiating off her. She swallows, her hands on the steering wheel white-knuckled as she stares straight ahead like she’s waiting for something. I go to say something and then close my mouth again.

What can I even say at this point?

That’s when I feel it. The presence behind me and then the cold metal of a gun barrel pressed behind my ear.

“Well, isn’t this a nice little plot twist.” I murmur good-naturedly.

Carolina whimpers but says nothing. I turn my head to look at her, then attempt to turn my head further to get a glimpse of whoever is behind me. Instead, I’m met with the impact of the biting steel of the gun barrel as it connects sharply with my cheek.

I flinch, then straighten. The gun disappears, and a black cord drops over me, quickly tightening around my neck, yanking me back in the seat. My heart rate spikes, and I have just enough time to pull in a deep breath before the cord squeezes my throat.

I try to reach back with my left hand but come up with nothing but air, so I drop my hands in my lap and wait to see what’s going to happen. I hear Carolina crying and yelling beside me, and I wish I had enough air to tell her to shut the fuck up.

The most important part of air deprivation is pushing aside the deep inclination to panic. It’s difficult to know if this is a scare tactic or an attempt to kill me. And there’s also the option that they’re trying to incapacitate me for a short time to restrain me. Which is incredibly fucking stupid, considering if they asked, I’d likely go with them without a fight.

After about three minutes, I let my head drop in front of me, making sure my entire body goes limp. I figure he’ll probably wait another minute or two before releasing the tension on my neck, but, shockingly, he barely waits thirty seconds before loosening the cord.

He reaches over and gives my shoulder a shove, and I allow myself to fall forward onto the dash. Caroline is crying even harder, and thank fuck, he’s finally telling her to shut the fuck up.

There’s rustling in the back, then the rear door opens and closes. As soon as the door bangs shut, I reach out, pushing the lock button on all the doors.

Just as suddenly, Carolina stops crying.

I sit up, quickly expelling what’s left of my breath and inhaling slowly as she sits there, frozen in my gaze. I hear the man outside the car shouting at her to open the door, unlock it, and let him in. She sits there, her watery eyes a mixture of relieved triumph, and that’s really all the answer I need on what’s going on with her in this situation.

I warn her, “If you touch that lock, I will snap your neck.”

She swallows and gives me a small shrug. “That may actually be a blessing at this point.”

I narrow my eyes, mulling over my options. Considering I don’t know the status of Agatha, I can’t kill the two of them outright and go about my day.

A loud thump on the window draws my attention outside. That fucking asshole is trying to kick the window in. I flip him the bird through the blacked-out window, then turn back to Carolina. “Do you know where Agatha is?”

She nods. “They have her. I’m not sure exactly where they brought her, but she was alive last I knew.”

“I was hoping you were going to say she was in the trunk, so that complicates things. I’m going to assume the gentleman out there acting a fool is not the person I need to be concerned with?”

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