Page 118 of Seducer

This couldn’t be.

Zach cared about me. He’d told me so.

When I didn’t hear anything again, I shifted to the right. Every muscle in my body ached as I slapped at the branches, twigs hitting me in the face.

My head throbbed with every rapid beat of my heart and there was a tremendous foggy haze wrapped around my memories. Nothing was making any sense.

It was as if I’d left Zach’s home and had been transported here. But where was here?

Another laugh echoed in the forest.

That was not Zach. The other man who’d been stalking me. It had to be.

I had to find a way out.

Why the hell couldn’t I remember anything? I raced through the trees, wincing when I stepped on some thorn. I almost twisted my ankle and was forced to stop to take a deep breath.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are. We can play.”

The voice was not Zach’s voice.

I was instantly paralyzed, a few images rushing into my brain.

Yes, I’d been in the living room of Zach’s house. Then there’d been a man. A masked man. And… Pain. My God. I’d been drugged again.

Just like Zach had done.

Only this time, I couldn’t swim up from the depths of the intense haze.

Play the game.

Okay. What should I do?

Barefoot, every step I’d taken was painful, but I was still wearing the beautiful dress Zach had given me. I ripped off a piece, trying to remain as quiet as possible. When I jammed it on a limb still attached to a tree, I had a moment of satisfaction. But it was short lived when I heard another sound.

He was following me. Hunting me.

I pushed off the tree, doing everything I could to remember my surroundings. There was nothing to recognize, nothing to keeptrack of. There were just trees and brush everywhere. I spun in a circle, praying I didn’t see the man who’d kidnapped me. I had to run.

Run. Run. Run.

Live.

I wanted to live.

What did the man want? Remember…

A trunk. I’d been tossed into a trunk. I managed to bite back a whimper when the memory became clear.

He’d whispered I was his greatest prize and that… That Zach would never find me.

Oh, God. Oh…

Another snapping twig and I was forced to slap my hand across my mouth, but not before making a single yelping sound.

His laugh was darker than before and entirely different than Zach’s.

I slunk around a tree, praying to God I could find an escape. I ripped off another piece of my dress, attaching it just like I’d done before. At least they were markers. Maybe Zach would find me.

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