Page 84 of Declan

“You’re a feisty girl,” he chuckles darkly, “but it’s not going to help you. Make it easy on yourself.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” I spit, shaking with fury and fear.

“Oh, Lena,” he sneers, “you don’t know who I am?”

I try to turn to see his face, but he shoves me again, hard, against the hood.

“No,” I gasp, barely able to speak. “Please, just tell me what’s going on.”

He hauls me up and wraps his arms around me, lifting me off the ground like I’m weightless.

“Help!” I scream again, kicking with everything I have. “Somebody help me!”

Nothing but silence.

He throws open the cruiser’s back door. I fight harder. I slam my head back, try to twist away, try to dig my knees into the seat to stop him from stuffing me inside.

But it’s useless.

My head hits the doorframe as he throws me in like a sack of garbage. The door slams, and I’m trapped.

Tears pour down my face. I can’t breathe. I can’t think.

He gets in the driver’s seat, turns slightly, and looks me in the eye.

“I’m Jason’s father.”

I freeze. The blood drains from my face.

My stomach twists. My heart stops.

This isn’t an arrest. This is revenge.

“Sir, please, I didn’t do anything to your son,” I sob.

He turns back to the road, his jaw tight.

“No, sweetheart. This is about the people you run with. The people who buried my son. I know exactly who you’re connected to. And you better hope they come looking for you.”

My stomach drops.

Shattered Souls.

He knows.

He knows everything.

Oh my God.

I’m bait.

“Fuck you!” I scream, kicking the seat, but my voice cracks and breaks with terror.

He just laughs.

A slow, hollow, chilling sound that says he’s already decided how this ends.

I’ve panicked before. I’ve been scared. I’ve cried.