Page 92 of Mountain Daddy

Chleo.

Oh my god.

He’s safe. He has to be.

Rosa will look after him.

I kick backward, connect with a kneecap. The man lets me go with a swear, doubles over to clutch his knee in pain.

“Enough,” the third one snarls, pulling a gun from his pocket, flashing it just enough to make me freeze.

Think, Lilly. Think.

My thumb slides across the screen, my phone behind my back as I face three furious men. I know Nikolai's number by heart now. I've typed it a dozen times, erased it a dozen more.

Never called.

Too afraid.

Now it might be the only thing that saves me.

The world goes white and black with panic. There’s a gun pointed at me. Can't breathe. Can't think. But my finger hits the call button just as two pairs of hands reach for my arms.

I don't even know if it rings. I just know ithasto.

“Put her in the van,” one says in broken English. “Boss wants her intact.”

“She broke my fucking nose,” another snarls. “That little?—”

“Shut up and move.”

I slide my phone up the sleeve of my shirt. They grab my arms. Twist. Wrench.

I scream again as they drag me along. Find my loudest voice and let it tear from my throat. “HELP! ANYONE! HELP!” I drag my feet into the ground, try to stop myself from being dragged along.

Someone might hear. Someone might help.

“Shut her up!”

A hand clamps over my mouth again. I twist my head, sink my teeth into the flesh between thumb and forefinger. The manshrieks, slaps me hard enough that stars explode behind my eyes.

“Bitch!”

The phone is still up my sleeve. Is Nikolai there? Can he hear what's happening?

They drag harder. Grip harder.

Until I’m at the white van parked at the curb. The sliding door opens to empty interiors.

No seats.

No windows.

Just metal walls and floor.

They shove me into the van. Let go of my mouth just enough to let me scream again.

But it’s too late.

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