Page 41 of Encircled in Darkness
I nodded sadly, my bottom lips trembling as I replied. “Natalia would want me to be.”
The door opened and Margaret glanced over her shoulder. Looking at me, she explained. “I’m going to give you some time alone with her.”
Sitting on the bed, I moved her hair off her face and saw her beauty still shining back at me. Kissing her on the forehead, I whispered. “I love you, Natalia.”
I sat with her and just remembered the sound of her voice and how her laugh made me laugh. I smiled at the strong woman she was and how she raised me to be my own person. Looking down at her, I promised her and myself that no matter what, I would put the painful parts of our past to rest and never revisit them again. For her, I would remember the good.
Kissing her, I spoke into the room. “Goodbye, Natty. I’ll see you soon. I love you.”
Margaret was waiting for me in the hall, and she had me sign some paperwork to have her body moved to a funeral home in Pierce Bluff. After hugging her and the other staff, knowing I wouldn’t ever step foot in here again, I collected her personal effects and walked back to my car.
Resting my forehead on the steering wheel, I took the time to cry before I got back on the road. I needed James. Cursing my lack of car chargers for my dead phone, I pulled out of the parking lot and got back on the interstate to Pierce Bluff.
I tried to focus on the road and not the pain searing a hole through my chest as I drove down the sparsely traveled road. I wasn’t paying attention to the car pulling up on my side and he drifted into my lane, causing me to jerk the wheel to avoid getting sideswiped. My tires hit the loose gravel on the side of the road, and I began to slide. Over correcting, I pressed the brakes and tried to bring the car back onto the road. The other car hit the front of my car and I spun.
“Ahh!” I screamed as I fought to stop as the tires hit the grass and the car flipped.
The world tilted on its side as the car rolled over, glass smashing and metal crunching as I came to rest off the side of the road in the tall grass. I couldn’t tell what was right side up and there was a loud ringing in my ears. Warm liquid trickled down my face and I reached up and touched my forehead. Wincing from the pain, I pulled my hand back and blinked, trying to focus. My fingers were covered in warm sticky blood and the memories of Natalia broken and beaten screamed in my head.
Trying to shake off the disorientation, I looked to see white smoke coming from under the hood. The car was still running, and all the windows had been broken from the rollover. The roof was still intact, and I was thankful James had insisted on such a safe car.
James.
I tried to find my phone, but nothing was in its right place and the passenger’s side was folded in. Hearing a voice calling down to me, I yelled back. “I’m in here.”
I was able to unhook my seatbelt and brawny hands reached in and helped pull me through the window. Glass scratched into my back as they hoisted me out, and I dropped to the ground as my rescuer fell with me. My body felt like it weighed a ton and I tried to move from my rescuer, but he kept his arms wrapped around my stomach.
Looking over my shoulder, I saw Greg with a sick smile on his face and I tried to push away from him. He whispered into my ear as he forced a wet rag over my face, the toxic smells overwhelming my brain.
“Victor said it’s time to come home, pet.” The world tilted and my vision grew hazy before everything went black.
Chapter 13
James
Devlin and I ran tomy truck and he took the keys before he got behind the wheel. Skid gave me his laptop and took off on his bike with the two DeathHounds following close. Freddie followed us in the truck, and we headed toward Amaya’s house. I needed to find her, so I pulled up the cameras and found the moment she received the unknown phone call.
