Page 72 of Never Die for a Sinner
Like I’m just a toy in someone else’s game.
Since the last time I was in these woods, I’ve been going about my days like nothing happened. Like I didn’t have the most mind-blowing sex in my life. The words he’d said after still sting, echoing back to me with each step I take.
What happened between us was nothing more than sex.
I actually find myself laughing bitterly. As if it could be anything else.
Falling for Levi Cross would be suicide. I would have a better chance of surviving a ten-story drop.
As I push through the trees, the shuffling of leaves sounds behind me, and I whirl around, coming to a full stop on the path so fast my hair whips me in the face.
Something tells me that wasnotan animal.
It all happens so fast.
One minute, I’m staring at the brush that’s too dark to really see through, and the next, someone is wrapping something around my head.
My scream gets lodged in my throat, and a gag is shoved into my mouth. A second later, a black sack is dragged over my head, and I’m fighting tooth and nail with the arms that wrap around me.
Panic is the first thing to slip into my veins.
Then, full-blown terror when my hands are ripped behind my back and cuffed.
I scream behind the gag, but I’m hauled off my feet without a word and tossed over someone’s shoulder. I try to kick and fight, but I’m powerless to stop him when he carries me away.Seconds later, I’m thrown backward, and my ass hits a leather seat, before a car door shuts and I’m carted off into the night.
Tears wet my cheeks, and my sobs are muffled by the gag. Not that it would matter. I’m out in the woods alone, and I know it will be hours, maybe even days, until someone notices I’m missing.
Which means I’m trapped.
I don’t know how long we drive but it feels like a lifetime. The seconds tick by, and I can’t do anything but stare at the inside of the black sack over my head and listen to the crunch of the tires of gravel. The ride is bumpy, and at one point, my shoulder digs into something hard behind me, making me whimper around the gag in my mouth.
Okay, this is bad.
When the car finally comes to a stop, I wait, listening to the sounds of whoever it is exiting before the door shuts, and I’m thrust into complete silence. I force myself to breathe, even if it is stuffy inside the sack, and try to wiggle around in the seat.
My hands ache behind my back. My shoulders are sore and stiff. I’m sure I’ll have a permanent divot in my hip from the damned seatbelt buckle under my ass.
Adjusting my feet, I try to kick at the door, but I can barely move. He must have my ankles tied too, because why wouldn’t he?
Way to go, Ava Lynn. You’ve gone and gotten yourself kidnapped.
Sagging into the leather, I let out a quiet sob because I can. Because I’ve been kidnapped by an actual psychopath who’s probably going to string me up and murder me in the Washington version ofThe Hills Have Eyes.
This fucking sucks.
When the door finally opens, I let out a squeak behind the gag, jumping in the seat. Someone grabs me and, like a ragdoll, I’m hauled out into the cool night air and thrown over someone’s shoulder again. I wriggle in their grasp, and the man slaps my ass hard enough to draw a cry from my lips at the sting.
I listen to the sounds of his footsteps, squirming in his arms, but he only tightens his hold. He doesn’t say a word, even when I scream at him to put me down. I don’t care if it’s unintelligible. I do it anyway.
Warmth hits me, and I shiver, my head spinning from all the blood rushing to my brain at this angle. The sound of the footsteps changes, and I realize we’re inside somewhere. It’s silent, save for the crackle of a fireplace when I’m ripped over the man’s shoulder and dropped to my feet without a warning.
My knees threaten to give out, but he holds me up, ripping me around and taking my cuffed hands. There’s a click, and the cuffs fall off, and instantly, I flex my sore wrists. It’s only a split second, though, before my arms are ripped over my head.
I stumble forward, groaning against the gag when a rope is wrapped around one, then the other above my head, forcing me up onto my tiptoes to keep my footing.
It doesn’t feel good, and tears well in my eyes, slipping down my cheeks. I bite the gag, whimpering at the material in my mouth and wishing that I could be literally anywhere but right here with whoever the crazed lunatic is that just kidnapped me from the woods.
A dark chuckle sounds, and the bag is ripped off my head, making me clench my eyes shut at the light around me. It’s dim, but after being in the dark for God only knows how long, it stings.
