Page 99 of Voracious

I need to breathe.

I can’t fucking die.

Shakily, I fish my phone out of my pocket, my arm growing numb like the rest of my body, and open the chat box with my mum.

I manage to send her my location, and spit out as much vomit as I can before the next lot chokes me.

My eyes burn with the pressure of not being able to breathe, and the view above me fades every few seconds. My body tenses each time I try to inhale, bile rises and vomit spurts from my mouth.

Everything in me is on fire as I try to get up.

If I die, then everyone suffers. I’ll be gone, and I’ll leave my family in ruin. Stacey will blame herself. Jason will too.

My lungs sting,shrivellingfrom lack of oxygen, and my muscles go limp, the pressure in my head halting, and my vision goes blurry.

If I die, at least I’ll get to be with my angel.

I hear my mum screaming my name, getting closer, closer, even closer as my eyes start to shut, and I stop fighting the urge to fill my lungs.

Someone grabs my head and turns me, forcing their fingers down my throat, but I don’t know what happens next. I think this is it.

28

KADE

Iwake up in my bed, Archie and Bernie spooning beside me. My vision is hazy as I rub my eyes, wincing at the pinch in my hand. I yank out the cannula, ignoring the blood dripping out as I shakily get to my feet.

What the fuck happened?

I glance at the window to see it’s dark. The digital clock blinks 4 a.m. – and the date. Jesus. I’ve been out cold for two full days.

We’re still in my apartment – and my keys are sitting on my dresser.

I need to get to Stacey.Now.

To apologise on my fucking knees and to get her the hell away from Bernie. As far as I can get her. I have a friend in Australia – I’ll take her there and keep her hidden until I figure something out.

Whatever they gave me has knocked me for six, because it takes me five tries to get my leg in my joggers, and I give up on my socks before shoving my bare feet into trainers.

As quietly as I’m able, I stagger out of the room, hitting each wall I come into close contact with. Her guards are nowhere to be seen. And as I glance into one of my spare rooms, I see Cassie asleep in the bed.

I dodge my bike and fall into my car instead. The view of the nearby trees blurs as I make my way out of my garage and into the street.

I need to get to my girl.

My girl who didn’t willingly fuck my brother and was raped by multiple men after being drugged. Who has a second brother who abuses her and is responsible for the death of our daughter.

Fuck the consequences. I’m hanging that bastard with his own tongue.

Freezing tingles take over my body, my stomach churning as I see them on her all over again. I punch my steering wheel, my eyes watering. I wipe them with the back of my hand, but it’s no use. Tears drop onto my top from my chin, and each time Stacey’s phone goes to voicemail, I die a little inside.

I nearly hit the kerb a few times, but that doesn’t stop me from speeding.

The Fields’ manor. Once I get Stacey away, I’ll go there. Nora needs a fucking boot for letting this happen under her roof – and I’ll punch Kyle for not noticing either. But if I get my hands on Chris? Everything my dad has done in his life will pale in comparison.

The twelfth time her voicemail sounds, I throw my phone off the dashboard, and it topples under the passenger seat.

I wipe my eyes again, regretting each word I’ve thrown at her over the years. I left her. I left her with a broken heart after being drugged and raped and abused, after losing our baby. Then her dad died two months later. She tried to contact me so many times, and I ignored her.

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