Page 89 of Touched By Destiny

Eric swung his legs out and stood. Ahead of him, Seamor was tearing off his uniform shirt and changing his clothes. Every suspicion Eric had had since these two had shown up at his house was heightened, and he was convinced the pair had nefarious intentions. Whatever was happening, these two had no warrant for his arrest. Otherwise, he’d be at a jail right now being processed.

Instead, he was standing on sandy dirt off the highway about an hour from his house. If Eric was going to make it out of this situation, he would have to be brave.

What would Gabriel do?Eric wondered.

“What is going on?” Eric asked tersely.

Seamor cackled. “Just get in the other car.”

Eric’s gaze slid to the license plate of the car they’d parked behind, and he sucked in a breath. “You’re the guys who’ve been following me.”

“Wow, you’re a smart guy. Now, get in the car,” Seamor demanded, grabbing Eric’s arm and hustling him closer to the vehicle. While it was questionable whether these two had anything to do with the real police, their guns were very real, so Eric did what he was told. Although he was scared, he had to be practical. Rescue would come. Or Eric would have to find his way out himself. Both options required him to stay focused and make intelligent decisions.

Not the easiest thing to do with all the spit in his mouth dried up and his heart thundering in his ears, but Eric had no choice. He got in the car and heard Seamor shout at his accomplice.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“Slashing the tires,” the other man said.

“Our cousin is already going to kill us for stealing his car,” Seamor remarked with a complete lack of concern in his voice. “Why are you doing that?”

“I thought it’d be fun.”

Eric swept his gaze across the interior of the car to discern any clues about his captors, but all he found was a mess. Wrappers from various fast-food establishments crinkled under his feet, and about a half dozen air fresheners swung from the rearview mirror. Whoever they were, tidiness wasn’t important to them.

“Where are we going?” Eric asked once both men were in the vehicle and his handcuffed hands were once again being squished against the seat. His shoulders ached from the uncomfortable position, but he doubted the other occupants of the car cared about his discomfort.

“To see the man who wanted us to take you out of that big-ass mansion,” Seamor taunted as he peeled away from the official vehicle with the slashed tires and sped toward the interstate.

“Arwynn,” Eric surmised.

The shorter guy giggled. “He still thinks this has something to do with Arwynn. We don’t even know who the fuck Arwynn is. Some rich asshole like you, maybe?”

Now, Eric was confused and more terrified than ever, and he scowled. “If you don’t know Arwynn, why did you accuse me of murdering his father?”

“Are you going to sit back there and ask dumb questions all the way to California?” Seamor asked.

“Can’t I just knock him out?” the shorter one begged, his hand covering the holster on his hip as if he couldn’t wait to pull out his weapon and strike Eric with it.

“Nah, we promised we wouldn’t hurt his ass.”

The shorter one turned to face Eric. “Do you really have gifts? Can you talk to ghosts?”

Whoever had arranged for Eric’s abduction had trusted humans who understood little about the world of necromancy, and Eric wasn’t sure if that was a bonus or not.

“You answer a question for me, and I’ll do the same for you,” Eric insisted.

“Why would I do anything to help you out?” the man retorted.

Eric sucked in a deep breath and swallowed thickly. A naturally shy person who didn’t seek confrontation, Eric neededto step far wide of his comfort zone to learn anything. So, he once again thought of the man he loved. Gabriel wouldn’t sit quietly and allow his future to be decided with no input from him.

Filling his mind with the impossibly beautiful image of his soul almost completely bound to Gabriel’s, Eric found the deepest, strongest part of himself. He refused to lack confidence, and he’d embrace every ounce of bravery he possessed. It was the only way to survive.

“Because I’m not telling you shit if you don’t like my bargain,” Eric snarled.

“Leave him be,” Seamor ordered. “I don’t give a shit what he can do.”

Cursing his idiotic decision to destroy the only crystal he could teleport to, Eric wondered how to escape. His hands were behind his back, so making a crystal and throwing it somewhere was impossible. But he’d keep that idea handy in case his situation changed. Was it possible to open a portal and coax some friendly spirits out to help him? Could anyone answer his pleas? Did he have any ability to infuse his spirits with magic to make them visible to others? Since terrifying the person speeding down the road was liable to get all three of them killed, Eric again shelved the thought temporarily.

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