Page 68 of Virtue & Vengeance

18

EDEN

“FUCK!” ALLEN ROARED when he slammed the motel room door behind us.

I was still shocked that he hadn’t killed me the second he realized his money and drugs were missing from beneath the car.

I didn’t know where it was. The car had been impounded twice. There was no telling who found it and took it.

I sat on the edge of the bed with my hands tied, and I waited for him to turn his rage on me. I didn’t have to wait long. Reaching his arm back, he backhanded me, knocking me off the bed and onto the disgusting shag carpeting.

“You little bitch!” he growled. “You’re dead! Do you hear me? You’re fucking dead!”

And then he pulled the gun from the waist of his pants and a click sounded before he shoved the barrel of the gun against my temple.

Tears rushed from my eyes and a scream caught in my throat.

“It’s a shame. You won’t even get to say goodbye to your mom,” he said, sending yet another round of sorrow through me.

I hadn’t asked about her. I didn’t want to hear about how poorly she was doing. She wasn’t in a great place when I left her, and I had a feeling things hadn’t changed much for her since then.

I closed my eyes, a silent prayer rushing through me. I prayed that Zander would know how much he meant to me. I prayed that everything and everyone I ever loved was safe and would be okay without me.

But before Allen could pull the trigger, a knock sounded at the door. Both Allen and I froze, our eyes going to the door.

“Don’t make a fucking sound,” he muttered against the side of my face before he climbed from the floor at my side and stood.

He went to the door, standing close and listening for a second before grunting.

“Who is it?”

We both waited, holding our breath until we heard a reply. Secretly, I was hoping Zander had somehow been able to track us by Allen’s cell and had come to rescue me.

“Open the door, Allen,” a voice barked on the other end. By the way Allen’s body grew tense, I wasn’t the only one filled with dread over who was on the other side.

“Hold on,” Allen called as he fumbled with the chain lock on the door.

When he finally pulled it open, two large, scary looking men pushed into the room, knocking Allen back a few steps.

“Think you could find a shittier motel to squat in?” One of the guys asked with a disgusted look on his face, and then it transformed into something else entirely. “Who the fuck is that?” he growled, pointing at me.

“That’s the bitch I was telling you about. She’s the one who stole my car that had your stuff in it.”

“Why the hell is she here and where’s our money, Allen? Monty isn’t happy at all, and these games you’re playing aren’t helping.”

“I’m trying to get it, but there was a little issue.”

“What kind of issue?”

“When we went to the car, the money and drugs were gone.”

“What the fuck do you mean they’re gone? Where the fuck are they?”

“I’m going to get the money back.” Allen stabbed a finger toward me. “Her boy toy owns one of the biggest casinos here in Vegas.”

Both men looked at me, and I felt my blood turn cold. Hearing Allen’s words, I knew exactly what he planned to do.

“Is that so?” Their interest in me terrified me.

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