Page 58 of Wild Ride

DAKOTA

I stayin the new room for a while longer before two tall, wide-shouldered, clipped-bearded men walk into the space. They tip their heads to the sides, their eyes finding mine before they simultaneously snort.

I’m not sure what’s so funny because I’m scared shitless. They don’t enlighten me, either. Instead, one of them takes a step forward and shouts at me to stand on my feet. He reaches out, wraps his hand around my bicep, and tugs me behind him. He moves so quickly that after a few moments of trying to keep up, I’m unable to, and he just drags me behind him.

When he stops, he doesn’t say anything. He throws me into another room. And when my body stops sliding across the tile floor, I realize that I’m in a bathroom.

“You got ten minutes,” he snaps, speaking for the first time since he stalked into that room to literally drag me out of it.

I don’t say anything. Instead, I look up at him, watching him, and he scowls before he turns his back to me and takes a step out of the bathroom, allowing the door to close behind him. Aftertaking just a moment to gather myself, I stand and take a step toward the closed door before I frown.

There is no lock.

Nothing.

Spinning around, I ignore the urge to look at my reflection in the mirror. Instead, I train my gaze upward to find a way out of here. Except there is not a single window. I’m in another windowless room.

What the hell?

Feeling defeated, I look over and see a shower. I decide that I better at least wash my body because I don’t know when I’ll be able to again.

And maybe, just maybe, I’ll have a clearer head when I’m clean. I have lost track of the time. I’m not sure how long they’ve kept me here. It could be a couple of hours, or it could be days.

Being drugged and taken into that pitch-black room, then that other room before being dragged here, I’ve completely lost all concept of time. So, maybe a shower is really what I need, although there’s nothing for me to change back into after I’ve showered.

Thankfully, the two things that do exist in this room are a towel and soap. So I take that as a win and start the shower. When the water heats up, I take off my dirty and slightly smelly clothes and set them on the counter.

Stepping into the warm shower, I let the water wash over me for a moment before I allow my mind to begin working. I am not a mastermind whatsoever. In fact, I am at a complete loss of what to do to get myself out of this situation.

As much as I want to be the damsel in distress, I have a feeling that there isn’t going to be anyone to rescue me. I’m going to have to do this myself, just like I left the Willamette Haven by myself.

Except when I left the Haven, I had Briana to pick me up, guide me, and teach me about how to live on the outside.

I have nobody here, and on top of that, I don’t even know where here is. I am utterly and royally screwed. But I’ll be even more screwed if this scary weirdo makes me marry him. Because I know that if I marry him, I’m never getting out of here.

The thought of having sex with this man makes me want to throw up everywhere.

Closing my eyes, I inhale a deep breath and hold it for a moment before I then let it out slowly. I know that I’m cutting it close to ten minutes, so I quickly use the soap on my whole body, cringing at the feel of my hairy legs, then rinse off before I turn the water off.

Reaching for the towel, I dry off my body before I wrap it around myself, tucking the end between my breasts. Only then, once I’m showered, do I chance looking at my reflection in the mirror.

I don’t like what I see.

I don’t like any part of myself looking back at me.

But I also don’t have time to dwell on how pale and almost sickly I look. Spinning around on my heels, my feet slap against the tile and I move toward the door. Turning the knob, I open it and peek my head out to see the men standing across a hallway, but only a few feet from me.

Their eyes lift to meet mine.

“Are there any clean clothes for me to change into?” I ask.

Their heads swing to face one another, their eyes widen, and I can tell that they haven’t been anticipating my question. In fact, they seem oddly perplexed by it and almost a little nervous.

Good.

I hope they’re shitting themselves and make a mistake, a big one, like allowing me to escape.

Waiting for their response, I watch as one jerks his chin at the other, and then he walks away, leaving me with only one guard. I would like to think that I’m smarter and faster than these guys, but I’m not stupid.

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