Page 140 of Of Flesh & Bone

He holds his hands up in front of his body in the universal 'easy killer' gesture."BELIEVE ME when I tell you that no one in the free world thinks you're fragile, Belle.I don't want to call forward any taboo memories here but on your record, we have an attempted stabbing in defense of us, a left right elbow smackdown of a dastardly doctor, a brutal takedown of a would-be attacker, a serial shooting incident, and an impromptu beatdown in a cocktail dress.You're a badass.We know it.Everyone knows it.We're not keeping anything from you because, frankly, we don't want our asses kicked."

I narrow my eyes at him and fly him the middle finger salute as I turn to walk away.I stop when I see something out past the end of the pool.It's small, but I know it doesn't belong there.Changing course, I walk to the back doors and peer out.When I open the door both men stand at attention."Eve, what are you doing?"

I turn back to them, giving them both a look that I hope conveys, 'I don't need bodyguards, so calm the hell down'.When I get closer to the item that clearly doesn't belong here, I see that it's a picture frame.My picture frame.The one that went missing from my bedroom.My blood turns to ice in my veins.Someone took this picture from my room, and that same someone was here last night outside our new home,watching us.

I can't stop my fingers from trembling as I bend down to pick up the frame.Turning it around, I receive another lightning bolt to the heart when I see that something is missing from the photograph.Me.I have been torn from the picture, leaving only Eli and Vaughn behind the glass.

There's a threat.....and I'm the target.

CHAPTER 47

Eve

The crowd at the gameis intense since Eden is playing their longtime rival, Halebrook University.Eden leads the entire game, but the play is violent with three of the Halebrook players being ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct.Ada and I are sitting together in a sea of crimson and black, our school's colors.The beer sold in the concessions has been died red, and at least half of the fans on Eden's side have their faces painted with the Eden University symbol or our mascot, the Eagle.

Ada leans into me and yells so that I can hear her over the crowd."I need a beer.You coming?"

Few things appeal to me less than wrestling my way through a bunch of drunken strangers hyped up on overpriced beer and school spirit but, oddly enough, I also don't want to sit here without Ada or let her brave the raucous crowd alone, so I nod and get up to follow her.I am touched no less than thirty times on our way to the concession and at least twelve of those nonconsensual touches were not accidental on the part of the sloshed miscreants doling out the gropes.A taser would be handy right about now.I watch closely for any ass, or tit grabs perpetrated on Ada.I don't want to have to lose my shit on these assholes but I'm only willing to take so much.If I weren't in such a hurry to get back to our seats, I would've performed a testicle twister on every one of those thunder cunts.

Ada and I have almost made it back to the entrance of the stadium seating area when she's knocked flat on her back by a group of douche cannons running out of the same door we're trying to get through.She's about to take a drink when she hits the ground hard, causing her crimson-dyed beer to spill all over her face and splatter onto the ground around her head.I stare down at her motionless as the blood spreads out from her head in a pool.A pool of blood.

Suddenly, the stadium is gone.The crowd fades away and I'm back there.

Sprinting to the top of the stairs, hesitating once I'm there.Again, I look back to see the man at the bottom of the steps looking down at the limp body in his arms.I push the door open further and the sight has me staggering backward into the open door.

It's a kitchen.There's a body on the floor and I hear commotion in the room behind me.There's no time to think.I run in the direction opposite of the clattering sounds.This is a smaller room.There are two doors in here.I open the first and find that it's a closet.There are metal boxes and wires running everywhere but no way out.I turn to the other door which looks heavier.I suck in a huge breath of air and turn the knob pulling the door open quickly.

When I open the door, I can't believe what I am seeing.The breath escapes my mouth in a gasp.It's night, but that isn't shocking to me.It has felt like night my whole life.I never could imagine the sunshine even though I've read about it so many times in so many different books.I step out onto the stone steps with bare feet and into the night air.The air that feels clear and smells fresh.The air that doesn't burn my eyes or sear my lungs.I heave in a quivering breath as tears blur my vision.

A lie.It was all a lie.The girl was right.They all were.What have I done?

I run.Having no idea where I'm going, but I run anyway.I race for the gate, swinging it open as soon as I reach it.Continuing on past the fence, I run right into a person.A man.Someone I've never seen before, but I see recognition in his eyes.I don't know him, but he knows me.I'm so confused, so hurt, so completely out of my element that he is able to act quicker than me.He must have already had the cloth in his hand because I don't see him reach for anything other than my face.He places the cloth over my mouth and nose, instantly blurring my vision and scorching my lungs and nasal passages.Quickly, my legs go limp, and I lose focus.Everything goes dark.

It's so dark....and cramped.When I attempt to stretch out my feet, I hit metal.The same thing happens with my head and arms.Where am I?My head is pounding, and I still smell whatever was on that cloth.It's like that scent imprinted in my nostrils.

Thankfully, I'm accustomed to the dark, so it doesn't take my eyes long to adjust to my surroundings and I can see fairly well.Beneath me is a rough fabric.Around me is metal except for whatever is to my right.It's similar to the rough fabric that I'm lying on.

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