Page 127 of The Forsaken Heir
They swung me back and forth, and on the third swing, they hefted me into the truck. I crashed into what felt and smelled like more garbage. I retched at the stench of old grease, used tissues, spoiled food, and old coffee grounds. It was nearly enough to send me back into unconsciousness. A second after I landed, the door closed.
After a minute of silence, I risked clawing my way out of the bag, finally escaping the claustrophobic confines. I took a deep breath, and immediately regretted it. Gagging, I clamped a hand to my nose, but that didn’t help. It was like the stench had settled into my mucous membranes.
Toward the front of the truck, a small window slid aside, and Freddy’s face appeared in the gap. Behind him, through the windshield, the night sky was visible.
“Sorry about this,” Freddy said, nodding at the trash bags all around me. “It was the only way I knew to get you out unseen. The trash masks your scent. Smart, huh?”
I finished dragging myself from the bag. “You’re really rescuing me?”
I’d held out hope, but deep down I’d never really believed I’d get out alive, especially not with assistance from one of the Laurent family.
“Fingers crossed,” Freddy said. “Stay back there. If I start banging on the window, dig in under the trash.”
“Where are we going?—”
Freddy slid the small metal window shut again, leaving me in the putrid trash heap. Elation and the exhilaration of freedom overcame me. If things worked out, I might really get out of this alive. Not only that, but I’d have Elle in my arms again.
29
AURELIUS
The truck rumbled along the road. At one point, it hit a pothole, and thick liquid oozed from a bag onto my feet.
“Ugh,” I muttered, revulsion filling me as the mystery liquid seeped into the rear of my underwear
Other than that, thingsdidappear to be going well. Freddy had yet to bang on the window, and I had to assume we were making good time to wherever we were heading. Freddy hadn’t told me anything, which meant I was literally flying blind.
My heart lurched as the truck slowed, and three quick bangs rapped on the window.
“We’re here,” Freddy called.
“Here? Where?”
“Shhh.”
Freddy slid the small window open. “Hide.”
Through the windshield, I saw lights and a large building surrounded by barbed wire.
“Where the fuck are we?” I hissed as I burrowed into the trash bags.
“Laurent Waste Facility,” he said. “It’s one of the family businesses. Basically, a for-profit facility to process sewage and waste water, It also has a recycling center and a rubbish dump. Now hush.”
Freddy put a hat on and pulled it low over his face, then shut the window again. Not surprising. I doubted one of the members of the noble Laurent family would be doing a trash run in the middle of the night.
My enhanced senses had come almost all the way back, and I strained to hear the conversation happening up front.
“How are we doing this evening?”
“All good. Just making a late run,” the truck driver said.
“Little late, isn’t it?”
“Well, when Bastien Laurent tells you to do something, you do it. Am I right?” the driver said with a chuckle.
“Yeah, he’s a ball buster, that’s for sure,” the guard said.
“So, uh, where’s Dan? He was supposed to be on duty tonight,” the driver said. “I actually told him we’d be by.”
