Page 71 of Shattered Souls
My entire body buzzes with awareness, and his words ring in my ear.
Aurora. Aurora. Aurora.
Her name is all I can hear as the ground beneath my feet tilts, my surroundings blurring. It feels like I’m on some hellish carnival ride with no way off.
My hand clamps over my mouth, and I think I garble some sort of nonsense.
“I didn’t want to resort to this; you forced my hand. I’ve been obliging you, but I’m out of patience. Either you come to me, or that sweet little girl of yours will have to fillyourshoes.”
I think he touches me, but I’m so removed from my surroundings, so disconnected from my own body, that I can’t be sure. I’m vaguely aware of him walking away before I stumble to a nearby bush and empty the entire contents of my stomach.
With Bertram’s menacing threat reverberating in my ears, pulsating through my skull, and seeping deep into my marrow, I’m left feeling not just numb but utterly disoriented. Swiping at the spittle on my chin, I stumble blindly away from the administration building, my only instinct to escape his looming presence.
To find the guys.
To tell them.
Bertram has Aurora.
That knowledge circles on repeat in my head until fear blinds me, and guilt over just how greatly I’ve let my daughter down drives my actions. I stagger and stumble as though drunk as I race across campus, the once familiar landscape now blurring around me. The urgency of my escape is palpable.
Flee.
Find the guys.
Bertram has Aurora!
I should have known it wouldn’t be as easy as putting him in his place at dinner. With Logan at my side and knowing Grayson and Royce had my back, I felt empowered. Emboldened. In that moment, I felt like I could take Bertram on. A strangled laugh crawls up my throat.
How naive could I be?!
Bertram has made it crystal clear, even from his prison cell, that he doesn’t intend to simply let me go—that I’m his. Bystanding up to him at that dinner, I didn’t put down a rabid dog. Instead, I waved a red flag in front of a rampaging bull.
I just didn’t realize that he’s been one step ahead of us all this time.
While I thought we were playing Go Fish, he was playing poker and holding the winning hand.
Now, I’m left running for my life with no clue how to get my daughter away from him without sacrificing myself in the process.
The guys will know what to do. They have to.
I flee across the campus, my steps quick and erratic, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps. My heart is pounding so hard it feels like it’s going to burst through my chest. Saliva floods my mouth, and I force myself to swallow as panic clouds my vision, turning familiar pathways into a dizzying maze. I’m trapped in my own body, unable to think straight. To figure out what I should do. Every shadow feels like it’s hiding him, and every passerby looks like they’re watching and judging me. I keep glancing over my shoulder, unable to escape the feeling that he’s right behind me, ready to reach out and drag me back. Force me to go with him.
Either you come to me, or that sweet little girl of yours will have to fill your shoes.
If he catches me… I’ll die. Aurora and I will both be dead.
Yet, what alternative do I truly have?
That thought alone pushes out what little air is in my lungs, and I whip my head forward, picking up my pace until I’m running, uncaring of what anyone watching me must think.
I can’t go back there. I just…can’t.
Back to his house.
Back to that time.
Back to that helpless, hopeless girl.
