Page 85 of Cursed Encounter
Panic freezes my whole body as I hit the ground hard, and all the air gets knocked out of my lungs. When I’m able to breathe in again, I’m sucking in dust and strands of my now loose hair.
Damn, I worked so hard on getting it just right. I just wanted this night to be… perfect.
A hand tangles in my hair, grinding my head into the scratchy carpet. Shards of glass bite into my skin all over, one cutting into my forehead as the man above me roughly holds me down. I grit my teeth because I refuse to give him the satisfaction of hearing me cry or whimper in pain.
“Mr. Aubert just said I had to deliver you,” says the man who yanks me to my feet. He smells like egg salad and blue cheese, and I’m trying my hardest not to puke in my mouth. “He never said nothin’ about you being in one piece.”
Now is not the time to try my magic.
As my hands are tied behind my back with something rough and itchy, I tuck away all my emotions. I’ll save it for the one who deserves it.
My father.
THIRTY-TWO
Donovan
I’m going to kill him.
GreelyFuckingAubert.
I’m going to fucking rip his limbs off and douse him with acid.
I’m going to carve out little pieces of him until he’s nothing but a mound of unrecognizable flesh.
This isn’t how it’s supposed to go down.
Rage burns through me. I can’t hold it back. I can’t dim it. Even knowing Astra is feeding off my emotions and shaking with the effort of trying to calm me down in a subtle and silent way, I won’t let it go.
I don’t fucking want to.
Because the moment I’m free, I am going to fucking kill him!
They take Astra first, pulling her roughly out of the van and not even stopping long enough for her to get her feet under her. I’m going to kill them for putting their hands on her. All of them. She’s cut up and bloody from being tackled onto a pile of glass. She’s scared and shaking from being taken against her will. Her perfect night has been ruined because of this.
None of it is fucking okay.
I try to get to my knees, but I fall to my back when the guy sitting behind me grabs my shoulder and throws me off balance.I turn my head and glare at him. Piece of shit crooked cop. He’ll see what working for my enemy will get him soon enough.
Fabien is taken out next, but since he seems to be in a state of shock, the fucker handling him ends up tossing Fabien over his shoulder.
“Out,” the guy behind me barks. I scoot to the opening with zero grace, feeling caged and useless.
They only took the three of us.
Torrin might be dead.
Andre is likely dead.
Carlo, I’m nearly positive is dead. And he died taking a bullet for Astra. Might not mean much, but I’ll never fucking forget it.
Hell, everyone is probably dead. I don’t see Aubert letting any of my people live.
I want to kick myself. It was stupid to think we’d get through the night peacefully. That we’d get to have the last few moments of our breathing life together, since everyone seems to think this night will end in death for Astra and me.
I haven’t given up yet.
If there’s a way out of this, I’ll fucking find it. The funny thing is, I’m still right where I wanted to be, I just got here the wrong way.
