Page 42 of Come Alive
Hopelessness and acceptance tore into my mind.
Now that he had found me, he was never going to let me escape. Never going to let us go. He was going to turn me into his perfect doll and leave me on a shelf to rot.
“But even a cow can be a whore, can’t they? Sebastian York took a fancy to you, didn’t he? And then he got killed. But no matter. Today we can all exact the revenge we deserve,” he continued, and the mention of our high-school teacher clung into me.
But I didn’t have time to even begin to understand the meaning behind his words before he continued.
“Bring him in.” Stephen didn’t turn, his eyes watching Izzy intently. “It’s time for your reunion.”
Chapter 26
James
Days had passed since Kazi called.Days.James had gone half-insane. He fully regretted how he reacted towards Yara. He continued to blow up her phone, but she still hadn’t answered. He had even gotten so desperate he tried to call Kazi back, but no answer. He was in an unfamiliar town, waiting on…he didn’t even know what at this point. Finally, he couldn’t stand it anymore, so he decided to go to where he guessed she would be.
Mateo’shouse.
It was a mile into his trip that he saw it.
The large black SUV swerving and weaving behind him. At first, he thought it was a bad driver, but then he decided to test his suspicions. He took an abrupt left turn down a dirt road with woods on both sides. One the vehicle would have no reason to go on, and just a few seconds later, it was behind him again.
James’s palms turned clammy as he white-knuckled the steering wheel.
What is this? Who are they?
The front of the SUV rammed into him, disrupting his thoughts. His teeth clacked together as he jolted forward. He attempted to correct his car, but then he was clipped again and the wheel jerked out of his hands.
He tried to take control of the situation, steeling his nerves for the arrival.
His car spun and swirled as he was whipped off of the road and landed between two trees in a drainage ditch. His airbags didn’t deploy, even as his head banged into the steering wheel, the horn ringing out loudly.
Disoriented and discombobulated, he was no fight to the two masked men who dragged him out of his car. They threw him into a different black sedan before accelerating away.
Confusion, anxiety, and unease cycled through him. There was only one man he suspected would do all of this.
“Where are you taking me?” He attempted to remain as calm as he possibly could. Kazi’s warning echoed around him, but what was Steve’s angle? “Am I going to Steve?”
The men didn’t answer, but they didn’t have to now that the thought had come to him. There was no doubt in his mind who was behind this.
When the vehicle came to an abrupt stop, he clocked they were outside of a warehouse. The two masked men remained silent, even as they yanked him out of the car. James whipped his head around as best he could to get an understanding of his surroundings, but then they were dragging him inside, down a hallway then another through what felt like a maze, before finally coming to a stop and opening a door.
They yanked James inside.
James’s vision was taken up with the entirety of a man’s back he recognized.
Steve.
Of course it’s him.
Anger and rage percolated through him. Of how Steve had manipulated him. Used him. How he had now kidnapped him.
But why?
Steve didn’t acknowledge James, instead twisting to the side, allowing James to see past him further into the room.
The color drained from James’s face. His eyes welling in emotion.
His daughter.
