Page 94 of Holiday Hostage
Weeks passed with no word from Tucker.
There was no word from anyone.
I rolled onto my side and stared out the window.
A watery sunrise raced across the floor and crept toward my bed.
I groaned and dragged the covers up to my chin. I had no desire to leave the bed. No desire for anything.
Devastation became my sole emotion. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Cold wrapped around me, and a shiver rattled my bones. I breathed out a cloud of white.
An explosion hammered my senses.
I watched as Mav flew through the air like a ragdoll. I ran toward him, but my feet stuck in the snow. Every step forward sent me backward.
I flailed my arms and screamed Mav’s name.
I woke with a jolt, my entire body heaving the remnants of my scream. My throat ached.
Tears crashed down my face in a sheet that left me shuddering in the bed with the covers pooled around my waist.
I’d had nightmares since coming home, but that had to be the worst one of all.
No matter how hard I tried to reach them in my dreams, I never made it. They were lost to me. I covered my eyes and sobbed.
Part of me had expected Tucker to call me by now.
If nothing else, I expected confirmation that he’d found their bodies. The lack of communication took away the last of my hope.
They were dead.
An image of Tarron falling backward blasted through my mind. I screamed and leaped from the bed. Was nothing sacred?
Could I not have a single minute without pain and heartbreak, without the image of them dying stealing the life from me?
I’d never wanted to die before, but I did now. Losing them took all the joy from my life.
I paced to the window.
Leaning forward, I gripped the thick curtains on either side of the window and leaned my forehead on the cool glass.
New York traffic rolled past on the street.
Everything looked blurry from up here, the people so small they reminded me of ants.
My doorbell pealed, and a knock followed. “Payton? It’s Lisa. Can I come in?”
I eyed my bedroom and wrinkled my nose.
Dirty clothes covered the floor, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d showered.
I grabbed a silk robe and threw it across my shoulders, knotting it around my waist.
Lisa knocked again. “You have five seconds to answer or I’m using best friend privileges. I still have the key you gave me.”
I didn’t have the strength to roll my eyes. “On my way.”
