CHAPTER 3
Scotland
The biker cruised through the countryside, guiding his Ducati Monster motorcycle past a landscape he didn’t even bother to register anymore. There was nothing he hadn’t seen already. There was nothing left in this world for him, a world that was only gray and damned.
He slowed as he passed through Inverness, knowing he could pick up speed again after the next stop sign.
Suddenly, he was blinded by a flash. He couldn’t see anything. Adrenaline rushed through his body. His leg brushed against something hard, but he couldn’t immediately react. It was a few seconds before he could get his bike to come to a full stop.
What the hell, he thought. He was in great pain, and yet he knew that was absolutely impossible. He would have welcomed pain. Any feeling would have been better than his unbearable numbness.
There was no question, though—he could feel his heart pounding double-time to pump the blood through his veins. He slowly looked up as the bike underneath him purred, ready to flee at his command.
The street was almost empty. A suitcase was in the middle of the road. But Payton McLean wasn’t looking at that. His eyes were looking for her.
There was another flash of light, and a new wave of pain washed over him, almost overwhelming him.
Damn, he said to himself, what was that?
He quickly turned away. The bike’s motor screeched full of energy as he sped off in a panic. His heart was racing faster than his Ducati, even after he had left the girl far behind.
Many miles later, in the safety of the dusk, Payton’s mind began to clear. He stopped at the side of the deserted road, got off his bike, and eased the helmet off his head. Breathing heavily, he looked around. The loneliness of the Highlands stretched out in front of him. The mountains were mere shadows in the darkening night.
He let an anguished howl escape from his throat. He was desperate to experience feeling again. Pain—how incredible it had felt. After all the emptiness. Nothing. Years of nothing.
He kicked a stone with his boot, hard, and it rocketed away into the darkness. Still, he felt nothing.
Please… Please… God, redeem me, he silently prayed.
Payton squinted into the night, waiting.
And just as the countless times before, his plea wasn’t heard by anyone.