“Shut the fuck up!” I laughed at Till, who was telling yet another embarrassing story from my youth.
“Dirty shirt and all. You didn’t give one single damn. Six years old and you were asking out my girl.”
The whole room was laughing when, suddenly, Leo’s phone started screaming in his pocket. It was an annoying-as-hell ringtone, but it was the way his face paled that really caught my attention.
He quickly released Sarah and frantically started digging out his phone. His wild gaze lifted to mine from across the room. “Call Liv,” he ordered.
My heart lurched, but I followed his direction without question.
“What the hell’s going on?” Slate asked, reading the sudden shift in the room.
Leo ignored him and began pacing the room with his phone at his ear.
The drone of an unanswered phone played in my ear as my eyes remained glued to Leo.
“Rich, tell me all is good,” he barked. After several agonizing seconds, he growled. “Well, she’s not fucking here yet!” Pinching the bridge of his nose, he lifted his distraught eyes to mine in question.
I shook my head and fear sliced through me—the sound of her voicemail iced my veins even further.
“Get your ass back over there. I’m en route.” He lowered his phone.
His legs were already moving to the front door when I caught his arm.
“What the fuck?”
He snatched his arm out of my grip, not even sparing me a glance as he raced out the door, yelling, “She supposedly left over a half hour ago, but now, the alarm is going off at the community center.”
Terror and fury mingled in a dangerous cocktail within me. Snatching my keys from my pocket, I rushed out of the door after him.
“Please. Stop,” I cried as Davenport used my hair to force my face into the security panel by the door.
“Turn it the fuck off!” he shouted.
“I-I can’t think!” I sobbed.
The alarm was blaring, distracting my already-hysterical mind even more.
He yanked my hair so hard that my knees almost buckled from the pain. “Turn it off!” His face shook with exertion, and spit flew from his mouth.
My eyes bounced to Don’s body unconscious on the floor. The moment the alarm had sounded, Don had made a move, but Davenport had been quicker. He’d never even let go of me as he’d landed a nasty right to Don’s chin. The only positive of this was that the knife he had been holding had gone skittering across the floor.
“Now!” he barked, shoving my face back into the security panel.
I sucked in a deep breath and tried to get myself together. Finally, I came up with the right combination of numbers and the room fell quiet.
“Damn it!” Davenport slung me forward.
I stumbled before slamming into the tile and then skidding to a halt on my knees.
Just as quickly as I’d gone down, I popped back up, scampering to get away. I didn’t make it but a few steps before his thick arm hooked me around the waist.
“Where you going, Livvie?” he purred, lifting me off my feet and holding my back to his front.
Bile crept into my throat as he rubbed his scruff into my cheek.
I wanted to fight any way I could. Claw my way out his arms, biting and scratching before jamming my high heel into his balls. I wasn’t usually a violent woman, but I had an overwhelming urge to watch him bleed out onto the floor in a slow and agonizing death. I wasn’t going to be able to do that to him though. Quarry had told me not to challenge him, and right then, I knew exactly why. Physically, Davenport was superior to me in every way.
“Nowhere,” I replied through clenched teeth.
“Good answer,” he said, carrying me across the room.
I went willingly until I saw his knife come into view on the floor.
My legs thrashed violently, but his large hand bit into my hip as he bent over to retrieve it.
“Easy there,” he soothed. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
I sucked in a shuddering breath, fighting back the reemergence of my tears.
“At least, not without Page here to witness it.”
I don’t remember taking a single breath as I sped down those icy roads faster than any mortal should ever drive. My lungs were on fire, and my chest ached with every passing minute. The gas pedal was on the floor as I weaved through traffic like a maniac. I’d even passed Leo on the highway.
I was less than a minute from the community center when Liv’s number lit up my cell phone. A huge breath of relief flew from my mouth, and my foot slowly lifted off the pedal.
“Thank fucking God,” was my greeting.
“Don’t come here!” she screeched into my ear, spiking my pulse all over again.
My lead foot fell back on the accelerator. “Liv!”
I heard the bellow of a maniacal laugh.
“You better hurry.” Davenport’s voice filtered through the line, solidifying my worst fears. “Before it’s too late”
“What the fuck are you—” I started but stopped midsentence when Liv’s agonizing screams hit my ear. The pain in her voice was paralyzing, and my already-tense body convulsed. “Liv!”