Page 9 of Liberated By Sin
Days. It had to have been days by now.
Were Derek and Kai searching for me? What had Ronan told them?
The messages.
No. They’d believe him. He’d show them our talks about leaving.
I promised you, Kai. Remember.
But with both Ezra and I gone…
As if my brain had compartmentalized my trauma, the memory of Ezra’s severed head was all I could see. A sudden adrenaline rush propelled me toward the door, and I stumbled into an empty hallway, desperately attempting to escape the nightmarish images. The walls were stark white and bare, like some clinical facility. I followed a row of recessed lighting and turned a corner to a longer corridor, where a red emergency exit sign hung at the end like a beacon. Using the wall as support, I moved as fast as my legs would allow.
Almost there.
With renewed strength and a glimmer of hope, I pushed harder and swung around the corner, but instead of freedom, I collided with a broad chest, the impact flinging me backward onto my ass.
The average human body possessed a threshold of pain it could withstand before passing out or going into shock. I wondered if I was close to reaching that limit.
“And where the fuck do you think you’re going?” My attempts to scoot away were pathetic, and he snatched me by the front of my gown. Another wave of blistering pain rocketed through every inch of me, but I couldn’t even muster the energy to cry.
I expected Sasha to come barreling down the hall and finish me off, but another unfamiliar man with silver-capped teeth grabbed my arm. “She must have gotten out during transport. I’ll escort her back.”
Through my haze, I met the first man’s dark eyes, and they creased with slight confusion. “I don’t remember this one.”
“That’s ’cause her face is fucked to all hell.”
“That must mean she’s trouble, doesn’t it?” Again, he assessed mecautiously, and my eyes fell on the black scorpion tattoo on his neck. “Get her to the truck before they take off.”
The taller of the two dragged me down the hall. But something wasn’t right.
Transport?
We reached what looked like an abandoned hangar, where a white delivery truck had started to pull out. The man whistled loudly near my ear, grabbing the driver’s attention. They exchanged words, but I was still in a daze and couldn’t understand what they said. Their voices were indecipherable echoes as the ringing in my ears intensified…until the latch to the back of the truck popped, and the metal door slid open.
“Get in!”
A group of women and girls were packed into the haul. Some were aware and crying, and others clearly sedated.
Trafficking.
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m not supposed to be here.”
“Me neither, princess. My lunch break was nearly an hour ago. Now, get your ass inside before I throw you in.”
“No! Get your fucking hands off me.”
I thrashed against his hold and clocked him with a right hook to the nose. Adrenaline staved off the pain trying to drag me to the ground. But I swallowed thickly and punched him again. When he doubled over, I snatched his gun and shot through his shoulder.
Screams erupted behind me, and I let off another round until he stopped moving.
“Idon’tbelong here.”
The driver’s footsteps jerked me around, but he was already on me with a sharp prick to the neck. I staggered and slowly cupped where it burned…
“Fuck!” My legs grew shaky, and I became disoriented, stumbling toward a wobbly door. “No…please, no.”
Squeezing the trigger, I shot wildly into the hangar as I fell to my knees, no longer able to see straight.
