Page 11 of King of Wrath
“I know you were at the Diamond a few weeks back.”
“I was.”
The same night I met Gris. Suddenly, the reason Gris isn’t worried I’m late is completely clear.
He was a set-up all along. I knew that guy was too good to be true. Not that I can worry about him right now. My hand claws at my throat as I freeze for a moment. What do I do?
I automatically reach for a door handle, though I don’t know where I think I’m going with the car cruising down the highway at eighty miles an hour.
But shock hits me when I realize there isn’t a latch to open the door. I blink at the empty mechanism, trying to process why the tab would be missing, my heart racing in my chest.
“Nia.” The driver says again. “I’m going to need you to give me your phone.”
“No,” I whisper, clutching the device tighter. I have to call my father. I hate Toni Carcetti, but I know he’ll come for me.
Hitting the screen, I fumble to type in the code, press the buttons that will make this all better.
That’s when the driver’s right hand appears on the back of the passenger’s seat, a small pistol resting casually in his grip. “The phone, Nia. Now.”
I’ve got to hand it to him, the threat, casually delivered is immediately effective. But as I lift my sweating hand up, the phone falls from my grip, bouncing, still lit, onto the floor and then under his seat.
I let out a strangled gasp, staring at where it disappeared. How bad was that…is he going to… “It went under the seat,” I cry, feeling the fear swelling inside me. I’m pretty good at controlling it most times, but this is so unexpected and crazy. I just…
“Hey,” he says, and he doesn’t sound upset. In fact, it’s soft, soothing. “Just relax and everything will be fine.”
My gaze snaps back to his in the mirror. “Fine? You’re kidnapping me.”
“Don’t think of it like that,” he answers smoothly. With the sunglasses off, I can see he’s as handsome and as sinister as I imagined that night at the Diamond. Not that I should be taking note of that detail.
This guy’s a pyscho.
I wrap my arms around myself, barely holding back a sob. I wanted to get away, but in this moment, I’d do nearly anything to be safely tucked back in my room, under the care of Toni Carcetti.
CHAPTER FOUR
Nia
I sink down lowerin my seat, wondering what sort of fresh hell I’ve landed myself in now. What is this man going to do to me?
I suddenly realize that I’m breathing so heavily, I’m beginning to hyperventilate. “What do you want with me? Why am I here? Are you going to hurt me?”
The car slows as he lets off the gas. “No.”
He didn’t have to answer but I barely acknowledge that as I try to calm my racing heart. I’ve suffered abuse before and fists I can take. But other types of assault make my stomach pitch. "I'd rather you just killed me than….” The words are out before I can hold them back, but I bite back the second half of that sentence, not wanting to say what I’m worried he’ll do out loud.
“Nia,” he says my name like my words have pained him. Him. Some niggle of anger helps me to gain control. Why should my death hurt him? I’m the one who’s been forced against my will. Something, I guess I’m used to. Thanks to Toni.
“My father will come for me.”
“I know.” His voice is so calm and so assured that my mouth drops open. Is that the plan? Am I bait?
“What will you do with me while we wait?” The fear is sliding back in, my limbs begin to shake as he slows the car down, pulling over to the side.
Casually, he reaches under his seat and then pulls up my phone. With a quick strike using the butt of the gun, he smashes the device, then rips it apart. In a final move, he tosses it out the window.
And then we’re off again.
I look back out the window, like the phone was my final lifeline. Maybe it was.