Page 78 of Alluring Darkness
Pain pulses through my body as I’m thrown down on the cold stone floor. Before I can recover, someone plants a boot on the side of my head while someone else sits down on top of me and twists my arms up behind my back at the same time as a third one grabs my ankles. I struggle futilely as they tie my wrists and ankles together with rope.
Because of the boot on the side of my head, I can’t see my attackers’ faces. But I’m not stupid. I know exactly who they are.
After giving Eli the antidote earlier this afternoon, I left him and his brothers on that field while the cure for the poison finished working its magic. The glares that followed me when I walked away were so lethally furious that they could’ve set the world on fire.
I knew that the Hunters would be coming for revenge. I just hadn’t expected it to be this soon. But then again, if there’s one person that wouldn’t need more than a few hours to recover from a near-death experience, it’s Eli Hunter.
The weight on my back disappears as the person who was sitting on me stands up. But before I can do anything about it, someone bends my legs up towards my ass. My heart hammers from the adrenaline as they hogtie me.
Then they step back, and the boot at last disappears from the side of my head.
I wiggle on the floor, but the ropes keep me mercilessly trapped, so all it accomplishes is to make my sleep shirt ride up and bunch around my waist. Since I was sleeping, I’m only wearing a large t-shirt and a pair of panties.
The stone floor is cold underneath my bare thighs as I try yet again to somehow get free of the ropes. It’s useless. Since there’s tape over my mouth, I breathe deeply through my nose as I twist my head to look at my captors. But all I manage to see before someone blindfolds me are black boots and dark pants.
My stomach lurches as one of the Hunters lifts me off the floor and throws me over his shoulder. The hogtie is so tight that my body can barely bend, leaving my muscles straining in the awkward position. I growl a curse that the gag muffles.
The sound of doors opening and closing joins the thudding footsteps. Then cool night air washes over me. Gravel crunches underneath boots. I listen carefully as I’m carried a short distance away from the building that houses the dorm rooms.
A trunk is popped open.
If I hadn’t been blindfolded, I would’ve rolled my eyes.
In the trunk? Seriously?
A muffled huff rips from my chest as I’m unceremoniously tossed into the trunk before it’s slammed shut, locking me in. While trying to wiggle into a somewhat more comfortable position, I wait for the sound of car doors being opened and closed. To my surprise, only one is.
After what is presumably the driver’s side door has been closed, the car is started. I jerk to the side as the driver does a sharp turn before speeding away.
Lying there in the trunk of a car, gagged, blindfolded, and hogtied, I can’t help but feel that this is a bit overkill. I don’t know what he’s so upset about. It was just a little poison. Just a tiny little murder attempt. He is clearly overreacting.
At least this will make sure that Eli’s attention never slips from me back to Connor. Which means that my stunt had the desired effect.
My body shifts to the side again as the driver eventually stops the car. I listen as the door is opened and then closed.
After another few seconds, the trunk is popped open. I draw in a deep breath through my nose as fresh air finally floods the space. Then I’m hauled out and thrown over a broad shoulder again. My muscles groan in protest from the restraints, and I mutter through the gag, but my abductor just continues walking.
Another huff tears from my chest as I’m dumped on what feels like a forest floor. Grass and leaves and twigs scrape against my bare skin as I wiggle on the ground.
For a few seconds, nothing happens.
Then my captor starts untying the ropes. I stop moving since I very much want these restraints off me.
Relief floods my limbs as the ropes are finally pulled off. Pushing up to my knees, I roll my shoulders and wrists before reaching for the blindfold and the gag. To my surprise, no one stops me as I pull them off and toss them to the ground.
I blink as I’m met with blinding light.
Once my eyes have adjusted, I realize that it’s the headlights from the black Range Rover parked a short distance away. The light from it is the only thing breaking up the blackness in the otherwise dark forest around me.
Tilting my head back, I at last meet the gaze of my captor.
Eli Hunter is staring me down with an unyielding expression on his face.
A thrill races down my spine, and the irrational part of me that doesn’t process emotions the way it should is kind of turned on by this whole situation.
“Get up,” he commands, his voice dripping with authority.
I slowly climb to my feet while rubbing the tender skin around my wrists. My shirt is still half bunched around my waist, so I smooth it down so that it covers the top of my thighs again. A few crushed leaves fall from my shirt and flutter to the ground.