April washes her face and grabs the hammer off the sink basin. Panic courses through me. “He raped me. Derrick raped me. I didn’t seduce your husband, April!” I try to tell her.
But she just steps forward and punches me in the face. My head snaps back, and I hear the crunch as my nose breaks. Blood spurts from my nose like a tap has been turned on.
“Liar! He told me you would say that. Said you would try to tarnish his name to save yourself from what you did! Was I not a good mother to you that you would hurt me so?”
“I am not lying; every goddamn night for a year, I had to endure him. Every night I wished you would walk through that door, wished that you would realize and save me from him, to make it stop,” I scream at her, which only angers her more.
April’s face distorts in anger. “You’re lying, or you would have told me. Why didn’t you speak up then, Evelyn, huh?”
“Because he threatened Lana; because of who he is. I tried, April. No one would believe me; why would they? You couldn’t even see what was right under your nose the entire time.”
Her hands grip my throat; my words die out as I try to breathe and the chair suddenly tips, and she comes down on top of me. “Liar! Fucking liar!” she keeps screaming, and I can feel the darkness take over my vision just as she lets go, stands up and kicks my side.
I start choking on the breath I try to take, as she struggles to lift the chair back up under my weight. When she finally has me upright again, she strides over to the shelf with tools again, and I groan.
“Please, no more, no more April, just let me go,” I cry.
“No, I will make you suffer the way he did.” My stomach drops when she turns around. “No one will recognize you when I am done,” she says, walking toward me with a blow torch, a sadistic look on her face. One of pure insanity.
Thaddeus
I fucked up; I know I fucked up. I let my walls down. I fell asleep, and as soon as I opened my eyes, I knew they would find me. I shouldn’t have gone home or closed my eyes for those few seconds, which turned into hours.
I can feel them getting nearer. Looking at the clock, I see that it is 10 AM. I have to get moving; they won’t be far out. My mates will convince me to come back, and I can’t risk her safety. She is safest away from me.
My life has been hell without them. I haven’t slept in a month, sitting down and resting is my mistake. I should have kept moving, stayed awake, and then they wouldn’t have found me. Putting my clothes on, I head for the door. I know I don’t have long before they get here. Time slipped away from me, and I’m not even sure how long I slept, but I can feel how close they are.
Moving quickly, I start running. No direction in particular, just away from them catching up. I can feel Orion getting closer, feel his emotion creep into me, flooding me, forcing me to stop. I usually block them out. I can’t handle their suffering. I know it is hell for them, as much as it is for me, but this is the right choice, or so I thought, until I feel her, feel them suffering along with me.
First, it is unease creeping in from her. What is she doing that is making her unsure? Then it is fear, then pounding pain, ripping through my skull, forcing me to clutch my head.
Something is wrong; something has happened. Then suddenly, I can’t feel her at all; she is gone. Looking around, I have no idea where I am; stopping at a sign, I read: Town of Forse.
Ryland and Orion are just as far away as I am. They are 6 hours away from her. Turning on my heel, I take off, heading back the way I came. My surroundings blur into a sea of color; I am moving that fast. My heart is pounding, and dread consumes me. Why can’t I feel her? Is she unconscious? Ryland and Orion would have left her in safe hands. I know them; they love her just as much as I do. So why is she hurt? Why isn’t she safe?
Running, I dig my phone out slowly, as I ring my mother.
“Hello?” her excited voice comes through to me.
“Ma, where is Evelyn? Put her on.”
“I can’t hear you. Are you running?” she asks.
I slowly come to a stop so she can hear. I can feel Ryland and Orion moving away, heading toward her. They must know where she is. “Ma put Evelyn on the phone,” I tell her.
“Evelyn, she went into the city to meet Lana,” my mother says.
My blood runs cold. “By herself?”
“Yes, Ryland said it was okay.” I hang up to dial Evelyn’s number.
“Hi, you’ve reached Evelyn. Leave your number, and I will get back to you.” Her voicemail. Either it is off, or she has no reception. Running, I can feel myself catching up to Ryland, feel the pull of the mate bond pulling me towards his direction.
That’s when I feel her wake, her panic courses through me. My wrists are hurting. I can feel everything she feels. My mate is in trouble; she is hurt. Finally catching up to Ryland at Leven, I see him in wolf form and then, he drops. So do I when the pain starts radiating throughout my left foot. My foot is throbbing, and Ryland groans, the pain forcing him to shift back.
Grabbing him, I slam him to the ground as anger takes over me. “Where is she?”
“She went to the park to visit Lana. Go, Thaddeus, find her,” he says and starts screaming in agony. I can feel her pain but push it aside; her mind is consumed in pain. Letting him go, I start running. Just hang on, Evelyn. I am not far now.