The Endless Road to Sunshine - Nicky James Page 0,148

with dark curtains. I spun, positioning myself where I thought Reggie might have taken the picture. It all lined up.

I thought my heart was going to go through the wall of my chest. I scanned the front of the house and pivoted, looking for a street sign as I tugged my phone out. As I connected a call to Levi, I studied the front yard, the backyard, the big heavy doors, and the broken and sagging chain-link fence.

“What the fuck are you doing? Jason, you’re—”

I recited the address as clearly as I could. Twice. “Tell the police to hurry. I’m going in.”

“Jason!”

I hung up and shove the phone into my pocket. When I approached the house, I didn’t think of the possible danger. I didn’t care what happened to me one way or another. All I cared about was getting Skylar out of there alive.

It was one thing to know how many strangers had died because of me, but it was a whole different nightmare for the victim to be Skylar. Free-spirited, innocent Skylar who had been a ray of sunshine in my dark world. Skylar, whose mouth babbled endlessly. Skylar, who looked at me like I was everything even when I was nothing more than a miserable asshole.

I decided to go around back. Something told me that was the way to go.

If I’d had second thoughts about the location, they didn’t last. A dog barked when I drew closer to the backdoor. This was it. I’d pinned him down.

But was I too late?

Chapter Twenty-SEVEN

Skylar

I’d drifted. Not to sleep but to somewhere far away, somewhere warm and sunny and safe. Somewhere beyond this nightmare. The dog’s incessant barking jarred me back to reality, and I groaned. Wiggling, I tried to move into a more comfortable position, but my arms and legs were tied—tight enough my fingers had gone tingly and numb.

The concrete beneath my cheek was cold and wet, and it seeped into my skin, making me shiver. My clothing stuck to me, stained and soaked with piss and vomit, a shame I was too exhausted to register. The rank smell, combined with the musk and damp odors of the unfinished basement tickled my nose.

I didn’t know where I was. When I’d woken up, it had been in this empty room surrounded by four concrete walls. The cracked concrete floor beneath me sloped toward a drain in the corner. A rusty ring circled it. There were marks on the floor, drag marks and scratches that told me this room hadn’t always been empty.

One window sat at street level. It was tiny and covered with a dark shade. Only two inches of the pane showed where the curtains hadn’t been drawn tight. It allowed for a small slit of sunlight to leak into the room. It was the only indication I had that night had turned to day. The door leading into the rest of the house was steel and locked.

The guy who called himself Reggie had come in a few times during the night with a vicious looking rottweiler at his side. Reggie had kicked me in the ribs and face, taunting me, telling me I’d made a big mistake and that I would soon have to pay the price. When one of Reggie’s blows landed hard enough in my gut, I’d lost my stomach. When he’d held a knife under my chin, piercing my skin, telling me I was going to die, I’d lost my bladder.

Then he’d disappeared for a long time. I had been alone in the dark. Afraid. In pain like I’d never felt in my life. And I’d cried until I could no longer stay conscious.

The sun was up now. Whether it was morning or afternoon, I didn’t know.

It was getting harder and harder to stay alert. I wanted to close my eyes and just disappear. Float away.

The dog barked again and again, keeping me present.

I tried to form thoughts. After the phone call to Jason, Reggie had grabbed me by the hair and hauled me upright so I’d look him in the eye. I’d cried as blood from my split lip dribbled down my chin.

“I don’t think he’s a stupid man. I’ll give him one hour to try and figure out we are. Either he comes for the live show, or we’ll just have to take a video for him. One hour.”

Then he’d slammed my face against the concrete ground, hard enough to open a nasty gash in my forehead. Blood ran in rivers over