The blood seemed to quickly leave her body, or at least fall to her feet. The scream and fear seemed to make her lightheaded. Slapping a hand over her mouth, her body hunched as a hard hand connected with her already pulsing shoulder.
Pain exploded, the hot rush as burning as a volcano, not only in her shoulder, but in the back of her mind. Feeling the breath rush out of her body, her scream was nothing but air as she fell limply with pain. A dark aura shrouded them. The car turned deathly silent, as if the slightest sound would emit the largest of catastrophes.
Frightened, she shoved her hand in her mouth to keep from making a sound as tears rained down her cheeks. Her body trembled with heavy jerks, heart stilling as his next words penetrated her mind.
“The woman would make a good addition, wouldn’t she? My toys have been needing some new material to play with,” he murmured to the man beside her. His dark head bobbed, yet no words came from him.
Shrinking against the seat, her mind screamed at her to escape, to flee from them. Her soul was doing the exact thing, the knowledge that she was going to die deeply ingrained in her mind. What had she done? she thought frantically, mind racing for a way to solve the question.
The brief thought that her mother had planned this made her heart jerk. She denied the thought, shoving it away from her. Her mind mulled it over with intense turmoil and panic. Jamie forced herself to reason, even as the men around her radiated menace. She was being incoherent, she told herself, forcing a shuddering breath past her lips. Her mind was full of nonsense that didn’t matter.
The only thing that mattered was escaping and getting to her mother.
Surely, she told herself, looking at the dark men that crowded around her, she was not behind this. It was a dumb thought--her mother loved her, wanted the best for her. Her father was long gone and she had no use in staying away from Jamie anymore--her mother just wouldn’t do that.
Pale blue eyes looked around frantically. The door was locked, the small button pushed down all the way. The man next to her had a scar down his cheek that led to his chin and wrapped around his jaw. She shuddered, the tattoo on his arm revealed by the short sleeved shirt he wore. Inanely, she thought, shouldn't he be cold? A nervous laugh bubbled in her throat, sounding more like a cackle.
Jamie bit hard on her hand, drawing blood. She was so terrified, she barely noticed the new pain.
The man on the other side of her was bald, a tattoo on the back of his head. Did all thugs have tattoos? she asked mentally. Jamie knew that if she tried to talk, it would only turn in a close-throated squeak. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest as soulless black eyes turned to look at her.
“What are you looking at?” he growled, his hand fisting in his lap. Jamie’s face paled worse, her life flashing before her eyes.
Jamie shoved her shaking hands in the pockets of her Columbia, trying to hide that she was about to piss herself. A chilling numbness settled in her bones, sliding down her back, and penetrating her stomach.
Jamie gasped, leaning over.
The vomit she spewed landed all over the man on her left.
Chapter 4
The car ride was long and tense. A blizzard soon started, blocking her sight from anything past the men beside her. Snow melted against the car windows, the soft flakes dissolving into liquid drops that slid down the pane, just as tears were sliding down her cheeks. The need to escape had quickly turned to despair.
They had stopped briefly to clean up the mess that she had made. A new bruise was showing up on her jaw, the fist that had connected with her face a deadly reminder of how ruthless these men were. Unlike Chris, they packed heavy muscles and it had felt like a hammer connecting with her cheek. Eyes downcast, trying to get past the sickness in her stomach, she watched from the corner of her eye as men piled out of the car.
The bald one, the one she had puked on, grabbed her shoulder in a tight grip. She gasped, pain coiling in her shoulder and neck. His look of appeasement had her hands curling with the urge to tear his face off. Jamie held