AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Open the fucking door, Jasmine.” Gone is the smile, replaced by a cold, dead look. Determination in her eyes.
But screw that, I push the door harder, not caring if she fires off a round of lead on my bulletproof door, but she shoulders her way in. Stronger than I participated.
She huffs as she shuts the door behind her. Using the hand with the gun to smooth her hair back down. “Now, there was no need to be so rude.” A Joker-like smile plays on her face, manic eyes flaring. “I just wanted to get to know my niece. Go sit.” She waves the gun toward my couch.
Mr. Tuxedo hisses, darting into my room. I can’t blame him. I wish I could do the same.
I’m oddly calm, as if I knew deep down my life was too perfect and something was bound to mess it up. Or maybe Justin’s training is finally kicking in. Not the fighting part, obviously.
She walks around the room, swinging the gun on her finger as she takes it all in. Stopping on a picture of my family. The entire heirs and the parents. She growls, knocking the picture down with her gun, murderous eyes pointed at me. “Your little wannabe elite group has taken from me for the last time.” She raises the gun, just as the door swings open.
“What the fuck?” Easton rushes her, but she takes him by surprise when she smacks the gun over his head and he crumbles to the floor.
She spins, smiling at me as she walks toward me. I can hear a clock ticking to the rhythm of her heels.
Click.
Click.
Click.
She stops in front of me, and I know I only have seconds, but she surprises me when she raises the gun and hits me over the head, my world going dark.
* * *
When I come to, my head throbs, pounding like a drum. Pain behind my eye sockets prevent me from opening my eyes. The ground is soft and wet beneath my body, soaking my clothes. I hear water running, and finally, I open my eyes. The sun is setting, casting the last light of the day. The first thing I see is a tube coming out of my arm, the end capped. Then I look around, recognizing the Falls. We’re in BurBay Falls? How long have I been out?
“Oh, goodie. You’re awake.” The voice has the hairs on my arms rising, a chill sweeping across my body.
I raise my head slightly, taking in the woman who hit me over the head with a gun. She wears huge black glasses and a long green peacoat, even though it’s one hundred degrees out here. “How long have I been out?” I ask, sitting up in the grass.
“Oh, only a few days, but don’t worry, I gave you the good drugs.” She smiles, pushing the shovel in the ground, leaning on it.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask.
“You killed my brother. The only man I have ever loved. He was my first, you know.” She sighs, a whimsical look overcoming her face. “He was the only one who truly loved me, showed me how to be a real woman. He paid attention to me, you know. Well, until my sister became that special age, then he paid attention to her instead. But he didn’t love her like he loved me.”
My stomach sours. This poor woman has been brainwashed. She was obviously raped and groomed at a young age. “Your mom used to scream and cry. I loved when she did that because then he would always come back to me.”
My head spins as I try to wrap my mind around the idea of the life my mom was subjected to. Why she is the way she is. “Killing me won’t bring him back, you know.”
She glares, pushing off the shovel, walking to me until she’s peering down at me. “I know that, stupid girl. It will, however, make me feel better. Now, get up and begin digging. It’s time to prepare your final resting place.”
I wrap my arms around my knees, resting my head up top of them. “If you want me dead, then you do it. I will not dig my own grave. I die either way.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Spoiled brat.” She claps her hands, and two men walk out.
Their hoods cover their faces, beefy bodies outlined by hoodies. One carries a shovel while the other heads toward me. I begin to scramble back, my hands sinking into the wet earth. He grabs me by my hair, yanking me as he drags me. I scream, kicking at the air, twisting, trying to free myself. He yanks me to my feet, sending a blow to my face that has my head whipping backward as he grabs my hands. He wraps my arms around the tree behind me, stretching them to max capacity. My hands don’t touch due to the width of the tree, but he ties scratchy rope to each of them, unforgiving knots holding me in place, rubbing my skin raw as I try to work my way out of them.
I’m forced to watch the two men dig a hole close to the river. We’re far enough into the woods that no one will notice us out here, see the freshly dug grass, hear my screams if I release them. So instead, I watch as dirt piles high, the men disappearing as they dig deeper.
The men jump out, throwing the shovels that protrude from the ground, then they walk back out to the woods. I hear the slide of what sounds like the door of a van, before I hear it slam shut. They walk back, a wooden box in their grips. I struggle harder against my restraints, panic racking my insides as tree bark cuts the inside of my arms, scraping against them. My wrists ache with the strength I use to try pulling them free, the rope stinging against the raw wounds.
I can hear my heartbeat in my ears, feel it in my throat as the men walk to me. Fuck. I don’t know how to get out of this. I squirm when one grabs my hair, the other slashing a knife through the rope, catching the inside of one of my wrists. Usually, the act would bring me peace, but today, I feel nothing but dread and pain. It’s never been painful when I did it to myself because my mind protected me. I’m very aware of my fate at this moment, and I all I can do is think of my family and wonder when they’d be here to save me.
They shove me to my knees in front of the crazy lady. She flashes bright white teeth at me as the two men separate the lid from the box, pushing the base into the hole. “Climb in.” Her voice is chilly, lethal.
I shake my head. My throat works a knot as I try to gather my words. “No,” I whisper.
