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“Can we go home now?”
The panic is making me sweat excessively. I dab it out of my eyes and squeeze his hand in both of mine. “Lev, that’syourhome. It’s not mine. It’s time for me to leave.”
He shakes his head like that’ll change reality. “The basement is your home now. I don’t mind sharing…”
He’s so sweet; I hate having to be this cruel to him. But the panic isn’t helping curb my impatience. I leave the house through the backdoor and make a roundabout detour to the main road.
I’ll have to walk a while before I can hail a cab. But I can’t do that with Lev following me.
It’s time to say goodbye.
I set my bag down at my feet and turn to him. “Lev, I’m really sorry, but I can’t come back with you.”
He looks heartbreakingly confused. “Why not? You belong to us now. You belong with us!”
I hear the whir of an engine in the distance. Maybe I can hitch a ride to the highway and escape from there.The window is closing, Alyssa. Now or never…
“Don’t go!” he sobs when I say nothing.. “Please don’t go.”
The engine gets louder.Make your choice, Lys. Now or never. Now or never. Now or—
“Oh, Lev. I’m so sorry. I just…”
I stick out a thumb. The car stops. But I’m so desperate to make Lev understand that I don’t see what’s happening. I don’t process the two men climbing out of the car until they’re right on top of us.
Black guns.
Black masks.
Black intentions.
They grab Lev first. I expect him to scream. Yell. Kick. Fight. Freak out. Something.Anything.
But the shock of being manhandled shuts him down completely. The moment the masked men grab hold of him, Lev goes catatonic. He disappears into himself. The lights are on, but there is nobody home.
Which is why I kick it up a notch. I scream. I yell. I kick. I fight back for the both of us.
It just isn’t enough.
The second man points a gun at Lev’s temple and looks me in the eye. “Stop or I’ll blow his fucking brains out right now.”
I go deathly still, panic burning a hole in my throat. “Please don’t!” I gasp. “Please don’t hurt him. I’m begging you.”
The man clutching Lev in a vise grip has a high, nasally voice. The one pointing a gun at Lev’s head has a deeper, commanding one. I can see both their eyes through the holes in their masks, but neither pair looks remotely sympathetic.
“Please, I’ll do anything. Just let him go.”
“Anything, huh?” asks the nasally one. “Maybe if you suck my cock, I’ll consider it.”
I stare at Lev. His face is a complete blank. He’s looking down at his shoes as though he’s frozen.
“He’s not dangerous. He won’t fight back!”
The asshole holding the gun looks at Lev’s face for a moment. “Yeah, she’s right. Just stick him in the back of the van. He’s the dumbass. Brain-dead, that’s what the boss said. Crash knocked him stupid.”
My blood boils immediately. Rational thought goes kaput as I lunge for his throat with bared claws, screaming like a wild banshee.
It almost, almost, almost works. He’s so taken aback by my reaction that he stumbles to the side, his arm twisting towards me. I realize a moment too late that it’s the hand holding the gun. I can only watch in horror as the black mouth of the weapon comes closer and closer and—
