Chapter 54
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
acelynn
When I finally came to, I hung suspended in the wreckage, the seat belt biting into my ribs.
The world was upside down, blood dripping from my temple and sliding into my hair.
I sucked in a ragged breath as my vision wavered in and out of focus.
My forehead burned from where the airbag had hit me.
The only thing I could focus on was the sound of the blood dripping from a cut in my hairline as it pinged against the roof of the car.
Every part of me throbbed in pain, but at least I was awake and aware.
“Astoria,” I croaked out. My body tried to jerk forward to release the iron grip the seat belt had on me, but it was no use with how it was locked in place.
Astoria groaned out in response to me. I turned my head to look at her.
She was slumped motionless beside me, hair wet with blood, her chest barely moving.
Panic surged, raw and consuming. “Astoria, wake up. Please, you can’t—”
My voice cracked into a sob as I stretched my hand toward her. My fingers found hers, limp and cold, but I still gave them a squeeze to remind her that even if she had made a mistake, even if she hated my guts, I was still here. That I wasn’t going anywhere.
The crunch of boots against broken glass approaching caught my ears, and I ripped my hand out of hers.
My fingers gripped either side of the seat belt as I yanked at the device.
My eyes scanned the area around me until I caught sight of Astoria’s purse.
I leaned forward, gritting my teeth against the pain shooting through me as I tried to get into the front zipper pocket.
My hand yanked it to the side, and I dove down deep until the cool kiss of metal touched my skin.
Just as my fingers wrapped around the blade, a figure leaned in through the shattered driver’s side window.
A masked figure crouched next to Astoria, knife flashing silver.
Before I could react, he sliced her seat belt.
Her body crashed hard onto the roof of the car in a heap on itself.
The figure reached into the car, ripping her out effortlessly through the window.
Astoria’s body scraped against twisted metal, blood streaking across the dirt as they went.
“No!” My scream tore through the silence, wild and raw. I clawed at my seat belt, blood-slick hands slipping against the button. The more I fought, the tighter it seemed to hold me—a restraint, a trap.
“I told you, doll,” Logan’s deep voice called out to me, but in my panic, I couldn’t pinpoint which side of the car he was on.
I placed one of my hands against the roof and reached down to the clicker, slamming my palm into the release over and over again until finally the device gave way with a snap.
I tumbled down, glass biting into my palms and knees as I scrambled through the broken window.
The desert sun burned overhead, blinding and merciless.
Dust and blood coated my tongue. I could feel my body beginning to shut down with every movement, but I had to get out to Astoria.
The black tar burned against my skin as I made it fully out of the passenger side.
Logan stood tall, the mask gone, his smile crooked and cruel, the kind of smile that always promised suffering. He had Astoria by the arm, her head lolling to the side, eyes half-shut and dazed. She looked broken.
My stomach dropped. Logan crouched low, his shadow falling across me as I pressed back against the wreck. He leaned close, his breath hot, his eyes glittering.
“I told you if you didn’t make yourself useful,” he murmured, his smile widening as he ran a finger along my jaw. “I’d make you useful.”
The sun blazed overhead, but all I felt was the ice in his words.
And for the first time, I realized, he hadn’t just found me.
He had been waiting. Watching. Every step had been planned.
The crash hadn’t been fate. It had been the trap snapping shut.
And I think Astoria had a hand to play in all of it.