Chapter 21 What The Hell Happened?
What The Hell Happened?
Kai to Tess: You mean too much to me, please don’t leave me. [undelivered]
Tess
It feels like I got hit over the head by my own terrible life choices going sixty miles per hour in a school zone.
It fucking hurts.
With a groan, I pry my eyelids open, though they put up a hell of a fight. The room swims into focus—stone walls, dim lighting, and a door with a big-ass metal latch straight out of a horror movie.
Oh my god.
I’ve been kidnapped.
That would explain why I’m tied to a damn chair.
Panic claws up my throat as I yank at the restraints. No luck. My brain, still sluggish from whatever fresh disaster led me here, struggles to catch up.
Pain shoots down my arm as I continue tugging at the restraints. Looking down I see that it’s scraped and bruised.
Roaming over the rest of me I note a lot of superficial cuts but nothing that seems glaringly wrong.
What the hell happened?
The last thing I remember is…
My breath catches.
The car accident.
Kai?
Nico?
Are they okay?
Are they here too?
I’m alone in whatever room this is, so looking around isn’t going to help.
What I need is answers. So I start yelling. Screaming bloody murder at the top of my lungs for anyone who might be listening.
It’s not long before there’s a loud thunk then the door starts pushing open. I stop my screaming to focus on whoever might be coming through from the other side.
A tall man with dark, almost black, hair steps through. His face has a hard edge that says, “Fuck with me and you’re dead.” On his body he’s got an impeccably tailored suit, and tattoos peeking out the top of his shirt.
I’m starting to regret drawing attention to myself.
“You’re awake,” a deep voice says, thick with a Russian accent.
“You’re astute.” Shut up, Tess.
His lips twitch, barely noticeable, before his expression hardens again. He tilts his head, studying me like I’m an insect under glass. “You made quite a noise.”
I shrug. “I was lonely.”
His brow lifts slightly. “Do you feel better now that you’re not alone?”
“No. Actually, I’d prefer better company. One of my travel companions, perhaps?”
His sneer is slow, deliberate, and ice-cold. “They’re dead.”
It’s not a slap. Not a punch. But the words hit harder than either could.
Dead.
Kai is dead.
And Nico.
Oh god.
A sharp, crushing pain blooms in my chest, like something inside me has torn open. The room tilts. My vision blurs. I can’t breathe—like there’s no oxygen left in the world, just a thick, suffocating nothingness.
No.
No, this isn’t real.
It can’t be real.
A sob wrenches out of me before I can stop it, my body shaking, hot tears streaking down my face, the salt bitter on my tongue.
The man leans closer, his features a distorted blur. He’s saying something, but I can’t hear it over the roaring in my ears.
I can’t think. I can’t move.
All I can see is Kai.
And he’s gone.