Chapter 25
Panic seizes me the instant I emerge from the shadows, breath stalling in my chest. Chelsea’s nowhere to be seen. Maximus stands alone in the centre of the path, eyes focused on the phone in his hand.
“Before you cause a scene, your sister is off relieving herself as well,” he utters blandly.
Relief washes over me as the two escorts move closer, corralling me toward Maximus. Though, they hover threateningly while his attention is elsewhere.
Seconds feel like an eternity as I wait for my sister’s return. Maximus’s ostentatious shirt billows in the breeze as he ignores me, smirking at whatever he’s watching on the screen of his cell phone.
Finally, Chelsea’s figure is illuminated by the bright morning sun, led roughly by the muscular third man.
She stumbles on the uneven ground, nearly taking the guard down with her.
Ire flares in his eyes as he scrambles to hold her and shift his weight.
His grip doesn’t falter as his knee slams to the gravel, giving him enough stability to stop her head from cracking off the ground.
My breath catches when Chelsea doesn’t so much as reach her arms out to brace herself.
She’s a rag doll, silent and jerked erratically.
“Can’t manage something as basic as walking? No wonder you wound up here. All you’re good for is a warm hole to fuck,” the man snarls.
My vision rains red when Chelsea doesn’t even stir. She’s hanging there, leaving me wondering if she’s even still breathing.
“Hey!” I shout. “Leave her alone, she’s been through enough!
” The words are out before I think better of it.
Fear slaps me across the face the instant I realize everyone’s gaze has turned to me.
Maximus has even lifted his eyes from his phone, an even more sinister grin slowly pulling across his thin lips.
“Yes, Karson. That’s quite enough. You may carry Miss Chelsea the rest of the way to Bleakcrest.”
The man’s otherworldly eyes widen, a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me look crossing his features. He doesn’t utter whatever objection is on the tip of his tongue though.
Karson jerks a nod. “Yes, sir,” he snips. Scooping my sister into his arms, he rights himself on his feet, turning to start his trek up the never-ending hill without another word.