Recalled (Death Escorts #1)(54)
Author: Cambria Hebert

“Git!” I yelled and kicked at one of them. They moved back and I began shimmying myself under the fence.

The man behind me made a sound, kind of like a growl, and I tried to move faster. But my shirt got caught on the fencing and one of the dogs bit at my shoe. And then he was on me, grabbing me roughly and pulling me back into the alley. I was still half lying on the ground when he leaned over me, snarling.

“You’ve been nothing but trouble, you know that?” he ground out and then he hit me in the head with his gun and everything went black.

Chapter Forty-Seven

“Determination – Firmness of purpose; resolve.”

Dex

I drove to Piper’s apartment because I figured there was nowhere else she would be besides work, and I knew she was off. Hobb’s words echoed through my head with every mile I drove.

There is always a choice.

Maybe in his world, but not in mine. He didn’t understand what I was caught up in. He probably never even considered that the Grim Reaper was even real. I never gave it much thought either until I met him and saw for myself.

Remnants of my time being recalled rattled around inside me and caused me to press down on the gas. I never wanted to go there again. I finally understood what Storm meant about there being worse things than not having a body. If I had to choose between not having a body and being recalled, I would’ve made the same choice as him.

I couldn’t even think of the words to describe that place. I wouldn’t even be able to begin to make them up either. There was simply no word or description that could give meaning to what I experienced.

I turned onto Piper’s street, steely resolve settling over me like ice on the ground, and looked for a place to park.

But there was nowhere.

Half the street was blocked off by police cruisers and people standing on the sidewalk. They were all in front of Piper’s building. My heart rate picked up a little and I told myself it was because the police made me nervous. Still, my eyes went up to the window that I knew was Piper’s.

It was shattered.

Jagged pieces of glass hung awkwardly from the sides and there was nothing left of the center.

I couldn’t park my car so I just slowed it to a crawl. I couldn’t help but notice how people turned to look and I realized this was not the kind of car that people drove in this neighborhood. This was the kind of car that would draw attention.

Just as I was about to take off down the road and ditch the car to come back on foot someone broke away from the crowd and came running. I was going to ignore her, but then I took another look… She looked familiar. It was the same girl I saw with Piper that day at the college. I think Piper said Frankie was her name.

I stopped the car and rolled down the passenger-side window as the woman with chin-length curly hair looked inside.

“Are you Dex?”

“Yeah. What’s going on?” I hitched my chin toward the building.

“Some guy who claimed to be a friend of yours came here tonight, pulled a gun, and kidnapped Piper.”

Shock and anger sliced through me. I felt my hands curl tightly around the steering wheel. Charming had threatened her, but part of me thought he wouldn’t do it. I didn’t think he would go against G.R. like that.

My thinking got my Target kidnapped.

“How long ago was he here?”

“An hour ago. Maybe more.”

“Get back,” I growled.

She barely stepped out of the way as I burned rubber all the way down the street.

Chapter Forty-Eight

“Trapped – in a tight corner, in a tight spot, with your back to the wall.”

Piper

I opened my eyes and then blinked to be sure they really were open. It was so dark here that for a minute I was fooled into thinking I really hadn’t opened them. I felt disoriented and confused, not really understanding what was happening. Then in a rush of panic and memory it all came back. The man with the gun, Frankie, and the dogs. He’d hit me and then put me here.

But where was here?

I stretched out my arm to see if I could feel anything and it very quickly hit against something solid covered in a fine, rough carpet. I was lying on my side and I rolled onto my back and reached up, hitting a very low ceiling… It wasn’t a ceiling.

It was a trunk.

He locked me up inside the trunk of his car.

I bit back the panic that immediately tried to grab hold. Panic wouldn’t help me now and hyperventilating would only reduce my oxygen supply. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to take a deep breath, and then I thought of somewhere else, somewhere I would rather be.

A vision of the northern lights flashed through my mind and the memory of lying against the snow so close to Dex calmed me. That’s where I’d rather be.

I had to be calm and rational about this. I couldn’t fall apart. If I died, Frankie would never forgive me.

Feeling more in control I opened my eyes. There had to be a way out of here.

I thought back to the features of the car. It was a newer car and newer cars all had safety latches in the trunks. If I could find it, I could get out and run for help.

I began running my hands along the sides of the trunk, looking for a button or a handle, anything I could use to set myself free. At times, I had to stop and remind myself not to panic. This tiny enclosed space made it really hard to breathe. After a few minutes of futile searching, I let out a frustrated cry and let my head fall to the side.

That’s when I saw it.

There was a very faint glowing just past the center (or what I thought was the center) of the side. It was shaped kind of like a handle. It must be glow-in-the-dark, I thought as I reached for the handle, hope bubbling up inside me.

Then from outside the car I heard a sound. A slam. Then the engine started and the car began to move. He was driving off, taking me somewhere he could probably kill me and then hide my body.

Chapter Forty-Nine

“Anger – A strong feeling of displeasure or hostility.”

Dex

As soon as Piper’s building was out of sight, my cell phone rang. It was Storm. “Tell me you know where she is,” I said as soon as I answered the call.

“He stuffed her in the trunk of a white car,” he said. “He’s driving now.”

“Is she dead?” I asked, the words sticking in my throat. The vivid image of Charming shutting up her dead body in his trunk flashed before my eyes.

“No. Not yet. But he hit her in the head with his gun and knocked her out.”

“So G.R. has this rule about Escorts not fighting,” I said. “But does he have a rule about us killing each other?”