“I love you,” I cried out right before the tape was placed against my lips. Tears continued to cascade down my cheeks as I tried to say I love you over and over again. I was certain it would be the last time I would ever see Zerro alive and if he did live, he wouldn’t come to save me.
“There’s no point screaming. Where you’re going, they love to hear women scream. They feed off the tears you cry. Believe me when I say if you thought Zerro was a monster, you’re in for a ride.”
“Let fucking go of me,” I mumbled against the tape wiggling as much as I could. Tears were still blocking my vision, but I felt the air whip through my hair as Mack pushed us through the front door.
“No way. You’re my ticket out of all of this.” He sounded gleeful, and I wanted to wipe the fucking smile I knew was on his face off.
“You won’t get away with this. He’ll find you, and when he does, you’re as good as dead.” I knew there was no pleading with this kind of man.
Picking me up as if I weighed nothing more than a feather, he opened the back of what looked like a van and sat me on the edge of the entrance so he could open the other door up. My mind skidded to a halt as I realized this might be my only chance to escape. Pulling my feet together, I bunched up my legs as much as I could and pushed back as I kicked at his face.
He stumbled back only slightly. Swear words filled the air. Trying to sit up, I pushed my legs up again to get another good kick, but it did me no good. He was bigger and stronger. His hands gripped my legs as anger showed in every muscle I could see. “You’re dirty fucking bitch,” he said as he tried to push me further into the van.
Fighting with all my might, I pushed back, kicking and screaming. My words were hard to hear and my kicking did nothing but wear me out.
“Let go of me,” I repeated over and over again my screams were nothing but a muffle of noise against the duct tape. Another kick to the face would hopefully get him to slow down. His hands wrapped around my legs, and his fist came down hard against my cheek. For a moment, my vision blurred as pain radiated through my face. My mind went blank as light reflected in and out. I couldn’t get a grip on what was happening.
“If that doesn’t keep you down, then this fucking will.” His words caused my head to ache as I tried to get my wits together.
Before I could respond, I felt the prick of something in my arm, and the darkness of whatever it was he had injected me with consumed me.
Chapter One
Zerro
The Past
“Jared. Jared…” I screamed into the phone. I was on the verge of death. I could feel the blood seeping from every pore of my body.
“Calm down, Zerro, just breathe,” Jared kept repeating to me. He wanted me to calm down and just breathe. Did he not realize I was shot three fucking times? I was bleeding to death. He was lucky I was still coherent.
“They have Bree. I fucked up. I fucked up.” My voice was growing weak with every word I spoke. I should’ve been saving my energy. I should’ve been thinking about anything but her, but I couldn’t get the fearful look she had in her eyes out of my mind. The look I had placed there.
“What the hell happened? What do you mean they?” Jared asked his voice harsh and panicked. Could I even tell him what had happened. I was beyond ashamed. The way I had treated her. Not to mention Mack, and the fact I had trusted him.
“Fuck…” I hissed into the phone, trying to roll into a sitting position.
“What happened, Zerro. I just left less than twenty-four hours ago…?” Jared sounded astonished, and I didn’t even care. I didn’t care about explaining anything to him. All that mattered was I survived so I could kill Mack and get Bree back.
“Zerro!” Jared yelled.
“Yeah,” I said weakly, I wasn’t going to make it. He wasn’t going to get here fast enough, and I was going to die. I was going to meet my fate at the hands of one of my most trusted men.
“Stay with me, dude, stay with me.” I could hear Jared’s pleading voice but couldn’t force any words from my mouth. It was as if everything in my life had slowed down. Memories of my mother, father, and Bree filtered in and out. A ray of colors showed behind my eyes as if they were the moon, sky, and stars on a dark night.
“Mack…. It was Mack…” I was just able to get out before the world started to grow darker.
“Alzerro, you’re not allowed to fucking die on me, do you hear me?” It sounded as if Jared was screaming through a long tube. By the time his voice reached my ears, it was muffled and had lost its effect. Instead of it sounding like he was yelling, all I heard was barely a whisper.