Chapter 1
My head spins as I peel my eyes open. I lay in a crumpled heap up against the wall in the middle of my hallway. I struggle to see what’s right in front of me and have to blink a few times, desperately needing the blurriness to fade away.
Something trickles down the side of my face and I press a hand against my temple. “Shit,” I groan, bringing my hand back to find blood smeared over my fingertips. How long was I out?
A heavy pounding makes it near impossible to raise my head off the floor, but I have no choice. I need to get up. I need to help her.
Aria. My little sister. How could I let this happen?
She was relying on me and I let her down. I was supposed to protect her, keep her safe from monsters, but when she needed me the most, right when she needed me to step up, I failed her.
The heavy pounding continues to weigh me down but I have to get up, I have to keep fighting for her. I wipe the back off my arm across my face, ridding myself of as much blood as possible before getting my hands underneath me.
I push up with a cringe and the movement instantly has my head spinning. Dizziness overtakes me and my body slams into the wall beside me. I keep my body against the wall and use it to help me get to my feet.
I make my way down the hallway and it’s clear that I really shouldn’t be up on my feet. Black spots appear in my blurred vision and I quickly realize my body isn’t going to last long. I’m straddling the edge of unconsciousness but I’ve already wasted too much time. Far too much time.
I will not pass out. I have to find my sister.
I stumble down to her bedroom, needing to check this is real. Her door is cracked and I make quick work of throwing it open. The light is off but the light coming from the hallway is enough to showcase her empty bed.
She’s really gone.
My heart shatters as bile rises in my throat. How will I ever get her back? When dad finds out that I’m not his, he’d be right to get rid of me. What kind of big sister allows her sibling to get taken right from under her nose?
I had so many options but I chose to run after Kelly and that man she brought with her. I did this to Aria. I didn’t protect her. I was stupid. Careless.
Dad has guns in every hiding spot throughout the house. I should have gotten one of those and made the problem go away. I should have shot her. Both of them. I would have spent the rest of my life rotting in prison beside Gina, but I’d do it a million times over if it meant keeping Aria safe.
A high-pitched, terrified scream comes from out the front of my home and my back straightens. “HENLEY,” the voice cries. “HELP. HELP. HENLEY.”
Aria.
She’s still here. I mustn’t have been out for long at all.
Hope surges through me as I run as fast as I can. I hear the sound of a struggle before an engine roars to life. Shit. No, no, no. I’m not going to make it.
I consider grabbing a gun but then I risk the car driving off before I have a chance to make it out the door.
The sound of Ari’s screams and tortured cries have me bolting through the house until I’m bounding through the front door with a desperation I’ve never felt before. The man wrestles her into an old brown car and quickly slams the door on her. “NO!” I scream, pounding my feet against the pavement.
The man takes me in as he looks over his shoulder before picking up his pace.
“Hurry up,” Kelly roars from the driver’s seat, hearing the sirens in the distance as she slams her hand against the back of the passenger’s seat.
The man drops down into the car just moments before I make it to Aria. I grab hold of her door handle and rip it open. It swings open with a creak and I reach in, my fingers barely grazing Aria’s when Kelly slams down on the gas, taking off like a bat out of hell.
“ARIA,” I yell out as the trunk of the car fishtails around and slams into my hip, sending me flying back onto the grass with a hard thump. The man hangs out the passenger’s side window, attempting to close Aria’s door as I watch through the back window at how Ari is thrown around like a ragdoll. No carseat, no seatbelt, no regard for her safety in the least.
I scramble up to my feet with heavy sobs ripping from my throat. I start running down the road after the car, hoping for some kind of miracle that Ari will find the strength to dive out the open car door or put up some sort of fight to slow them down, but it’s useless, my feet on the worn asphalt is nothing compared to the car careening down the road.