Tessa’s POV:
Cold.
That was the first thing I felt. Not just a winter breeze kind of cold, but the kind that clings to your skin and slinks into your bones. Heavy. Metallic. Suffocating.
My eyes snapped open, but darkness greeted me. Not the natural kind. This was forced and wrong. I tried to blink, but the darkness stayed. That’s when I realized I was blindfolded.
Panic rose. My heart beat so fast that I feared it would burst.
My arms jerked, but something tugged them back. Rope. Rough, scratchy. My ankles too. I was tied up like some prize waiting to be claimed.
The surface beneath me vibrated softly. A humming, a rattling. The scent of old leather, oil, and dust filled my nose.
I was in the trunk of a moving car.
My breath hitched. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. My che
