Chapter Two
1748 Words
TILLY
“Are you sure you don’t need me to bring you some soup?” I asked for what felt like the millionth time this week.
Anxiety twisted in my chest while I listened to Dad cough on the other end of the line.
“No, honey. I’m fine. I don’t want to risk you getting sick with the flu and spending your winter break miserable like me.”
“I’ll make sure to wash my hands,” I offered, hoping he’d let me bring him some nutritional, warm food. Since I had moved out, his meals consisted of coffee, powdered doughnuts, beer, and frozen TV dinners. “I’ll wear a mask. I won’t get sick.”
“If you come out here to the farm, you’ll be late for your date. The roads aren’t safe either.”
I flicked my wrist up to check the time on my watch. 6:05 PM. He was right. It took a solid twenty minutes to get to the ranch from town under normal conditions. The latest snowstorm had dumped seven inches of snow, with more forecasted throughout the night. The roads in and out of town were snow-packed and slick.
Seated in the middle of my bed, I unfolded my jean-clad legs and went to the adjacent bathroom to touch up. I stretched out a hand, flicked the light switch on, and approached the small bathroom vanity.
“Fair points,” I said. “Just promise me you’ll go to the doctor if that cough gets any worse.”
Dad wheezed out a chuckle. “I’m capable of taking care of myself. I raised you and your sister on my own, right? I didn’t take you or your sister to the doctor for every little cough and fever. Hell, half the time, you slept outside no matter the season.”
I studied my reflection in the mirror, trying to find a semblance of the child who ran carefree and barefoot around the fields with tangled hair most of the time. Pippa had been the prim and proper one with ribbons in her long blonde hair and floral dresses with strappy heels. I was pretty sure she didn’t even own a pair of jeans. Meanwhile, I lived in leggings, t-shirts, and sweaters, and kept my blonde hair in a braid or ponytail all year around.
The only thing my sister and I had in common was our pale blue eyes and freckles we inherited from Mom. Other than that, we were polar opposites. I had stayed behind in Pine Hills while she had escaped to New York City on a full scholarship to NYU.
“I suppose you want me to thank you for creating my strong immune system?”
“It was the least I could do for you both. Speaking of winter break, your sister called me.”
I rolled my eyes as I backed away from the sink. “Let me guess. She’s spending her winter break with good ole Jack.”
“I wish you’d be nice about it,” Dad sighed into the phone. “This guy seems like he cares about your sister. I don’t understand why you get so hostile about it.”
“I’m not hostile. I’m--” I struggled to find the right words. Deep down, I loved my sister with every fiber of my being, but a part of me was angry with her for not helping more with Dad and around the farm. She had left that responsibility on my shoulders. Like usual. “She barely even knows this guy. She’s never brought him down here to meet us. It’s like she’s ashamed of us both.”
“They’re both busy with their studies. You remember what it was like.”
Irritation cracked through me at the excuse.
That was the thing. I didn’t know what it was like. I had earned my teaching degree from my bedroom because I knew Dad couldn’t handle the farm and take care of himself at the same time. I didn’t get to experience college because my sister refused to help.
“Dad, I wished you would stop making excuses for her behavior.”
“I’m not making excuses, Tilly. I don’t understand what happened between you two. The both of you used to be joined at the hip.”
“Yeah, when we were kids, Dad, and didn’t know any better.”
“Tilly…”
“Sorry,” I muttered, flicking the bathroom light off. “It’s been a long week. I’m tired.”
The cheerful ding of the doorbell inside the living room distracted me from the conversation.
“Dad, I have to go. Adam’s here.”
“Be safe. Try to have fun tonight and then sleep in tomorrow morning.”
I crossed through my bedroom and out into the living room. “Will do. I’ll call you tomorrow afternoon and check up on you.”
“Sounds good, honey. Love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I ended the call before letting my hand fall to my side. Exhaling out a pent-up breath, I slid my phone into the back pocket of my jeans before approaching the front door.
I plastered on a smile as I opened the door.
“Hey, sorry. I was on the phone with--” I cut off when I realized the man on my front porch wasn’t Adam.
The man standing on my front porch was a complete stranger.
A sinfully handsome stranger dressed in a crisp blue button-up with the sleeves rolled up, exposing his muscled and tatted forearms, and black pants secured by a belt with a gun holstered at his right hip. Dread unfurled behind my sternum as my eyes honed in on the gun before flicking up to study his chiseled jawline covered in the shadow of a beard. Full and sensual, his lips formed a smile that added to the unease growing inside me by the second from his presence.
A pair of black shades obscured his eyes, but I could feel the intensity of his gaze sweeping over me, leaving trails of goosebumps along my skin. His tall and massive frame occupied every inch of free space on my front porch.
Thick and fluffy snowflakes covered his broad shoulders as the snow trickled down from the overcast skies above, but he appeared oblivious to the wintery weather outside like the sting of cold didn’t bother him.
Neither one of us moved.
My fingers tightened around the doorknob as I tried to place him. Pine Hills was a small town. Everyone knew everyone, and gauging how expensive his clothes appeared, I surmised he wasn’t from around. Nobody with a decent amount of money lived close to Pine Hills.
“Can I help you?” I questioned, my heart hammering with apprehension. “Are you lost?”
The man lifted his hand, flicking his sunglasses up to reveal a startling pair of blue eyes flecked with silver beneath dark eyebrows.
“I’m not lost, my little wildflower,” he murmured, voice deep and smooth. “I’ve found exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Wildflower? Alarm bells echoed in my head as I gaped at him. Something wasn’t right. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but every one of my instincts screamed at me to slam the door and call the police.
My insides twisted with trepidation when he grinned at me. Not a normal type of grin, either. A predatory type of grin.
I took a hasty step back and started to close the door. “I think you’ve got the wrong house. Please leave.”
The palm of his hand smacked against the door, halting my attempt to shut him out. My eyes landed on the skull tattoo on the back of his hand. Black flames twisted out of the skull’s eye sockets and trailed up his forearms.
Oh, my God.
“I have the right house.” He didn’t budge when I put more weight on the door. “You two options right now, Tilly Winters. You can either come with me willingly, or we’ll do it the hard way.” His free hand disappeared into the pocket of his pants. The blood in my veins went ice cold when he pulled out a syringe. “This is the hard way. I’m not afraid to use this, but it’s the last thing I want. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Fear battered me.
The black SUV, the same one I had seen driving away from the school, pulled up in front of my house. Men, all dressed in black suits and armed with guns, exited the SUV and started to make their way up the pathway.
Run.
I counted six men. All of them tall and powerful like the man before me.
Run.
I started to hyperventilate.
Run.
Shutting the door was impossible with him holding it open.
Run.
I twisted sharply on my heel and darted towards my bedroom. A stampede of footsteps followed behind me. Halfway down the hallway, I managed to pull my phone out from the back pocket of my jeans. My fingers shook violently as I tried to type in the passcode while I ran towards my room.
A pair of arms wound their way around my upper torso, smashing my arms to my chest. One of the men from the SUV appeared in front of me and tried to corral my kicking legs without getting hurt.
“Let go of me!” I screamed. “Someone help! He--”
A hand clamped down on my mouth, muffling the rest of my screams.
I thrashed around desperately as I was dragged backward into the living room.
Fingers yanked at the fabric of my sweater, exposing my shoulder. The sharp sting of a needle piercing my skin and muscles followed.
I cried out from the sensation.
“Take a deep breath, wildflower,” the man whispered into my ear. “I promise you’re safe. Don’t fight it.”
I couldn’t fight even if I tried.
A heavy feeling flooded my system like someone was pumping concrete into my veins.
I was utterly helpless with a group of strange men surrounding me.
Tears streamed out from the corner of my eyes as my body went limp from whatever I had been injected with. My phone tumbled out of my limp hands and clattered to the floor.
Everything went dark fast after that.
- Writer
