Broken Promises

Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

All color drained from my face, and I tightened my grip on Oliver's hand. He never let go, either, and we both turned around to come face to face with Rodney. He had a scowl on his face, arms crossed over his chest, and he didn't look happy. And I had a feeling on why. He had to have heard our conversation. How long was he even there?

Rodney had his eyes on Oliver, but he was directing his statement toward me. "I thought I told you not to tell anybody."

Those nine words let me know he heard everything about our conversation. The promise. The getting the money from my parents. He was so quiet when he got here, we didn't even know he was here. I sucked in a breath when he took a step forward, his gaze finally flickering over to me.

The coldness and hate in them made me cower back, and I wanted to hide behind Oliver. But there wasn't much he could do if Rodney was to attack, because there were two of us, and five of them. Why did he need so many men with him? We didn't pose as a threat at all.

How did he even know where we were? Was he following us? Or did he have someone follow? That had to be it. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. What did he even want now? We still had twenty days left.

As if reading my mind, Rodney answered my unspoken questions. "Yes, you have been followed since I gave you your thirty days, Sierra. But I thought we came up with the agreement that you'd tell nobody. But apparently you have gone against my words and told not only this idiot, but your parents as well." He took another threatening step. "Are you stupid, or are you stupid? I thought I made myself clear."

"It's not her fault," Oliver spoke up. "I saw the messages on her phone when she was asleep, and I'm the one who told her parents. So if you want to blame someone, take it out on me and leave her out of it. It's my fault, anyway. I introduced Adam to you."

"Oliver, don't," I pleaded, choking on a sob. Tears were falling freely, and there were too many for them to wipe away. "I'm sorry," I said to Rodney. "Kill me now, because there's no way I can find my brother and get the money. So just kill me!"

I didn't know why I was saying this, but I wanted this all over. I was going to die anyway, might as well go ahead and get it over with.

The laugh that escaped Rodney's lips were menacing. "Now that would be too easy." He then looked at Oliver again. "I guess I'm going to have to take you both."

Oliver pulled me behind him, and he scowled. "Leave her alone. We'll find Adam. Just leave her alone."

He shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that. If Adam isn't going to come out of hiding willingly, we'll have to make him."

Before I could process what he was saying, the next few actions went by in a blur. Oliver was on the ground, and someone had placed a black bag around my head. I screamed, twisting and turning and kicking my legs out as someone grabbed my hands and started dragging me. I couldn't see. Couldn't breathe. But I could hear Rodney giving people orders, and Oliver yelling out my name as I was being dragged to wherever.

The person through me in the back seat of a car, my head colliding with the window with so much force, I saw red behind my eyes. "Let me go!" I screamed, and next thing I knew, someone hit me in the head with a blunt object, knocking me out cold.

***

Drip. Drip. Drip.

I was lying on something cold and wet. My head was pounding from when I got hit, and when I tried to push myself off the ground, I ended up falling back down. My entire body ached, and I still had that black bag over my head so I couldn't see. I could just feel and hear water dripping from somewhere.