Chapter 1
Juliet
A thud wakes me up and I scramble out of bed, thinking that Thomas is coming home drunk again. I hear another thud and quickly pull on some shorts. I open up my door and peek out into the hallway. I can see a light in the living room is turned on so I quietly walk towards it. I expect to see Thomas passed out on the floor but what I see chills my bones and makes me freeze. Thomas is beaten up and being held down by two very scary looking men. Another man is standing in front of him and I see him pull out a knife and put it to Thomas’s throat. A scream builds up inside of me and I can’t help but let it out. Eyes stare at me and Thomas’s eyes widen.
“Run Juliet!” He yells. I try to run I really do but I can’t seem to move my feet. My mind is telling me to listen to Thomas and run but my body is frozen where I stand. The man with the knife starts to walk over to me and pure terror seeps through my veins.
“Juliet!” Thomas screams. “Run, get out of here!”
My body seems to catch up with my mind and I turn and run. I’m not fast enough though, the man with the knife was too close to me. A large, muscular arm wraps around my waist and scoops me up. I’m pulled against a hard chest and I let out a small whimper as the arm around me tightens.
“Hello there sweetheart.” The man holding me says.
“Hunter please let her go.” Thomas begs. “She has nothing to do with this.”
“Tommy.” I cry. “What’s going on?”
Tears slide down my face and I flinch as the man who is holding me, who I now know is Hunter, swipes his thumb across my cheek.
“This your little sister Thomas?” Hunter asks.
“Yes.”
“You’re a pretty little thing.” Hunter’s breath fans the back of my neck and I squirm in his arms, trying to get away from him. He chuckles and just squeezes me tighter against him. I let out a yelp in pain and Thomas’s eyes fill with anger. He tries to fight against the men holding him but one of them just hits him in his gut, while the other one punches his jaw. He doubles over and I close my eyes.
“Please stop.” I whisper. “Don’t hurt him.”
“Andy, Keith, I think that Thomas has had enough.” Hunter says.
I sigh in Hunter’s arms hoping that whatever this is, is now over. They will leave and this would have been nothing but a nightmare.
“You don’t have much longer to get me my money back, Thomas.” Hunter says.
“You’ll get it back. I promise.”
“Oh, I’m sure you will because while I’m waiting for my money, I’m going to keep your sister.”
“NO!” Thomas screams. My eyes widen and my heart falls to the pit of my stomach. Did he say he was going to keep me? No this can’t be happening. This is just a very messed up nightmare that I’m having.
“I told you that I’d get you your money Hunter. You can’t take Juliet.”
“Oh, but I can.” Hunter chuckles darkly. “And I will.”
He slings me over his shoulder and my fight or flight kicks in. “No! Put me down!”
I scream, hit and kick at Hunter but nothing seems to faze him. “Tommy!” I scream.
I’m shoved into the back of a car and Hunter climbs in with me. I try to scramble away from him but his big hands grab me and hold me firmly on top if his lap. His hand wraps around my throat and he lightly squeezes it.
“Be quiet my sweet Juliet.” He whispers in my ear. “Be quiet and you won’t get hurt.”
My body instantly stiffens against him and my breathing picks up. I can feel the panic in my chest rising and I can’t seem to draw in enough breath. My vision becomes blurry and I try to calm myself down so I don’t black out but the terror of what is to come burrows itself inside of me and the last thing I see before I close my eyes is Hunters dark brown eyes staring right at me.
