Amanda Stevens - The Abandoned

But Hayden was moving inside her and with very little effort, Ree found his rhythm. It went on for a very long time. Impossibly long, it seemed to Ree. So many times she found herself on the verge, only to have him pull back, making it last and last as she dug her nails into his flesh.

The room grew cold but their bodies were molten. Mist crept in through the window. Ree felt a prickle of fear, but Hayden gathered her up in his arms and held onto her tightly as his movements became more urgent. The mist seemed almost alive now, coiling and writhing and pulsating with energy. Something told her to stop, push him away, but she couldn’t. The pleasure fed on her fear. She opened herself to him and he pressed more deeply into her, against her. With a gasp, she closed her eyes and clung to him as the mist began to envelop them.

And then it was over. An explosion of white light, and Ree was spiraling back to earth as Hayden collapsed against her with a shudder.

When she opened her eyes, they were swathed in nothing but moonlight.

Ree awakened to sunshine. She bolted upright and glanced around. It took her a moment to remember where she was. Then she saw Hayden. The bathroom door was open and he stood at the sink. He wore jeans but no shirt and his hair was still damp from the shower. She thought for a moment that he was shaving. She swung her legs over the bed and walked over to the door to watch him.

He wasn’t shaving. He stood with his hands propped against the sink, staring into the mirror. Just…staring…

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“Wrong?” He was still studying his reflection. “I feel a little strange.”

“Strange how?”

“Like I just woke up from a dream.”

Was that good or bad? she wondered.

And then she saw the silver medallion dangling from his neck. Not the one she’d grabbed from her attacker last night because that medallion was in the pocket of her scrubs.

She gasped. “Oh, my God. You’re one of them.”

His gaze met hers in the mirror and for a moment, he seemed to snap out of his lethargy. “I can explain.”

Ree took a step back from the door. “What’s to explain? Are you or are you not a member of that despicable group?”

“It’s a legacy thing.” He turned to face her.

There was something so different about him. Something so odd about the way he’d been staring into that mirror…

If Ree didn’t know better, she’d swear he was a different man than the one she’d met in Oak Grove Cemetery.

Her scalp tingled in apprehension. “What does that mean? A legacy thing? You were automatically recruited because of your family’s history?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t have anything to do with us. You and me.”

As he moved toward her, sunlight sparked off the medallion. Ree averted her gaze and took another step back from him. “It doesn’t have anything to do with us? After what I told you about Ilsa? And you didn’t say anything?”

“It was so long ago, Ree.”

“What about your family? What about other initiation rituals?”

His voice turned cold. “You’re making a lot of assumptions that I don’t much care for.”

“And I don’t like that you lied to me! You know you should have told me.” She drew on the bloodstained scrubs she’d discarded the evening before. “I have to get out of here,” she muttered.

“Where are you going?” He followed her into the living room. “Come on, Ree. It’s not safe for you out there.”

She whirled at that. “I’m not sure it’s safe for me in here. How do I know you’re not the one who told Devlin where to find me yesterday? How do I know you’re not the one—” Her gaze dropped to the blood on her shirt and she shuddered.

He looked suddenly furious. “Is that what you think of me then?”

“I don’t know what to think about you, Hayden. And that’s the problem. I barely you know you.”

Ree didn’t want to believe it, but her mind was racing and things were starting to click into place. How he’d wanted to go with her to see Amelia Gray. How Detective Devlin had known she’d be at the library when she’d told no one but Hayden. On and on it went.

As she hurried out to her car, the tears started to flow. That was her only excuse for allowing danger to creep up on her. He must have been waiting for her to leave. Maybe Hayden had called him.

By the time Ree sensed his presence, it was too late. He’d seized her around the neck, pricked her with a needle and pushed her into the backseat of a waiting car.

A blinding headache awakened her. She opened her eyes and lifted her head, but a wave of nausea flattened her. She lay still for a long time before she felt strong enough to try and get up.

Panic mushroomed in her chest as she realized her arms and legs were constrained. She couldn’t move at all except for her head, which she swiveled from side to side, taking in the details of the small, antiseptic room in which she found herself. After a bit, she tried to call for help, but her tongue was too swollen. She could barely muster a groan.

She had no idea how much time had gone by before the door opened and Dr. Farrante entered. He came to the foot of her bed, hands clasped behind his back, observing her as passively as he’d studied Miss Violet’s corpse.

Ree opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

His smile was patronizing. “You can’t speak, but that’s a normal side effect of the medication. I’m afraid we’ll have to keep you sedated for a little while longer. It’s for your own good.”

He came around the side of the bed to check her pulse. When he turned, Ree saw the bandage at his neck.

His smile turned cold. “You’re in the north wing of the hospital. I’m sure you understand what that means.”

The north wing was reserved for those patients perceived to be a danger to themselves or others. For those patients that had to be physically restrained behind locked doors.

An image of Ilsa Tisdale in the dungeon came back to her and Ree wanted to scream. She turned her head from side to side in panic.

“You should have minded your own business, Miss Hutchins. None of this would have been necessary.”

None of…what?

“I can’t let you ruin things. You do understand that, don’t you? My work here is too important.”

You won’t get away with this! Ree silently raged. Her family wasn’t perfect by any means, but they were not the Tisdales. Her parents would tear this place apart until they found her.

And Hayden? Oh God, was he in on this?

She wouldn’t think about him. Not now. Maybe not ever again.

A tear seeped from the corner of her eye and ran back into her hair. She couldn’t even lift her hand to wipe it away.

Dr. Farrante meant to keep her here. Like Ilsa Tisdale, she would not be leaving that hospital alive.

A little while later, a nurse came into the room with another dose of medication. Ree could do nothing but lie there helplessly while the nurse injected her. Afterward she drifted in and out of consciousness. When her head finally began to clear, she thought that hours must have passed. It had to be dark outside because she could see the hallway through the glass panel in the door and the lights had been dimmed.

She had some feeling in her arms and legs, but she knew better than to struggle against the restraints. That would only sap her energy and she needed whatever fortitude she could muster in case an opportunity for escape presented itself.

As she tried to formulate a plan, the door opened and an orderly pushed a wheelchair through. Where were they taking her? What were they going to do to her?

Ree braced herself. This might be her only opportunity. Once the restraints were removed, she’d have her chance.