Layers Crossed by Lacey Silks Read Free Book Online Page B

to
choose our next venue.”
    We hadn’t yet
started our date, and I already knew that one outing wouldn’t be
enough.
    “Deal.”
    “So why don’t
you tell me more about this guy you’re looking for? I need details
on that kidnapping.”
    Eric’s face
sobered, and from one look at him, I knew I would be searching for
an asshole from hell.

    C HAPTER 6
    Eric
    Emma sat
across the table from me. Part of me wanted to dive right into my
past. Another part feared what that meant. I hadn’t had nightmares
for a while, but the guilt would always remain inside me. There was
no way I’d be able to let that go – ever. I hadn’t shared this with
anyone, so deciding at which point to start and how much exactly to
tell her was a challenge.
    “I… I haven’t
told anyone about this.”
    She reached
forward and took my hand into both of hers. Her pale skin stood out
against mine. The gesture startled me, but the calmness and
understanding in her eyes seeped right into me, giving me that
desperately sought courage.
    “It’s all
right, Eric.”
    And so I went
into the details – most of them – of what had happened to me and my
sister when we were barely teens.
    * * *
    Gagged, I felt
helpless as the bulky man put a cloth against Annabelle’s mouth.
With my hands tied behind my back and feet bound with rope, I moved
toward him along the carpet like a caterpillar. Max barked outside,
but no one could hear our German shepherd. Tonight our parents had
gone on a rare night out to the town dance. It looked like the
bastard, whose face I couldn’t see, had timed his abduction
perfectly.
    I kicked my
feet forward, getting him right in the shin. Letting go of my
sister, he swore and swung back at me, hitting me over my head. The
sound of oscillating metal echoed in my ears as I fell to the
ground. The last thing I remembered seeing was Annabelle’s limp
body on her bed.
    When I woke up
it was pitch black, and for a moment I wondered whether I’d
actually opened my eyes. The smell of wet dirt permeated the air.
With my feet and arms no longer bound, I sat up against an earthen
wall, immediately wondering where I could be. I thought about
wells, excavated dungeons, unfinished basements… never in the world
would I have guessed the place where the bastard had taken me. And
what had happened to my sister? Was she even here?
    My wrists and
ankles itched from the rope burns. Those had been removed and
replaced with a tighter bind around my arms and torso. It made
getting up and moving around a bit more difficult, but not
impossible. The room was cold. If I could see anything, I’d be able
to see my breath in front of my face. As I made my way around the
misshapen room, trying to figure out its size, I bumped into
something soft.
    “Annabelle?
Annabelle, are you all right?” I asked, but she didn’t respond. She
wasn’t tied up but remained unconscious, probably from the
chloroform he’d sedated her with. I sat back against the wall
beside her and maneuvered myself close to her so that I could ease
her head onto my lap. Her breathing was steady. Relieved she was
alive, I leaned my head back.
    * * *
    “You didn’t
tell me you were both kidnapped. The files…They had nothing on
you.”
    “I know. I
wasn’t going to tell you this. I kept the other files at my ranch.”
While this was partly true because I needed bait to lure Emma out
of the city, as I’d been asked to, I couldn’t help but feel guilty
for it now. I didn’t want her to get hurt. Not by me, and not by
anyone else.
    “Why?”
    “Because I
haven’t told the complete story before. Not to anyone who mattered,
at least. I’m not looking for pity, and I’m not worried about
myself. I just need to know where the asshole is, so that I can
know Annabelle is safe.”
    “How old were
you?” Emma asked. “And before I continue, please tell me your
sister is safe and alive.”
    “I was
fifteen. Annabelle was eleven. Yes, she’s alive - although I’ve
been