Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
It all came to him in a violent flash.
He and Matteo were walking to campus.
They were being followed.
They ran.
The stalkers chased. Outnumbered them.
Someone grabbed Matteo.
Someone else caught Luke.
A car’s tires squealed.
Pain. Someone hit him on the back of the head, knocking him out.
They’d been kidnapped and taken only God knew where.
They needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. Where the hell were the crows when he needed them? They’d followed him anytime he stepped outside the mansion. Why couldn’t they have been following tonight?
Maybe it was because it had been after one in the freaking morning and icy cold outside. The crows needed to sleep too, asshole.
Luke mentally groaned at himself. This wasn’t the crows’ fault. He had to find a way out of this.
Lying on his side, Luke lifted his head as best as he could and attempted to look around. It seemed as if he’d been left alone. At least for now.
“Matteo?” he whispered, then winced. His throat was killing him as if he’d swallowed a box of razor blades. It was either from earlier screams, or he was catching a cold from being sprawled on the frozen concrete for so long. But he had to push on. “Matteo?” he tried again, this time a bit louder.
There was a soft scrape of something on the concrete not far away. Luke froze, his ears straining to hear better what it could be.
“Luke?”
Relief and grief swelled in equal measure in his chest. Matteo was alive and with him, but his voice wobbled and sounded as rough as Luke’s.
“I’m here. I’m here.” He was quick to reassure him. He attempted to shift and scoot across the floor toward Matteo’s voice, but it wasn’t easy. Pain radiated through every part of his body.
“What…what happened? Where are we?”
“I-I don’t know. I—” Luke’s words were cut off when a door on the far side of the room burst open and slammed into the wall. The metal reverberated loudly through the room, nearly drowning out the sound of approaching footsteps. It was too late. Whoever had kidnapped them had finally decided to make an appearance.
“Well, well, well, seems like Bird Boy has got himself in a little trouble,” an all-too-familiar voice mocked.
Luke’s heart froze. It couldn’t be.
Bright flashlights pierced the gloom, sweeping over the room to reveal old tables, rotting boxes, and what might have been old machinery. Cobwebs hung from the rafters and crowded distant corners. They’d been brought to an abandoned factory or warehouse. As their attackers stepped close, the snickering and flashes of light solidified some images in his head. Those fucking frat bros who’d taken it upon themselves to harass him had captured them.
Except it had largely stopped after Atticus and the other crows had chased a trio of them across campus.
“W-w-what do you want?” he stammered. “W-why did you grab us?”
The ringleader kneeled in front of Luke and seized a handful of his hair, lifting him partially off the floor while pain screamed through his scalp. “I thought some payback was due for what you did.”
“What? I didn’t do anything to you!” He winced and swallowed carefully against the pain in his throat.
The asshole snarled and threw him to the ground. “Fucking liar!” He shoved to his feet and kicked Luke in the stomach. Fresh pain exploded across his abdomen, and Luke moaned loudly.
“Luke! Luke! Leave him alone! He’s done nothing to you!” Matteo screamed, seeming to lose his mind. Luke wanted to say something to calm him, but at that moment, he was simply trying to figure out how to breathe without puking up blood and guts.
“Shut him the fuck up!” Asshole bellowed.
Lights flashed everywhere, and shadows scrambled. There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh, followed by a groan before Matteo grew quiet.
“Leave him alone!” Luke tried to shout, but it came out barely more than a whimper. “He’s got nothing to do with this.”
“Yeah, but hurting him hurts you, and I call that a win. Especially after you trained all those birds to harass us whenever we go outside.”
Luke’s brain blanked out. The crows and other birds were still bothering the frat bros? He’d had no idea. He’d never even asked Atticus and the other crows to go after those assholes. There was no way he would have asked them to continue their attacks.
Those swirling thoughts were still churning in his head as Asshole kicked him in the stomach a second time. The pain in his body doubled, and all his thoughts flew out of his head.
“Maybe we should strip you and coat you in bird shit,” Asshole suggested.
“Chuck him outside like that.” Another snickered.
He was going to die. They might mean it all as a prank, but Luke was sure he was going to die because of their so-called prank. Fear so thick it was nearly choking him rushed through Luke’s system. He didn’t know what to do, how to escape. If they killed him, even if it was by accident, wouldn’t they kill Matteo as well? Just to cover their tracks.