Delivered (The Monster Trilogy Book 3) Read Free

from a moving vehicle traveling at about fifty miles per hour that stopped her. She knew the men were armed, and so they’d probably shoot her rather than allow her to go for help. But also, if she did try to run, she’d be leaving Jess behind. The state the girl was in didn’t give Lily any hope she might be able to convince her to join in on the crazy plan, and anyway, if she tried to say anything out loud, the men would hear her.
    The longer she thought on it, the farther away the cafe became, now a mere spot of white in the distance. That opportunity had been lost to her, and now the option was gone, she couldn’t help but kick herself. What if it had been her only chance?
    “Hey!”
    The shout came from the front and she instantly shrank back down, hoping the yell wasn’t about her, but then she heard Marco say, “Merrick’s little whore has been peering out of the window.”
    Her heart sank. She had been spotted. Every muscle tensed as she waited for the Range Rover’s brakes to slam on and for them to open up the back and deal out a punishment of some kind, but nothing happened.
    Rodriguez tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Not much to see anyway.”
    “Yeah, but she needs to learn to behave herself.” Marco sounded disappointed. “She should take some tips from the other one. We’ve not heard a peep out of her since we took her. I reckon Merrick’s bitch is going to give you problems if you don’t beat it out of her early on, boss.”
    “That won’t be a problem. I enjoy breaking the more resilient ones.” His words were cold and sent ice freezing through her veins.
    “Fine,” said Marco, but she could hear the petulance in his voice. “You’re the boss.”
    “We’re nearly there,” he replied. “We can deal with her then.”
    Nearly there? Nearly where? As far as she could tell, they were in the middle of nowhere.
    Lily remained motionless in the back of the SUV, not wanting to risk a beating from Marco, who seemed more than happy to do the job for Rodriguez. She tried to make eye contact with Jess, but the other woman was still zoned out, not even seeming aware of what was going on around her. Lily wished there was something she could do to bring her out of her stupor. She understood this was probably a coping mechanism, especially after what Jess had been through at the hands of Cigarette Hands, and then watching Lily blow his brains out. Her mind must have taken her somewhere it could be at peace. Perhaps the girl had the right idea—imagining herself on a beach in the Maldives was certainly preferable to her current situation, but Lily couldn’t do it. She needed to stay alert and focused if she was ever going to get them out of this situation.
    The vehicle continued down the same road for another fifteen minutes, and then took a sharp left hand turn. Immediately, she knew the terrain they were on had changed. The previously smooth ride now sent them bumping and jolting around the back of the vehicle, and red dust burst up from the wheels and settled on the windows. That they were heading away from the main road didn’t bode well. She kept in her mind the café she’d seen, and the approximate distance they were from it now—ten miles or more? She couldn’t be certain. If they traveled much more of a distance, she wouldn’t be able to make it back on foot and would need to think about an opportunity to steal a vehicle. That made the possibility of escape even more complicated, and things were already complicated enough.
    Rodriguez kept driving, another ten minutes or so, the bumpiness of the ride not lessening at all. Lily’s certainty they were being driven into the desert to be raped and buried in a shallow grave deepened. There was no way this road—if it could even be called a road—led to another town. She would fight with every bit of strength she had left—she’d kick and bite, and if they ever untied her hands, she’d claw their eyes out, too. Even if they