Sweet Jayne Read Free

on you.”
    We both burst out into a fit of giggles and I swipe at tears—this time from laughter.
    “Be careful what you wish for,” I tease. “Now tell me already.”
    She lights up another cigarette as if she’s working up the courage to start talking. After a couple of drags, she meets my gaze. “I want to work at a day care.”
    “That seems completely doable. Is this like a gothic day care?” I question with a grin. “Would all the babies wear Metallica T-shirts and cuss? Would they take smoke breaks instead of recess?”
    “Bite me.” She laughs and kicks some rocks from my driveway toward me.
    I’m still smiling when a squeal of tires draws my attention down the road. Kasey flicks her still burning cigarette into the street and we both watch as a black SUV comes barreling down the street, headed our way.
    “Slow down, asshole!” she yells and flips off the vehicle as it nears.
    A screeching of the tires deafens me as it comes to a complete stop right in front of where I’m sitting beside the mailbox. The door is wrenched open, and I see black combat boots first before seeing who they belong to.
    Flickering my gaze over to Kasey, I notice the nervousness on her face as she starts to take a step back. When I jerk my head back over to the car, I see why.
    A big man, dressed entirely in black with a ski mask covering his face, is charging for her. It happens so quickly that I’m frozen with my ass planted on the earth and I can only watch what’s unfolding right in front of me. She lets out an ear-piercing screech as he runs for her. Kasey doesn’t make it far before he’s got his massive arms wrapped around her middle. Her long legs kick wildly around her as he drags her back toward the car. The moment her terrified gaze meets mine, I jolt into action.
    “No! Stop!” I scream as I scramble to my knees when he passes by me. “Let her go.”
    He grunts in exertion at her struggling but has the ability to meet my stare. The eyes behind the mask are wild and crazed. I’m trying to get a better look at the man when he raises his knee in the air. The bottom of his gigantic boot slams into my cheek with the force of a hurricane. Blackness explodes in front of me, blinding me from the man who is forcefully kidnapping my friend, and I fall back into the grass, slamming my head against the ground.
    As I try to regain my wits, I hear a car door slam once as he shoves her into the vehicle. Another slam sounds after he climbs back in. The SUV screeches into drive and hauls ass down the road. A wave of dizziness washes over me but I quickly roll to my side to try and read the license plate.
    Too blurry.
    Too far away.
    Another blanket of darkness clouds my vision and I black out.

    I’m not sure if it’s minutes or hours later when I hear Donovan’s concerned voice and I slowly regain consciousness.
    “Nadia, baby,” he murmurs as he cradles my head in his hand. “What happened?”
    My eyes are fixated on the road where Kasey’s half-smoked cigarette rolls around in the wind, the cherry still red on the end. When I don’t respond, he slides his arms beneath me and pulls me into them against his chest. Normally, I hate Donovan but right now, I need him.
    I need him to hold me like Papá would have.
    To tell me everything’s going to be okay.
    For him to assure me that Kasey and the man who took her were all just a silly figment of my teenage imagination.
    “Selene!” Donovan hollers to Mamá. “Call 911! I think Nadia was assaulted. Her nose is bleeding and she’s disoriented.”
    His dark eyebrows are pinched together in genuine concern and it comforts me.
    “Kasey,” I murmur and blink slowly. A massive migraine is wrapping its evil claws around my skull and crushing in on me. “He took Kasey.”
    His eyes widen and he darts his gaze back down the street as if to see the vehicle that’s now long gone. When he turns to look back down at me, he presses a chaste kiss to my forehead and then pins me