Chapter 19

Jonathan’s POV

It was getting dark, and Elena still wasn’t back.

I checked my phone for the hundredth time, scrolling through the messages I’d sent that she’d seen and purposely chosen to ignore.

Where are you?

Elena, answer your phone.

This is ridiculous. Just tell me you’re okay.Nothing.

I walked round the suite, with my jaw tight with frustration and a gnawing anxiety that was eating away at my composure, she was making me frustrated as fuck.

My chest felt constricted, like someone had wrapped a band around my ribs and was slowly tightening it. Each minute that passed without hearing from her made it worse.

This was my fault. I’d been too harsh with her earlier, because I didn’t know how else to deal with what I was feeling. The look on her face when I’d said all the bullshit I said about not having the right to know about my private life…had haunted me ever since.

And now she was out there somewhere, upset and alone, and I had no idea where.

The thought made my stomach twist with a fear I hadn’t felt in years. What if something happened to her? What if she was hurt, or in danger, or…

I grabbed my jacket and keys, I didn’t have any plan in my head, I felt too suffocated and I have realized when it comes to Elera my fucking brain just won’t work. I didn’t want to look into why I felt so empty without her presence all I know is I couldn’t stand it for another fucking second.

I drove to the construction site first, with my hands gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. Maybe she’d gone back to finish some work.

But the place was empty and the lights were off. Even the gates were locked.

I sat in the car, with the engine still running, trying to calm the panic rising in my throat.

Where would she go?

I pulled out my phone opening the settings, and remembered the feature I’d enabled months ago…device sharing for emergency tracking. I’d linked it to Elena’s phone when I’d given her access to my calendar and files. Thankfully, it was standard protocol for anyone with that level of clearance.

I activated the tracking app and watched as a small dot appeared on the map.

It turns out the witch was at a bar only 15 minutes away.

My heart pounded against my ribs as I shifted the car into gear and pressed down on the accelerator.

I made it there in eight minutes.

When I pulled up outside the bar, I immediately called her phone again. It rang. And rang. She still didn’t pick.

“Oh my God Elera, just fucking pic…”

Buzzz buzzzz . It can’t be… I turned slowly as dread washed over me.

I got out of the car and walked toward the sound , still calling her line , and found her phone lying on the pavement, the screen was cracked, my name flashing across it.

My blood ran cold. My entire body went rigid.

“Elena!” I shouted, looking around frantically, my voice echoing in the empty street.

Nothing, there was no sign of her.

I picked up the phone, my hands shaking so badly I almost dropped it, and scanned the area with wild, desperate eyes.

Where the hell was she?

……-

Elena’s POV

I was 100 percent sure something was dead in this car. The smell of cigarettes made it much worse. The combination made me feel like throwing up. Until I emptied all the alcohol in my belly.

I was in the passenger seat, my head spinning from the tequila, my vision slightly blurred at the edges. I tried to piece together how I’d ended up here, how I’d gone from sitting at a bar to being in this stranger’s car, but my thoughts were sluggish and muddled.

My body felt heavy, and it was choosing not to cooperate with me, it felt like I was moving through water.

“Why did you throw away my phone?” I asked, my words slurred slightly. My tongue felt thick in my mouth.

The guy…I didn’t even remember his name…laughed, the sound grating against my ears. “Relax. You don’t need it where we’re going.”

He leaned in to kiss me, and I turned my head away, my stomach lurching with disgust and rising fear.

“No. I asked you a question. Why did you throw my phone away?”

“What phone?” he said, his tone suddenly sharp, all traces of friendliness were long gone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now stop being difficult.”

He reached for the door lock, and I heard the click. The sound sent a jolt of terror straight through my chest.

My stomach dropped, and suddenly the alcohol haze didn’t matter anymore. Adrenaline flooded my system, making everything sharp and clarifying

“Unlock the door,” I said, my voice steadier now despite the fear clawing at my throat.

“Not until we get where we’re going.”

Panic cut through the remaining fog like a knife.

My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears, feel it hammering against my ribs. My hands started shaking.

“Let me out,” I said, trying the handle. It wouldn’t budge.

I pulled harder, my breath coming faster, shorter. The confined space suddenly felt impossibly small, the air thick and suffocating.

“You’re already in the car, sweetheart. There’s no point leaving now.”

I realized, with terrifying clarity, that I was in real danger. That I’d stupidly, recklessly gotten myself into a situation I might not get out of.

My hands fumbled with the door handle again, pulling desperately, but it was locked tight. My palms were sweating. My whole body was trembling now.

“Let me out!” I shouted, my voice cracking with fear.

He grabbed my wrist, his grip painful enough to make me gasp. His fingers dug into my skin like a vice.

“Calm down. You wanted a distraction, remember?”

My wrist throbbed where he held it. Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

And then, through the window, I saw Jonathan.

Standing outside the bar with his phone pressed to his ear, he looked really desp Even from here I could see the tension in his shoulders, the wild way his eyes were looking round

Relief flooded through me so fast and so overwhelming that I almost sobbed.

My chest loosened just slightly. My heart, which had been racing with pure terror, now raced with hope.

I opened my mouth to scream his name, to get his attention, when the guy’s hand clamped over my mouth.

His palm pressed against my lips so forcefully I tasted blood.

“Shut up,” he hissed in my ear.

I struggled, my body thrashing against the seat, trying to pull away. My hands clawed at his arm, my nails digging into his skin. I tried to make noise, anything to get Jonathan to look over here.

My lungs burned. My head was pounding. Please. Please look this way. Please see me.

And then something hard connected with the side of my head.

Pain exploded through my skull, white-hot and blinding.

The world tilted violently.

My vision swam, then darkened at the edges.

The last thing I saw before everything went black was Jonathan’s face. And then nothing.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​