Disillusioned (Swept Away, #2)(70)

Bianca, we need to talk now. Blake’s name flashed on the screen. You and Jakob need to come and meet up with me. I think you’ve both been set up.

I was about to call Blake when I heard the door behind me closing.

“It’s me, Bianca,” said the familiar voice. “I’m here.”

I turned around and took one look at the person in front of me before the world turned as black as it had the day I learned my father had died. I fainted clean away.





Keep reading for a sneak peek at the next installment in the tantalizing, heart-stopping Swept Away series by New York Times bestselling author J.S. Cooper

Resolution

Coming Summer 2015 from Gallery Books!





prologue


“Hush, little baby, don’t say a f*cking word,” he sang in an ominous voice as he twisted the lyrics to the old nursery rhyme. His voice was the only sound in the small damp space aside from a low rattling in the corner, and I didn’t want to know what or who was making that noise.

I kept my face stiff and my eyes downward as I sat there uncomfortably. The room was cold and dark and smelled of mold. I coughed as the mildew filled my lungs and my body shivered on the old rickety chair I was tied to. I didn’t even bother trying to scream—I knew no one would hear me. No one would be coming to my rescue now. It was just the two of us. After everything, it had come to this.

My head dropped forward as I grew tired. I just wanted to sleep. I wanted to sleep and forget that any of this had ever happened, not because I was scared of this moment but because my heart ached for all the moments of the last week, for the devastating truth that I’d had to accept. It wasn’t about fear of the man in front of me—but I couldn’t even look at him without feeling a gamut of emotions from heartache to guilt. This moment was poetic justice; the weaving paths of our forefathers had led us inevitably here. I knew there was nothing either of us could say or do to change the direction our paths had led us down.

“I didn’t want everything to go like this.” He held the gun to my head. “You understand that, right? I don’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want it to come to this.”

I nodded my understanding, my throat too constricted to speak. My body was frozen in fear as an image of a black stallion running down a white sandy beach flashed into my mind. I’m not sure where the image came from, but somehow it calmed me.

“A life for a life, right?” His voice sounded broken and raw. “That’s what they say.” His voice echoed his sorrow. I could tell he thought he had no other option. I couldn’t allow myself to look up at him. All I could think was, Is this how it’s all going to end for me?

“He shouldn’t have done that to my parents, Bianca.” His voice was pained. “He ruined my life.”

“I understand,” I said softly, my voice cracking as I spoke. I did understand. I didn’t know if I could blame him. “It’s not your fault.”

“You’re making this hard for me, Bianca.” He sighed and moved the gun away from my head, kneeling down next to my chair. He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. His eyes gazed into mine and I could see the regret shining at me. Regret, and another emotion I recognized. My heart thudded as I stared back at him. I still had a shot at changing my story. The emotion in his eyes was one I knew well. It was a gaze of adoration. He still had feelings for me. That was the opening I needed to try and change his mind.

“You don’t have to do this,” I said softly. “You don’t have to go through with it.”

“I do,” he said, but his voice was unsure as he gazed at me, his eyes scrutinizing my face.

“No. If you do this, we can’t be together.” I nearly choked on the words, but I had to say them. It was my only chance.

“You would want to be with me?” He froze. “After all this?”

“Yes.” I nodded and made myself smile. “We’re meant to be together, don’t you see that?”

“It was always you, you know.” His fingers touched my leg. “From the first time I saw you, I knew.”

“So then don’t do this!” I pleaded with him. “This doesn’t have to be the end for us. This can be the beginning!”

“A new beginning?” He spoke softly, his eyes glazing over as he considered what I’d said.

“Maybe this is why everything happened,” I said, almost choking on my words. “Maybe we’re meant to be together. Maybe this was fate’s cruel joke on us. Maybe this was the only way we could be together.”

“Maybe.” He nodded and stepped back. My body was trembling as I waited for him to decide what he was going to do next. “You really think we’re soul mates?” He stared at my lips and it took everything in me not to shudder. And then, suddenly, there was a loud bang. I screamed. He fell forward, his head hitting my lap hard, and I screamed again.

“No!” I could feel tears falling from my eyes as blood, red and sticky, pooled in my lap. “Nooo!” I screamed, looking into his face. What had just happened? I wasn’t even sure. He gazed at me with a weak smile, the life draining from his face.

“Your father did this to us,” he mumbled. “He did this to me . . .”

“No,” I whispered, my stomach churning as I felt a wave of arctic coldness fill me. “I’m sorry.” I meant it. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end.