One second the road was there. The next second everything exploded.
BANG.
The car was hit hard from the side. Metal screamed. Glass shattered. The world flipped. I slammed into the seat, my head snapping forward, my chest crushed tight. Ryle screamed my name.
Before I could even crawl toward him, the door was ripped open.
Then hands grabbed my hair. I was dragged out and thrown onto the road like trash.
I twisted, reaching back. “My son… please, my son is inside…”
A boot came down on my spine.
All the air left my lungs.
“You still worrying about other people?” a man laughed above me. “You’ve lived too easy. Today you learn what pain feels like.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I tried to say.
My mouth barely opened before a slap cracked across my face. Stars burst behind my eyes. Warm blood ran down my chin.
They didn’t touch Ryle.
I heard him crying inside the car. Someone said, annoyed, “Leave the kid. Madam only wants the woman.”
The slap came fast. My head snapped to the side. Blood filled my mouth. Everything spun.
They tied my wrists to the back of the car.
I realized what was about to happen and started begging. I screamed Ryle’s name again and again until my throat tore itself raw.