Darkest Misery Read Online Free Page A

that was all. A car door slammed, and a man shouted, “Go.” As I was stuffed into a seat with an unknown person pressed against me, we began to move.
    I’d like to say I counted the seconds we drove or memorized the turns, but I couldn’t. Panic left no room for anything so intelligent. All I could do was focus on being paralyzed. All I could do was think what these people—men from the sound of it—might do to me.
    When the vehicle stopped, I was carried down a flight of stairs into a room blissfully cooler than the place I’d just left. Dumped on the floor, I held my breath, waiting for what was to come.
    Nothing did. A door shut, and I got the sense I was alone.
    After what felt like hours but was probably mere minutes, my right eyelid twitched. Little by little, more motion came to me. Soon, I could blink fully and shrug my shoulders.
    Come on, I willed my body. Get it together faster. Before they return.
    But whether I could will myself to heal quicker became irrelevant a second later. The unseen door opened again, and multiple sets of heavy footfalls approached. Shit.
    â€œYou sure you got the right ones?” a man with a Spanish accent asked.
    â€œOf course we got the right ones.” The second guy, who had no accent, sounded offended. “How stupid do you think we are?”
    Someone, presumably the first man, snorted. “Very.”
    Suddenly the bag over my head was yanked off. I sucked in a mouthful of air and found myself face-to-face with a fury addict. I should have known that’s who these guys were, but it made no sense. The furies in Boston had been protecting me, so why would fury addicts in Phoenix snatch me?
    The addict held up his phone and glanced between it and me. The stink of cigarette smoke wafted off him. “Yeah, looks like her. Let’s go.”
    â€œThat’s it? All this work to grab her, and we got to leave her?” The guy behind me lifted my hair. I tensed, and as pleased as I was that I could manage that much, I couldn’t do more. My heart beat a death march as I waited for what would come next. “Seems such a waste when I could do with—”
    â€œYou’ll not do anything,” the first guy snapped. “Not if you want to keep your guts on the inside. Now shut up, and let’s get going.”
    The second thug grumbled, and I caught sight of his legs as he walked around me. Furious but relieved, I watched the men leave through a rickety wood door. One of them flicked off the light switch before they left.
    In the dark, I lay there, trying to think of a way out of the situation while I tested my muscles for movement. Also, trying not to think about spiders or scorpions or anything else that might be scurrying around the floor.
    Once I could move a finger, I could move an arm soon after. Soon after that , I was back to normal. Whatever they’d drugged me with wore off almost all at once. I sprang to my feet, feeling surprisingly not too bad.
    Slivers of light seeped into the room through a high window. Using it to guide me, I fumbled my way to the far wall and ran my hand over the spot where I thought the switch should be.
    With the light on, I simply appraised my location for a moment. The room was small, more like a glorified closet than anything else, and the floor was dirt. Huge boxes were stacked floor to ceiling against one wall. Against another were metal shelves piled high with linens, sacks of onions and braids of garlic. Was I stuck in some restaurant’s storeroom?
    Wetting my lips, I inspected the aforementioned window more closely. Beneath the block cloth draped over it, it was high and narrow. I might just be able to fit through the thing. If I could open it. If I could reach it.
    But if I did, what about Mitch? It was no wonder we’d been separated since there wasn’t much room in this closet for more than a single person, but where was he?
    Just to be certain my captors hadn’t