Brigg

The air inside was damp and smelled strongly of motor oil and concrete dust. I

e flickered, casting long, unstable shadows between the concrete pillars. I

er of the lot. The headlights flash

t to grab th

res tearing against concrete ex

d my hea

the corner of the ramp, accelerating wildly. I

The intense light hit my eyes, forcing me to i

y wrapped in white bandages. Jaquez's face was twisted into a manic, reckless smile. He jerked th

friends," she had hissed, her voice dripping with venom. "If you can't even handle a stray dog like Finn, maybe my father is right about you." Those words had ignited a blind, reckless fury in him. She

was drivi

f water leaking from a ceiling pipe. The Porsche's wide re

iolently

his features. He slammed both feet ont

he car was complet

tally into the solid concrete load-bearing pillar. The soun

clean off the chassis. A heavy chunk of jagged metal and reinfo

backward, but th

he side of my head with t

gh the air. My shoulders hit the concrete floor first, and th

g, white-hot pain erupted in my head, followed instantly by a terrifying numbness. Warm, thic

ed engine compartment, filling the garage with the acrid smell of burning chemicals. The

re made of lead. I forced them open halfway. M

heard the passenger door of

r seatbelt and the airbag had saved her. Her

steps in her high h

es met

ay. I tried to speak. My lips parted, but my vocal cords re

bleeding head for

ooked

's side of the smoking car. She grabbed the warped metal of the door hand

acking with raw, genuine terror. "Ja

r hands apart trying to save the man she was cheating with, completely

n of absolute, freezing cold in my chest. It felt as if my heart had be

ut of the smoke. They collapsed onto the floor together. Arleen wrapped her arms tightly around Jaque

and slid open. A group of hotel security guards and a

the guards approached. "He hit his chest on the w

The beam swept across the floor and caught the po

the guard yelled, pointing his light a

ead to look. She kept her hand

coldly, her voice sharp and annoyed. "He is faking it.

through the smoky ai

iousness to the physical world detached. I didn't want

completely slack against the cold concrete. As the blackness rushed in to swallow m

mp. The last thing I felt before the world went entirely black was