Trapped (Bullied Book 4) (Bullied Series) Vera Hollins (best large ereader txt) 📖

there was someone, what could I do? Both Blake and I would be dead before I could even alert them.

Dead. I shuddered with a fresh wave of fear and looked at Blake, who stared straight ahead. His face was almost unrecognizable with the strong emotions passing across it. What were they going to do to us?

“Drive.” Isaac’s sharp order had me wincing in my seat. I barely remembered that I had to buckle up, but I stopped myself before I reached for the seat belt. Maybe, just maybe, the cops would pull me over for not wearing it, and that could be our chance to get out of this. But no, Isaac and Lawrence would see through me once the seat belt warning went off, so that wasn’t an option.

My panic increased as I shifted into first gear. I could ram the car into something and hope they would get hurt enough for us to escape, but then I would also risk Blake or me getting hurt. Maybe I could just drive too fast and hope to get stopped for speeding.

But as I proceeded to the exit on my right, planning to drive through the busiest streets, Isaac instructed me to go to the left and then follow the road that led away from the busy streets and areas where I could expect to see cops.

I did as I was told, terrified about what was waiting for us after this ride. I took one quick look at Isaac. He’d raped and killed Emma. It was difficult to understand how one person could be so evil.

“Why are you doing this shit?” Blake asked. “You short on dough again?”

They chuckled. I glanced in the rear-view mirror to see them give Blake a derisive look.

“Not really, tough boy,” Lawrence said. “Did you really think we would just sit and do nothing while you plotted your childish revenge? I thought we taught you to be more obedient and stop snooping around in other people’s business, but I guess you haven’t learned your lesson.”

Blake let out a choked breath. “So, while I plotted to take you and Bobby Q down, you plotted to—what? Kidnap me and torture me to death?”

“Nope. Just killing you was good enough,” Isaac said sardonically. “But then Bobby Q and I saw you getting real cozy with this cutie here, and it was like a sign from above because what’s better than coming full circle, right?”

“This has nothing to do with Jessica. Let her go.”

“And miss the fun we can have with her?”

I gripped the wheel, nauseated by the implication in those words. I feared how Blake was going to handle this for the second time.

“I’ll kill you,” he growled through his teeth, to which both Isaac and Lawrence laughed.

“Oooh, I’m shaking,” Isaac mocked.

“You will be when I’m done with you,” Blake muttered under his breath and covered my hand on the gearshift. I glanced at him. “I’ll protect you,” he mouthed silently, and I could see it—guilt, regret, fear, determination.

I offered him a small smile, wanting him to know I trusted him. I felt safe with him.

“Who would’ve thought, eh?” Isaac said in his cheerful fake voice, his aim remaining fixed on Blake. “That I would find you when I joined T’s gang last year? The world is so small. And you didn’t even recognize me!” He let out a poisonous chuckle. “But that’s the point of ski masks. No one can recognize you with it, get it?” He smacked his hand against his thigh, breaking out into laughter that grated on my ears.

“So, what? You knew who I was from the start and decided to pretend to be my friend? You even changed your voice so I wouldn’t recognize it.”

Isaac grinned darkly. “Yes.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “For fun. It was hilarious to see you hang around the person who fucked and killed your girlfriend.”

Blake fisted his hands on his thighs. He did it so tightly his veins bulged out. I swallowed the bile in my throat.

“But I never expected you to come to me and ask about Bobby Q,” Isaac continued. “That was huge.”

“I only asked you about Bobby Q because I heard you two moved in the same circles.”

Isaac smacked his lips. “Gotta love the irony. And now, here we are.”

I curled my lips in disgust. He’d done unspeakable things to an innocent girl but was roaming free around the world, and for a moment, I understood Blake’s burning desire to put an end to his miserable life. I wondered if a life sentence would be enough for the likes of him.

“Was that you yesterday?” I asked Isaac.

“Yesterday?” Blake asked me.

“There was a guy in the parking lot when I left the school. He looked familiar, but he was standing in the distance and wearing a cap, so I couldn’t be sure. Then you showed up, and he was gone.”

Isaac nodded with a grin. “Yep, that was me.”

Blake cursed. “What were you doing there?”

“Just keeping tabs on her.”

“Son of a bitch,” Blake growled.

“You’re not going to get away with this,” I told him, despite knowing how improbable that was. They had gotten away with Blake and Emma’s kidnapping.

Lawrence barked a mocking laugh. “We’ll see about that.”

The ride felt long and short all at the same time, killing all my hope that we could get out of this before we reached the address. My heart dropped into my stomach when an ominous-looking gray Victorian house came into sight at the end of the road. There was nothing here but meadows and more meadows, which increased the dreadful feeling that this wouldn’t end well. Isaac ordered me to park in the small driveway and hand him my car key; his aim at my head never faltered.

I gave him the key and got out of the car, shivering when a gust of cold wind swept over me and blew my hair into my face.

“Both of you, move,” Lawrence ordered when Blake refused to step away from the car. He was more composed now,