Illusion (Swept Away Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    “That’s fine.” I mumbled back, the words tripping out of mouth in an existential fashion. I wanted to jump up and run, but I knew that wouldn’t help. I’d ask Rosie for her advice when she came back from the restroom. I’d tell her everything that was going on and then hope she wasn’t angry at me for keeping it all from her for so long.
    “Watch my bag for me.” She handed me her large black Balenciaga bag and walked away quickly. I put her bag in my lap and quickly unzipped it and placed the plastic bag with the copies of my father’s papers in it and did it back up again.
    “More wine, ma’am?” I heard the voice in front of me and I felt a prick in my arm as I looked up. I didn’t see the face of the person as I looked up, because my vision became dotted. All of a sudden, I felt terribly drowsy, like I wanted to sleep. I closed my eyes for a second, and then the world went black.
    The first time I regained consciousness, I could feel someone lifting me up. I tried to open my eyes to see what was going on, but my eyelids wouldn’t open, because they were too weak. The second time I regained consciousness, I could hear two men frantically whispering something. It sounded like “The plan’s changed. The plan’s changed.”
    I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I allowed the dark void to suck me back in as my brain realized that the inevitable had happened. I knew that I’d rather be unconscious than frozen in fear while being blind and speechless. The void was good for now. The void would allow me toconserve my energy and stop the panic that was currently running through my body.
    I drifted back into oblivion, and all I could think about were David’s words the last time we’d spoken: You’re strong, Bianca. You can handle anything. I promise that you’ll get over this . I only hoped that I was as strong as he thought I was.

two
    M y head was pounding when I finally regained full consciousness. My body felt stiff, and there was an ache in my neck. I tensed as I realized that I was in a dark, cramped space I couldn’t identify. The air around me was stuffy, and my brain still felt hazy.
    I smelled him before I felt him. His scent was deep and musky, like an expensive cologne. It was then that I realized his arm was under my neck. I froze as my heart joined my pounding head, and he groaned as I rolled over and slowly crashed into his chest. My limbs felt numb, and my mind was fuzzy. I felt his fingers squeezing my neck, and I wondered if this was it. Was I going to die by strangulation? I reached my hands up to his fingers and sharply yanked them away, banging both of our hands into something hard above us.
    “Careful,” he muttered, and I froze as my eyes tried to focus in the dark. He was awake, and he didn’t sound happy.
    “Do I know you?” I whispered, trying to remember where I had been and what I’d been doing. My heart thudded as the faintest of memories came back to me. “Who are you?” My words sounded pained. What was going on?
    “Who are you ?” His voice was low, and he attempted to move away from me. “And where am I?”
    “I don’t know.” I attempted to sit up but found it hard to move.
    I could feel the panic welling up in me, and I tried not to scream. The last thing I could remember was drinking a glass of wine in a cute little bar on the Upper West Side while I waited for Rosie to get off work. I froze as I remembered two men frantically muttering something. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on the voices I’d heard. Was this man lying next to me one of the men who had kidnapped me? And if so, why was he trapped with me?
    “You don’t know who you are?” His tone sounded bemused, and I could tell from his voice that he was an arrogant asshole. “Or you don’t want me to know?”
    “No, I don’t know where we are,” I said slowly, trying not to show my fear and irritation. I knew that I couldn’t show him my weakness or anger