Page 143 of Dissolving Prejudice

But who had time to care about such things when Camilo was on the loose? With his current mental state, who knew what he might do to himself. The mere thought of him getting hurt sent a shiver through me, and ashamed of my behavior, I quickly put on my jeans. The way I’d acted was beyond foolish, and I should have done better, especially when I knew how much he’d been struggling lately. He was mine, and I was his, right?

Touching my necklace, I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. Panicking wouldn’t do any good, and if I wanted to track him fast, I must stay composed. I might also call for help. Andrei wouldn’t hesitate to assist me, and with him, I bet the others would, too. A faint smile pulled on my lips with the thought of them, as it was nice to have other people to rely on for a change.

Fully dressed, all I was left with was putting on my shoes. Grabbing them, I sat down on the bed and began putting them on when I heard the door opening.

I rolled my eyes. Finally, the doctor had come.

“You’re rather late,” I hissed, not bothering to look back as I was busy with tying the laces. “No wonder public health services have such a bad reputation. I could have already died in the time it took you to get here.”

The door shut, and I heard steps getting closer. “I apologize, mister, for taking so long.”

“As you should.” I huffed. “I can assure you that this is the last time I—” I paused when a single word he said grabbed my attention.

Mister.

That little cockroach called me that.

I began turning around when I felt a sharp prick in my neck. It was so weird, but in a matter of seconds, numbness spread through me like a disease, and I struggled to keep my eyes open. Unable to hold myself, I fell back when someone caught me. First, I noticed the syringe in his hand, which explained the pinch in my neck, and then I saw his face.

“You’re in good hands, mister, I promise.”

Green eyes and a vicious smile burned into my memory right before everything turned black.

Jordan

The second I entered my car, a thought occurred to me. I should send Dylan’s aunt flowers. After all, if she’d raised him, she probably meant a lot, and flowers would show I cared, right? Grabbing my phone, I typed “nearest florist” into the search bar and began scrolling down the results. Mom’s favorite flowers were tulips, so perhaps I should go for that? It took me a while to settle on a nice bouquet and a box of chocolates to go with it. Ready to put in my credit details, I realized that I had no idea where to send it to. Neither did I know Dylan’s aunt’s name.

Crap.

Would I look clingy if I texted him now to ask? We’d just said our goodbyes ten minutes ago, but then again, I could seize the opportunity to ask him if he liked Italian food so I could make a reservation in this cute restaurant—Yep. One hundred percent clingy.

After deciding not to text him, I tossed my phone on the passenger seat and leaned back against the headrest. “Take it slow, Jordy.” I took a deep breath and then another one. The last thing I needed to do was to get hung up on a guy the same way I did with Shay-Lee. After all, nothing good came out of that relationship, right? I was so consumed with him—still am probably—that it had completely blinded me from right or wrong. I was willing to look away from everything, including my own crimes, just to have my chance with him. And why? I wasn’t really sure, as I’d never given it too much thought. In the beginning, it was pure attraction that drew me to him, but later on, I just fell victim to his web of secrets and manipulation until I couldn’t see beyond. I foolishly thought I could save him, while I clearly couldn’t. And in the end, I was the one who ended up needing to be saved.

Even from myself.

But while our relationship was built on the ruins of his life, under the pretense of a bright future, the last few years were a nice illusion. I loved him because despite it all, Shay-Lee was a beautiful person. He was smart and funny. Sweet at times and ridiculous at others. And when he looked at me? Fuck, it was enough to put my whole world at ease—but not anymore. Shay-Lee had finally put the last nail in the coffin of our relationship, and all I was left with was a ballad of my broken heart.

Surprisingly, I didn’t feel like crying. Maybe it was because I’d already wasted all my tears in the months since he’d left me for Diesel, but either way, I felt somehow optimistic. It was almost as if a stone had been lifted off my chest. He found out the truth, which I knew he eventually would, and he asked me to leave. It sucked, but at least I still got my freedom. Shay-Lee wouldn’t give my name to the police, and that was more than I deserved.

Ready to go, I opened my eyes and turned on my car. The engine roared to life, and I grabbed the steering wheel when my phone buzzed. Hopeful it was Dylan calling for some reason, I quickly picked it up to see it wasn’t him but an unknown number. Ready to dismiss the call, I suddenly remembered Shay-Lee had used my phone to call Diesel. What if this was him calling back? The call died, and I didn’t plan on calling back, but wouldn’t it only be fair of me to tell Shay-Lee about it? He clearly looked stressed when he’d asked for my phone earlier, and Diesel not being there did seem odd…

Turning off my car, I grabbed my keys and phone and was ready to get out when all of a sudden, I saw Dylan walking between cars while pushing a wheelchair with… Shay-Lee in?

What the fuck?

They quickly disappeared from my sight, so I stepped out of the car and began looking for them. My pulse quickened after I thought I’d lost them between all the cars, but luckily enough, I managed to spot Dylan on the other side of the parking lot. He stopped next to a large black SUV and glanced around before pushing Shay-Lee into it and shutting the door behind them.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Had Dylan just kidnapped Shay-Lee?

My nerves kicked in, and I sprinted toward the van.

“Hold on!” I shouted, hand raised in the air and eyes focused on the car that had just reversed out of the parking spot. My heart rate increased to an immense speed as I ran even faster when another car showed up out of nowhere and hit me. My body crashed over the hood before I rolled down to the ground, face-first.

“S-shit,” I hissed as I slowly got up to my feet while the lady driving the car got out of it, screaming if I was okay. Her panicking definitely didn’t help, but what was worse was seeing Dylan’s van getting away. Not sure if it was the adrenaline running through my blood or mere luck, but I didn’t feel any pain, and so—

“I’m good, don’t worry,” I told the lady before I sped back to my car.