The Criminal Soulmate

Chapter Twenty-Seven

It took three days of driving to get from Houston to Bellingham. The Nameless Man, as Leanna had grown to refer to him as, hardly ever spoke. He did keep his word, however. Not once did he lay a hand on Leanna. Hours of awkward silence kept them company on the road, not even the sound of music to drown it out.

On the third day, they finally got to Washington. Two nights spent sleeping in the car had left her muscles aching. Leanna's thoughts of that stopped when they pulled up to a large concrete building that resembled a warehouse. The place looked like it belonged in a horror movie. A garage door started to lift. The Nameless Man pulled forward, looking in the rear-view mirror at Leanna. Her heart started to race.

"I've been told you'll be allowed to see your parents. Ten minutes. That's the time you'll have together."

Leanna wanted to say something, but she was too terrified to speak. Countless unknown horrors could happen to her here, and there would be no one around to help. No one who cared what became of her or her parents.

You fell right into the trap Dylan tried so hard to save you from.

The car door slammed shut as The Nameless Man came around the back of the car to Leanna's side, opening her door without looking at her. She hugged her backpack to her chest, dreading the moment this fake courtesy would end. And she knew it would.

People Leanna didn't recognize idled around the building. Curious glances were thrown her way, but no one said a word. There had to be at least five other people. One of them stayed longer than the others, and Leanna realized it was the man her father had worked for. Her old best friend's dad.

He looked away, getting in the passenger seat of another vehicle, disappearing through the way they'd come in. Leanna gulped, turning around to face the way she was being led. A hand rested on the small of her back. She didn't need to look to know just who it was. A presence that had been unsettling her the past three days.

"Morgan's been here for over two days now. I think she's eager to see you again." Those dark eyes brought back the panic Leanna had tried in vain to silence.

Trying again to swallow the lump in her throat, Leanna stared straight ahead. She didn't want to know what Morgan had in store for her. "When am I going to see my parents?" At least they would be a glimmer of joy in this sea of hopelessness.

"Right now."

A door on the right side of the hall was shut, one person stationed outside it. When the woman saw them, she stepped aside, avoiding eye contact. Dozens of questions ran through Leanna's mind.

The door groaned open, and any restrain fell away as Leanna saw her parents for the first time in nearly a month. She let out a gasp, followed by a sob, before rushing forward. Other than a few bruises and minor cuts, her mother looked untouched. Her father was a different story.

Friedrich Bruckner had never been the most attractive of men, but he always had a smile on his face. Such was not the case now. Words caught in Leanna's throat, looking down at the bloodied shape of her father. He had been bandaged poorly, scarlet seeping through the cloth placed on various parts of his body. Leanna clapped both hands over her mouth, tears beginning to blur her vision.

"Anna?"

Leanna whirled back to her mother, who looked paler than she'd ever seen her. Isla Bruckner's once gorgeous auburn hair hung in flat strings, large clumps knotted near her scalp. Her hazel eyes were filled with tears at the sight of her daughter.