(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

Chapter Fifty-Three - Warehouse

RILEY

I SENSED a hard floor beneath me and breathed in musty, humid air. Slowly, my eyes blinked open under hanging, flickering lights. I squinted, dizzy and nauseous, then tried to bring a hand to my face. My wrists met a resistance.

I peered at my lap to find them handcuffed together, and noticed a thick metal wristlet on one of them with a blue signal button. My head throbbed dully, but I turned it to detail my surroundings. I had to know where I was.

My gaze caught a larger body lying a few feet further from mine, eyes closed and light brown hair canting towards the floor. Adam's chest rose and fell in steady breaths. His mouth was taped shut. Conflicted emotions shot through me: confusion, relief, fear, unease... I saw long rows of giant, dusty shelves beyond us, so I guessed this was some sort of warehouse. What were we doing here?

I began to scoot closer to wake Adam up.

"Stay where you are."

I jerked at the firm masculine voice behind me and stopped. My neck twisted to give me a better view. Two men in black suits stood side by side, watching us with inscrutable expressions—so much so you would think they were siblings. This whole stunt had to be NIO, without a doubt. They were behind this, and they had lured me in with Adam.

Tears pricked my eyes in defeat and horror.

"What is this?" I croaked, my voice sounding weirdly strained and echoey in this gargantuan room.

One of them crouched at my level. I shrunk back, wanting to escape his piercing stare.

"Before that, we want to strike a deal with you, Miss Addison."

I inhaled deeper and exhaled shakily. "What deal?"

"It's simple. If you don't move and do everything as we say, your friend won't get hurt," he said.

I'd do whatever it takes to keep him safe and out of this. He was innocent. Disappointment swallowed me when I glanced back at him, and I wished he knew how sorry I was about everything. I thought breaking up would keep him at bay, but I'd been too late. Even if I stopped seeing him, I still cared for his well-being. It was all my fault. I dragged him into this because I hadn't realized earlier what everyone warned me about.

I nodded without hesitation despite the fact that it gave them all the power. At least we agreed that Adam didn't need to be harmed in the midst of all this. As long as I did as instructed, he wouldn't get hurt. NIO had no interest in humans—and a high school kid.

"He doesn't know anything about us," I said. "He... He's not involved in anything he's not supposed to."

The first man got up. "Keep quiet."

I wanted to beg the agents to let him go, but I was afraid they'd carry out their threat if I opened my mouth again. The second man looked at me.

"Sit. Right where you are."

I managed to kneel using my free legs and fought the urge to crawl to Adam. Putting myself between him and them would not make a difference. I was helpless.

The same agent walked over to Adam and bent down, ripping the duct tape off his mouth. He woke with a start, eyes blinking to adjust to the dimness. He took us all in, then the room and the shelves. As he wiggled, he realized his hands and his ankles—unlike mine—were tied, then pulled harder in frustration.

"Where the hell are we?" His panicked gaze moved to me, and so many emotions streamed onto his face at once, but concern won over. "Riley, are you okay?"