The men nearby heard those words and broke into eager grins, rubbing their hands together as they closed in on me.
"No, please, just let me see him..."
"Please!"
They didn't listen. Two of them seized me by the arms and hauled me toward the building.
"Declan! Declan, save me!"
I screamed his name with everything I had, praying he would hear.
One of the men dragging me drove his elbow straight into my torso.
The world tilted. Every ounce of strength drained out of me, and my voice died in my throat.
They threw me onto a bed. The cactus thorns still embedded in my back were crushed deeper into my flesh, and the pain nearly dragged me under.
Through the haze, I heard Declan's voice.
"Did someone just call my name?"
My eyes shot toward the doorway, hope flooding through me. He was right there, just past the door, frowning down at his phone.
"You must've misheard, sir. Who would dare call you by your first name?"
"By the way, sir, how come you didn't take the helicopter back this time?"
Declan sighed. "I got into a fight with my girlfriend. I went to the train station to find her and apologize, but she wasn't there. Her phone's off, too."
He went to the train station looking for me?