Chapter 26

• I felt like a child being buckled into a car seat the way Luca manhandled me into the passenger seat of his truck.
• Wordlessly, he reached across me and buckled me up before slamming the car door shut to walk around to the driver's side. I sat quietly as he started the truck and drove off, gently cradling my right hand against my stomach and covering it with my left.
• The back of my hand was throbbing, especially around my last two knuckles. My fingers were numb and I could barely move them.