Page 1 of Forbidden Fate

PROLOGUE

ROBIN

I blink. I can’t see much. My vision is blurry. Are my eyes even open?

I swallow. My mouth is dry. My throat hurts.

I turn⁠—

Ugh. That was a mistake. I hurt all over. And my mind…

Where am I? Who am I?

Robin. Robin Bellamy.

Yeah, that’s who I am.

I finally manage to sit up. My neck hurts. My shoulders feel like I lifted a boulder.

I move my head from side to side—God, the pain—and reach up to my neck, trying to massage it, when I feel⁠—

What the hell is that?

It’s a small welt on the right side of my neck behind my ear.

Oh, God…

I remember now.

I felt something. A twinge of pain when I was looking around in the house⁠—

Damn…

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

I blink rapidly and finally adjust to the dimness in this…whatever it is.

It’s a tiny cell with concrete walls and a concrete floor. The only light peers through a tiny window high on the wall. One side of the cell is barred. Anyone can see in. But no one is there.

I stand and grab the wall next to me for support.

Then I turn and look down. I was lying on a rigid cot. It looks like one of the old green cots Mom and Dad keep in the sheds. They’re for the ranch hands, when we have to hire extra help during spring and fall.

Funny. My brothers and I used to love sleeping on them when we were little. Playing ranch hand was a fun game. At the time, anyway.

Now?

This isn’t any fun at all.

My neck is stiff. Every part of me either hurts or feels strained. I don’t have my phone, my purse, or my watch.

What day is it? What time is it? Daytime, I guess, from the tiny bit of sunshine coming through the narrow window.

My heart beats against my sternum like a drum, and dizziness sweeps through me.

I sit back down on the cot.

I reach up, rub at my neck, find the small welt once more.