Taken by the Mafia King

e

nely defined jaw, well-fitting Levi jeans, and the kind of face that made me envision a life where we got married, bought a condo in Jersey, and adopted a Golden Retriever named Buddy. Jim would t

more, Pennsylvania district. Yet, somehow, on a sunny Thursday afternoon in October, Jim walked me out to my car af

na

face. I snapped back to the real world in an in

warm smile as I adjusted the heavy wei

r smile that showed off the extensive and expensive dental work he’d had

he numerous folders I was carrying in my arms.

school midterms. He was the beloved gym teacher, after all. While all of the teachers at Jefferson Middle School slaved away for a week straight, our fingertip

” he asked, leaning on

the hood of my beat-up Volvo station wagon and sighed hea

r classes do the po

t Jefferson as the eighth grade reading teacher. There were protocols and structures my education hadn’t set me up for, not to mention temperaments and behaviors of students. The last six weeks had been dedi

my weeken

g in his eyes gave me pause. “Maybe we co

o race. “Like, all

t me and you, if yo

curling dark brown hair had fallen loose from the claw-clip I was in the habit of wearing, dark tendrils falling over my shoulders. I met his g

s a good guy. The kind of guy who took you to get ice cream and who you’d want to bring home to me

a bit, cheeks shimmering a pale rose as h

parking spot. I sighed as I turned back to my car and fished for my

into the parking lot. I looked up, alarmed, and spotted a white van with heav

yanked on the door again, prying it open, but one of the men grabbed me by my hair and pulled me backward so hard I lost my footing completely as I was dragged over the gravelly parking space be

came down over my head and a rope was tied around my neck. The gloved hands yanked the rope tight, securing the bag ar

asting of acid and coming out

the wro

one?” came a male vo

, alright. I could spot

wrong girl. Maybe they had exactly who they