“I don’t think I’m dying…” I paused. “I’m okay. Then, just as fast, I was abruptly lifted off my feet as my entire ribcage was strained to the point of feeling like the whole thing was being crushed under the sudden pressure. Tried to grasp the implications. And unfortunately, knowing Serenity’s scent, and now having the faint scent of the stranger to go off of, suddenly didn’t seem like enough. He sounds like he’s dying!”
I shook my head weakly in response, suddenly smiling at the fact that I’d just done what I teased her of doing — giving nonverbal responses over the phone. “Will that work?”
I shook my head, coughing. “That was my deadbeat biological father…”
My eyes widened in surprise, seeing Gabriella look at me in alarm. His expression was pained as he abruptly turned around and began jogging toward the other doorway on the far side of the room. Both of them were attached to now taut metal cables, holding me a good four or five feet off the concrete floor. Scooting my rear to the
