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“Jude?”
“It’s not Allison.”
A beat of silence. “What?”
“It’s Ben. Aka Benjamin Phipps. He’s Isaac’s half brother.”
Daniel swore. “Where are you now?”
“Twenty-five minutes out. Fifteen if I break a whole bunch of laws. You?”
“About the same to the west. We’re following her.”
Probably to the farm, which likely had nothing to do with this. “He knew,” I said. “If he’s gunning for me, Lena’s the perfect target for it. And he knew I’d go to Isaac’s memorial. A sure way to know I’d be gone and she’d be alone. Fuck.”
“We’re turning around now. You called her?”
“No answer.”
Daniel blew out a breath. “Keep trying. He didn’t know you’d find out this quickly. She’s probably fine. If he’s smart, he’d wait until he knew you couldn’t get back.”
That was true, and yet I felt in my bones it wasn’t right. “I don’t think so. We need to get to her, Daniel.”
“Call Charlie and drive. We’re moving as fast as we can.”
Terror, true and deep, struck me in the chest. I should have said I loved her. What did it matter when I said as long as I got to do it at all? If I didn’t—
I cut off that thought.
Every inch of my body was drenched in icy fear. And it was the worst I’d ever felt in my life. Worse than waking up from nightmares, worse than being tortured. Those things were pain. And I would go to my grave knowing that fear was a thousand times worse than any pain.
I’d wasted so much time with Lena, thinking I knew what was best for both of us, and now I could have lost her before I got nearly enough time with her. Now, it was my worst fear come true. Lena would be hurt because of me. That man wouldn’t be near her if it weren’t for me. If I kept thinking about the possibility we’d be too late, I’d have to throw up on the seat of the truck, because I wasn’t stopping.
My phone shook in my hand. I glanced down, trying to focus more on the road than on the phone. But if Charlie was at the police station, he could get to Deja Brew faster than I could.
His phone rang out. No answer. Fuck it. I was truly speeding now, the road disappearing beneath my wheels too fast. I’d never been more grateful to live here, where there weren’t many cars even on a busy day. If there was traffic…
No. I would make it. Everything in me sharpened and focused, the way it did before a mission. The way it had when we’d gone in to rescue Noah. My instincts weren’t on the outskirts now. They were resting easy, knowing the truth.
I wasn’t a religious man, but right now, I was praying to God I wasn’t too late. So I could tell her I loved her, that I was sorry I ever brought this kind of danger and pain into her life, and make sure she was mine forever.
First, I had to save her life.
Chapter 28
Lena
I was going to die.
That was the first thought I had.
I was going to die. The exhaust was spilling through the vents and coating everything in a brownish haze. Call for help—the office. There was a phone in my office.
The air was cleaner in here, but that wasn’t the only thing that was clean. My desk was cleared of nearly everything, including the phone and the computer. I hadn’t come in here when I visited; there’d been no reason to. Would I have noticed?
I shut the door to block the smoke and went to the window. It opened onto the patio, and I could figure out the rest after.
It wouldn’t open. I shoved against the pane, trying to force it up, but there was no give. What the hell? I opened this window all the time in summer. Panic was clouding my brain faster than the exhaust. Something hard and dry coated the bottom of the window, completely solid. They’d sealed the window.
