My eyebrows climb to my hairline, a laugh bubbling up. “Yeah, I have it. Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?”
“I’m just fed up, babe. Be careful, and I’ll see you in ten. I love you.”
I throw my car in park, dust swirling behind us from the dirt road we just came down. “I love you too.”
He ends the call, the guys already pushing out of the car. I swipe my hand under my seat and snag my gun, my heart beating hard, remembering the last time I used this thing.
Closing my eyes, I count to ten, breathing deeply to steady my racing heart. When I feel more in control, I get out of the car and walk over to where the guys are standing.
Archer smiles at me before his eyes catch on the gun, the metal glinting in the sunlight. “Holy fuck,” he shouts, pointing at my hand. “Why do you have a gun?”
“Just being cautious.”
“This was definitely a bad idea,” Archer murmurs, sighing.
Ignoring Archer's comment, I start walking. The guys follow as I lead us down the train tracks and to the woods.
Nestled just inside the tree line is an old beat-up camper, vines growing up the sides and holes rusted through the roof. It doesn’t seem like anyone is here, but I hold my gun out in front of me, just in case.
I creep towards the door, pulling it open slowly, stopping in my tracks when I see the inside. Archer steps around me and peers into the camper, taking it all in, jaw slack.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Archer and I both whirl on Matt, my heart racing when I see the empty smile on his face.
“What the—”
Matt moves fast, ripping the gun from my grip and clocking Archer in the temple. He cocks the gun in my face before Archer can even crumple to the ground.
My hands fly out in front of me, my brain struggling to catch up. “Matt? What the hell are you doing?”
His chuckle is jagged, almost breathless, his hand twitching around my gun. “I think you know.”
A memory floods back from the night I was attacked. I remember the ski mask riding up the guy’s face, exposing his chin and mouth.
I zero in on Matt’s chin and lips, my stomach dropping out.
He tilts his head, a crooked grin stretching across his face.
“It’s you,” I gasp.
Matt shrugs, his voice hollow and uneven. “Surprise.”
He jerks back suddenly, the gun whipping down across my face.
There is a split second of searing pain.
Then darkness.
Chapter thirty
Hudson
The picture that asshole sent keeps flashing through my head no matter how hard I try to shove it away, leaving me wound tighter than a guitar string. It’s all I can think about while my tires crunch over dirt and rock as I pull up to the overlook next to Cullen’s car.
Trying to shake it off, I kill the engine and scan the area.
No sign of the guys.
