Fuck.I never should have let her out of my sight.
I call Hazel, but she must have blocked my number because the call won’t go through. Lachlan speeds through the night but it’s not fast enough, each second I don’t have my eyes on Hazel ratcheting the tension in my body.
My head pounds, my vision tunneling as I throttle the door handle. I try calling Wright, but it just rings through to voicemail.
The pressure increases, clamping down on my brain with a deafening ring. Hazel is alone in her house and I can’t reach her. I can’t protect her.
The clock on the dashboard flicks over to 2:58am.
Just hold on Little Lilac.
I’m coming.
32
I BROUGHT A VIBRATOR TO A KNIFE FIGHT
Hazel
Turnsout when you have your own stalker you reach the point where, when you wake up to footsteps in your hall, you’re not scared, you’re just pissed off.
My eyes flick open and I push up off my pillow.
“I swear to god Flynn you can’t just keep breaking into my house!” I call out, ignoring the little voice in my head whispering that if I really didn’t want Flynn breaking in, I would have set the alarm. If I’m honest with myself, the second I heard the footsteps my heart unknotted. That is, until my bedroom door is kicked in and someone who is very muchnot Flynnsteps into my room. My heart thunders, my lips going numb.
“Tommy?”
The fucker leans against the doorframe, twirling a hunting knife as he leers at me and that fear that was missing? Yeah, it’s definitely not missing now.
I scramble off the bed, putting as much distance between us as I can and feeling far too vulnerable in just my night shirt.
Tommy smiles, a lecherous glint in his eyes as his gaze tracks over my bare legs. “Miss me, babe?”
“What are you doing here? I thought you were in jail.”
“Oh, I was but it turns out I have a guardian angel who posted my bail.” Tommy flips the knife and points the tip at me. “See I have one more chance to become a King and all I have to do is finish what I started seven years ago and deliver you to our… mutual friend.”
My stomach hollows as I put together the pieces. “The senator.”
“You always were too smart for your own good.” Tommy shakes his head, greasy strands of his overgrown hair brushing his eyes. “You’re not getting out of this one though.”
Goosebumps prick my arms. Glass smashing against the wall echoes in my mind. My heart races. Memories of standing dead still as Tommy raged around me threaten to undo me, but I’m not the same scared girl I was back then. “I’ll fight you,” I say.
“No, you won’t.” He reaches into the pocket of his skinny jeans and I use his momentary distraction to sidle closer to the window.
Tommy takes out his phone and taps at the screen. “See, I have insurance this time and if you don’t come with me, your little boyfriend gets a bullet between his eyes.”
I stop moving. The world stops moving. And then everything is spinning, my breath caught in my chest.
Tommy turns his phone around, a video of a man, gagged and tied to a gurney. It’s not until the man turns his head that I can breathe again, because it’s not Flynn. It’s Derek.
I step back, thoughts racing through my mind. Tommy saw me and Derek together at the bar, he thought we were a couple. Which means it’s my fault they’ve kidnapped Derek.Oh god.
I clench my fists and try to focus. Fear has me wanting to do as I’m told, to let Tommy take me so they don’t hurt Derek, but in situations like this, letting someone take you to a secondary location is one of the worst things you can do. Once they have me, there’s no guarantee they won’t kill Derek anyway. DetectiveDerek who’s annoying but sweet, who’s one of the good cops who goes out of his way to tell us when they’ve caught the bad guy.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Tommy prowls towards me and I glance around the room, looking for anything that might help.
