Page 50

Darius gives a sharp nod. “Jack said you might have proof.”

“You’ll have it.” Caden steps back. “You got something you can track?”

Darius pulls something out and offers it, and Caden takes it, sliding it into his pocket.

“How long?” Caden asks.

“Give us thirty minutes.” Darius glances at the rest of us, already pulling out his phone, knowing we’re hearing everything they say, but none of it makes sense. Caden knows something we don’t. I trust Caden to do what’s right to protect Harper.

If I need to know, he’ll tell me.

Caden nods and turns to me. “Where to?”

I hold up my keys.

Eli

“You don’t got shit on me,” Alex spits it out like he’s in some cop drama where I’m playing bad cop. Fuck that shit. This isn’t an interrogation.

When I pull up his arm more, he rises onto his toes and whimpers. I shove him face first against the brick building.

“Did Ashley ever tell you what I could do to her?” I lean in close to his ear.

“I know she’s into kinky shit.” He’s trying not to piss his pants as I pull him from the wall and force him to walk toward the others.

When we round the corner, the van is on the road. Caden is talking with Darius while Luke stands with his keys in his hands. We need to know where to go. If we go to the farm we learned about and it’s the wrong place, we’re fucked. That’s where Alex is going to come in handy.

“She likes pain,” I say softly.

“Like spanking and shit. Yeah. I helped her out with that.” Alex sounds confident that he gave her what she needed.

I know he didn’t or she wouldn’t have come to me in the first place.

I pull out my pocketknife and flip it open, holding it up so Alex can see it, but making sure Darius doesn’t. No need to have to deal with an adult knowing we had weapons on school grounds after this is over.

“What I do to her will seem like child’s play compared to what I’ll do to you.” I lean in close, touching the blade against his arm so he can feel the sharp edge. “See, I like her and give her pain. I don’t like you, and you have information I need. So what do you think I’ll do to you?”

He swallows, and his eyes flick away from me.

I press the blade against his skin and draw it across shallowly, breaking the skin.

He hisses in pain as his eyes widen. “What the fuck?”

“Don’t think I won’t hurt you the way you planned to hurt her.” Anger tinges my words. They want to hurt Harper. Some of that anger is at myself for even asking Luke if we should use her as bait.

I never would have let her fall into this trap. Not without being one hundred percent sure I could get her back. And I wasn’t one hundred percent. The minute they attacked, I knew it. And I also knew we shouldn’t have risked her at all. Fuck.

I’ll do whatever it takes to get to her.

I lean in close to Alex. “Do you want scars to carry with you for the rest of your days? A reminder of the time you pissed me off? Or do you want to tell me where the fuck they’re taking my girl?”

His eyes reveal his terror. “The farmhouse. Out on route thirteen.”

“You’re going to take us there, or I’m going to truss you up and slice every inch of your skin.” For a second, I smile. My blade glistens with his blood. “Do you think you can die from a thousand papercuts? We could find out. I’ll even let you keep count.”

He focuses on something over my shoulder. “Help me,” he whimpers.

Caden’s chuckle is dark. “You want me to tear your knee apart so you can’t play college basketball, Alex? Is that the help you need?”