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His playfulness grates on me, especially since I thought he could be hurt or worse.
“What the fuck was that noise?”
Hammer’s eyes go to the handgun at my side, and he holds up his hands. “Chill, man. Didn’t you notice the woods nearby? We have gunshots go off all the time around here. It’s not a big deal. Your security dudes checked on me, too. Everything’s good.”
I rub my hands over my brow. “Sorry Hammer, I’m on edge.”
“I noticed. But I’m good here. You should get back out to your girl.”
Birdie.Shit. She’s still outside freaking out. My heart starts up again and I immediately make my way back to her without another word to my cousin. When the sun hits my face, I squint from the harsh change in light. But as soon as I adjust, my heart leaps right back into my chest, because Birdie isn’t there.
“Birdie!” I yell, but I’m met with the sounds of birds and wind. I start to run toward the gazebo, my pulse hammering and handgun at the ready. I’m there in a flash, but there’s no Birdie. “BIRDIE!” I scream this time. But there’s fucking nothing. I hear Hammer yell and then he’s right there beside me.
“She’s not inside,” he says, looking around with me.
“Where the fuck else could she be?”
“I’ll check the barn,” Hammer calls, already on his way. Panic bubbles up in my stomach, and the familiar feeling of failure washes over me. I can’t lose Birdie, not after everything we’ve shared, not after what I just told her about my past.
“Get your head together, Liam,” I tell myself out loud. I can’t lose it, not when Birdie is missing.Fuck.I look out at the cornfield, and I begin to run. I should have never brought her here. What the fuck was I thinking? Scratch that. I wasn’t thinking. I was feeling—just like when the accident happened with Maria.
As soon as I reach the stalks, I notice that some of them are broken. “HAMMER!” I yell, “THE CORNFIELDS!” I’m not sure if he heard me, but I’m not waiting. I follow the trail, it doesn’t really look like she struggled, which could mean the stalker forced her to go with him in other ways that didn’t involve direct force. It’s not long before I come to a road on the other side, but there’s nothing there except for the faint smell of exhaust.
“FUCK!”I yell loud enough for the clouds to hear.
“Liam!” Hammer calls as he approaches, the two hired guards following close behind him.
“Did you see anything?” I ask them both.
“No, we were double checking the perimeter after we heard the noise,” one of them says. “But we found this in the dirt near the side road.”
The guard hands me a dirty note that looks just like the other notes all have. I take it from him and read the script.
Wait for my call.– Damien
I crunch the paper and squeeze my eyes shut.
What the fuck have I done?
thirty-two
Birdie
I’minavanwith a blindfold on and my hands bound. The man kept his mask on when he took me, and he had one thing he didn’t have the last time he visited me—a gun.
It was probably stupid of me to not fight back, but he threatened Liam and Hammer, and of all people… my mom. His exact words were,“If you don’t come with me, I’ll kill Lorri and your lover boy, maybe even his big cousin in there.”
This stalker did his research, and I don’t trust him to not follow through on his words. Maybe instead of screwing Liam’s brains out, I should have had him teach me self-defense instead. If I make it out of this, I sure as hell am going to learn.
“I won’t hurt you, Birdie. You can relax.”
My back stiffens at his words, and suddenly I want to cry. This man really wants me to relax? “I don’t believe you,” I tell him, trying to keep my voice strong.
“My plan was never to hurt you. I told you I wanted you, and I got you.”
My stomach turns. I shouldn’t ask this question, but I do anyway. “What are you going to do with me?”
“You’ll find out soon.”
