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“Michelle?”
“Just don’t want you getting any ideas,” she says, an air of nonchalance surrounding her. It feels fake, like she’s suddenly suspicious of my motives. If she doesn’t trust me at this point, it’s only going to get worse. I won’t be able to keep this charade going for much longer.
Now or never.
I slam my head forward, smashing the crown of my head into Michelle’s nose. Her ear-piercing scream reverberates through the room, magnifying the pulsing pain in my head tenfold.
Fuck, that hurt.I spring from the bed, still dizzy from the hit, but determined to get away. My hair is tugged backward right before I get through the door, pain singing through my scalp.
“You bitch!” Michelle screams. “You were supposed to be my best friend. My family. What the fuck have you done?”
She slams me to the ground, cocking her fist back and landing a blow to my face. Another one lands in my stomach before I can recover. Rolling across the floor, I barely avoid her next punch. I get her in my sights, analyzing her potential moves, my training roaring through me as I figure out a plan of attack.
I’ve fought people much bigger and stronger than me, but none of them were trying to kill me. We were only sparring. Michelle has nothing left to lose now. I’ve ruined her plan for our life, for her family.
I react before she does, choosing the offensive side since I have the skill. Dropping my shoulder, I slam into her midsection, forcing us deeper into the room. She gets her hands linked through my bound arms and tugs me around so we’re tangled together. Before she can wrap her arm around my neck, I use my foot to stomp on her instep, then throw my elbow back into her ribcage.
Michelle buckles, almost taking me with her as she drops. I twist just in time, untangling my arms from hers as she goes down. I bring my elbow down again, this time to the side of her head, disorienting her. With one more front kick, I send her across the room in a heap. It gives me just enough time to sprint out of the room, adrenaline surging through me, making me feel like superman.
The short hallway leads into a bare living room and outdated kitchen. Everything about this place screams criminal hangout, and I slow my steps, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Michelle isn’t following me.
I know I’ll have another fight to go when I get outside. Gabe won’t let me go easily, so I either need to prepare to run away or find a weapon to use against him. It’s the only way I’ll win a fight against the giant. Especially with my hands still cuffed.
The only thing within reach is a fire poker, which feels oddly cliché, but I don’t have time to think about it.
Picking up the heavy metal, I walk to the windows facing the front yard. Gabe is loading Michelle’s car, about to add the last bag to the trunk. How he didn’t hear Michelle’s screams, I’ll never know. There’s a side door in the kitchen that will hopefully allow me to get outside without alerting Gabe to my presence.
I cringe when the door creaks open, but I can’t stop now. If I’ve been made, I need to be ready. Once I’m outside, I take a deep breath of fresh air, hope flickering to life with my inhale.
Creeping around the side of the house, Gabe shuts the trunk of the car, done with loading the bags. I pull back from the corner, listening for Gabe’s steps as they go from crunching on gravel to pounding up the wooden porch steps. The door opens, then slams shut again, and I know I have only moments to make a break for it.
My body reacts, sprinting across the gravel, my hands bouncing back and forth in front of me as I try to run with them bound.
Shouts behind me have my steps faltering, but I recover, my chest heaving with the exertion. I have no fucking clue where I am; I can only hope to find a place to at least hide until I make my way back into town.
At the end of the long gravel driveway, I sprint across the pavement and into the forest. If I stayed on the road, Michelle would likely be able to find me in her car. Instead, the trees are thick with summer growth, offering plenty of places to hide.
I get into the thickest part of the woods, hoping it’ll keep me safe.
41
BEN
“Now we have to findtwopeople?” I pace around Dad’s office, unable to keep my body still.
“They’re more than likely related, and since we’ve got Michelle’s name, we have a starting point,” Cooper says, turning back to his laptop. “What do you know about Michelle?”
“Not much. Let me get Dad. He knows her better than I do.” I walk out of the office and toward the living room. Everyone is still gathered on the couches, doing their best to stay calm. The tension in the air is heavy with uncertainty, no one quite knowing what to do while we wait.
“Hey, Dad, can you help us?”
“Did you find something?” Mom asks from the couch, her hands wrapped around Cindy’s.
“Potentially. We’re still looking, though.” I look across the room. “Dad?”
He nods his head and follows me back to his office. I lean against the desk as Dad stands next to me, his hands on his hips. “What can I do?”
“What can you tell us about Michelle Graves?”
