AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sawyer,” I say again, this time a little louder. Tearing my eyes from the screen, I look across at him. He’s still focused on his phone, a scowl firmly on his face. The uneasy feeling I have intensifies, and I reach across, my hand touching his. His head shoots up, and his eyes find mine. “Look,” I whisper, gesturing to the television. He glances to where I’m pointing, and the expression on his face changes.
“Shit,” he mumbles as he closes his eyes and drops his head. His hand laces with mine, and he squeezes gently. “I’m sorry, Hallie. I wanted to tell you myself. I wanted you to forget the stress of last week before I gave you more to worry about.”
I pull my hand from his and frown. “Tell me what?” My eyes widen as realization hits me like a smack in the face. “Matt!He has her, doesn’t he?” A sob escapes my lips, and I clamp my hand over my mouth, hot tears tracking down my cheeks.
“Hey, we don’t know yet…” he trails off, and I know he’s not telling me everything.
“But?” I prompt, swiping away my tears with the back of my hand. He looks across the table at me, a pained expression on his face. “Sawyer, tell me!”
He takes a deep breath. “She was taken from Morrel Park.”
“No,” I mutter, dropping my head into my hands as more tears fall down my cheeks. “Oh, God. That poor girl. When did he take her? How old is she?”
“It was last night. She’s thirteen.” I lift my head.
“It has to be him, Sawyer.”
“We don’t know anything yet. There was a witness, but he couldn’t tell us much.”
Picking up my napkin, I wipe my face and blow my nose. “How long have you known?”
“Logan called me while you were on the phone this morning.”
“You should have told me.”
“I didn’t want to worry you.”
I’m about to say something when Sawyer’s phone rings. With his eyes fixed on me, he picks it up, answering on the first ring. “Logan, what have you got?” he asks. I can’t hear what Logan is saying, but I can guess from Sawyer’s expression it isn’t good.
“What? Where and when?” His eyes leave mine, and he looks all around the restaurant. He’s making me nervous, and I can’t help but follow where he’s looking.
“Hilton Head Island. I gotta go… I’ll let you know… I will.” He ends the call and stands. Reaching for his wallet, he tosses some bills on the table and slips his phone into his pocket. “We need to go.” He takes my hand and pulls me up. “Keep hold of my hand. Stay close and do what I say.”
“Sawyer, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?” He’s already making for the exit, tugging me behind him. Fear swirls in my stomach, and I feel like I’m going to throw up. My eyes dart desperately around the restaurant, expecting to see Matt in front of me at any second.
“I’ll explain everything, but right now, we’ve got to leave.”
As we near the door, I pull on his arm, forcing him to stop. “Sawyer,” I whisper, my voice trembling.
He turns to face me, his fingers slipping from mine. He cups my cheeks with his hands and brings his face to mine. “I’ve got you, Hallie,” he says softly. He closes his eyes and rests his forehead on mine. “I’ve got you,” he repeats, his voice a whisper. He pulls his head back and brushes his lips against my forehead before taking my hand in his again.
Once we’re on the sidewalk, we walk quickly back to his bike. He keeps me pressed against his side, his eyes scouting all around us as we walk. He’s quiet, and I don’t ask any questions. I don’t want to distract him. My heart thunders in my chest, and I can almost hear it beating with each step I take. My hands feel clammy, and I wipe the one that isn’t enveloped in Sawyer’s on my jean shorts.
Despite not having been far from where we parked the bike, it feels like it takes an eternity to reach it. I can’t help but feel relieved when it’s still parked where we left it. Sawyer wastes no time pushing the helmet over my head, then putting on his own before jumping on the bike. He holds his hand out, I take it and climb on behind him. I’ve barely got my hands around his waist before he’s speeding off, leaving dust and gravel spitting up behind us.
ChapterSixteen
Sawyer
Adrenaline is pumping wildly through my system while leaving Hilton Head Island faster than I should. I’m aware Hallie is scared, but I can’t stop to explain. Not yet. Once we’re a safe distance away, and I’m certain no one is following us, I’ll pull over.
Logan’s message after we arrived at the restaurant told me we had a potential problem—a reported sighting of Bryant. At first, it wasn’t too much to be concerned about. The cops have received hundreds of sightings of him since the news of his escape broke. So far, none have come to anything. This sighting was by a cop though, so a little more credible. He’d tried to stop a man who resembled Bryant. When the car sped off, the cop reported it. Logan then called a few minutes later, telling me a traffic camera had picked up an image of the driver of that car running a light. They were pretty sure it was Bryant, and it was on Hilton Head Island. As soon as I’d heard that, I knew we had to leave. As much as I hated scaring Hallie, I needed to get her out of there.
Pulling off on the smaller roads that lead away from the island, I join the interstate and feel Hallie hold on even tighter than she normally does. Her front is pressed to my back, and I swear I can feel her crying. Reaching my hand to her leg, I squeeze her thigh before taking her hand in mine. My gesture seems halfhearted. I want to stop the bike and hold her, but I can’t. Not yet. I know exactly where I’m headed, and instead of riding toward Savannah, I ride in the opposite direction.
I silently question myself as we ride away from the island. Did I miss someone tailing us as we left my apartment earlier? Did Bryant follow us here? It’s surely too much of a coincidence for him not to have followed us. Was I too caught up with having Hallie on the back of the bike that I took my eye off the ball? Are my feelings for her affecting my ability to protect her? These questions and more swirl in my mind, and despite not knowing the answers, I push them down. I have to concentrate on getting Hallie someplace safe.
I’ve been watching the road for the past thirty minutes, and I’m confident no one is following us. Seeing a rest stop ahead, I steer the bike off the interstate and park away from other vehicles. I turn off the engine, and we sit in silence for a few minutes. Hallie slides her hand from mine and dismounts the bike. Kicking out the stand, I remove my helmet, watching as she pulls hers off. My heart drops when I see her face is streaked with tears, her eyes red from crying.
