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“No, I’m OK,” Parker whined softly. “He just tied us up, but I’m OK.”
“Your mom?”
“She’s next to me….”
“Hyde!” he heard his ex-wife call out to him.
“There,” Ozul grabbed the phone. “One hour.”
He hung up the phone. Hyde felt like smashing the phone against the ground. Rene didn’t dare say a word. She wanted to ask him if he was OK, but that would be stupid. Of course he wasn’t OK. Who would be, in this situation? All she could do was hold his hand and squeeze it tight. Without a word, he squeezed it back.
“Let’s head on back to the lodge,” he told her, and they started walking.
“Do you think he will keep his word?” she asked.
This situation seemed way too complicated to be resolved by simply asking Culore and Ozul never to harm them again. Absolutely ridiculous.
“I doubt it,” Hyde replied.
She wasn’t surprised.
“What do you think might happen?”
“The moment we let Culore go, he’ll attack. I’m almost sure of it.”
“Do you think they’ll let Parker and your ex go?”
“They’ll have to,” he nodded, stepping against the hard gravel, which crunched beneath their feet, “I won’t release Culore before they are safely by my side.”
“And then?”
“I don’t know,” Hyde kept looking forward, into the dark woods around. “I honestly don’t know…”
The rest of the road they covered in silence. Rene was oblivious to the soft sounds of the waking forest all around them. It was still dark, but the birds occasionally chirped, welcoming the morning, as the owls hooted one last time. Rene’s hand was still in Hyde’s, fingers intertwined.
For a second, she wondered if she needed all this. Sure, she had problems in her life, like barely being able to cover her mother’s nursing home, or making enough for herself to live on, but at least, her life was never in danger. With Hyde, that seemed to be an everyday expectance. She lifted her gaze and looked at his masculine profile. His jaw was clenching, she could see the bones protruding much more than usual. His palms were still sweaty, even though it was a bit chilly outside.
Her heart knew, even if her brain was still trying to weigh how reasonable this decision was. The heart knew what it knew, and it knew what it wanted. It was as simple as that. So, Rene kept following Hyde obediently, blindly, even if that meant following him to the very depths of Hell.
Chapter 18
Hyde and Rene cautiously walked into the lodge, listening in for any unusual sounds. The place was silent. Hyde pressed his index finger to his lips, signaling to Rene to be quiet. They tiptoed upstairs, into the bedroom, where Jesse was supposed to be watching Culore. With each step they took, Rene was more and more afraid of what she might find when they opened the door to the bedroom. Was Culore still tied up? Was Jesse OK?
A million frightening thoughts swarmed inside her mind, like ravenous bees, each more dangerous than the other. She just couldn’t get them out of her mind. She walked slowly, following Hyde, when finally, he pressed the door knob and opened the door. It did so noiselessly, allowing Hyde to peer inside, before he was revealed to everyone.
A second later, Hyde released a sigh of relief. Culore was still tied up, his head lowered. The moment he heard footsteps, it popped up. He didn’t seem happy.
Hyde looked around the room and saw Jesse seated in the armchair, in the corner. His eyes were glued to Culore. Hyde knew that he probably hadn’t taken his eyes off of him for a single second.
“So?” Culore was the first one to speak, mockingly. “Did Ozul confirm what I was telling you?”
“He sure did,” Hyde nodded, “and we made a deal.”
“A deal?” Culore didn’t like the sound of that.
“He’ll bring them here, and exchange them for you,” Hyde explained, with a victorious gleam in his eyes.
“What
