AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Holy shit, I’m a murderer.
And they got rid of the body.
I clutch my hands to my chest, trying to breathe, to stave off the panic that grips me, but when the edges of my vision start to fade, I know I’m fighting a losing battle.
"Briar!" Sawyer’s panicked voice cuts through my internal fear, and I feel his hands on my shoulders before I’m lifted and wrapped in his arms. The pressure of this touch wrapped around me helps to reduce the fear the smallest amount.
"I’ve got you," he murmurs in my ear as I close my eyes, trying to focus on nothing but him, despite the fear gripping me. "It’s going to be okay."
I lose track of how long we sit like that, but when I open my eyes, Asher and Cole are gone, and Travis is still watching us from where he’s leaning against the wall by the fireplace.
"Are you back?" Sawyer whispers to me, his thumbs tracing circles on my stomach where he has his hands tucked up against my bare skin.
"I’m good. Sorry," I murmur back, trying not to be embarrassed about my complete meltdown. All things considered, I have no idea how any of them are staying so calm.
"You have nothing to be sorry about," he responds, squeezing me again. "I’ve got to run and check out Crawford's place, but T is going to stay with you, and Shadow is here too."
"Okay." The word seems so small, like I should be offering him the world for what they’ve done for me so far, but I have no idea where we go from here. What any of this means for us all.
He lifts me from his lap and puts me back on the couch, where Shadow instantly curls up on my knees. Travis moves with him to the door where they speak in hushed tones, but I try not to focus on that.
Once the door closes and I’m alone with Travis again, he comes and sits on the couch opposite me, elbows on his knees, his chin resting on his steepled fingers. "We need to talk through our story. The body is dealt with, we know people, and the guys are working on making sure there’s no traces of tonight, but we still need to make sure your alibi is intact. You said you were in the library, did anyone see you leave?"
I rack my brain, but shake my head. "I don’t think so. The library was quiet and I don’t remember seeing the librarian as I left, but I don’t know if there are cameras in there."
"If you’re on a feed, Asher will find it and we’ll deal with it. Do you remember seeing anyone out in that field other than Crawford?"
I shake my head again. "No, I don’t think so."
He nods before leaning back against the couch. "Then there’s no reason that you won’t get away with murder."
CHAPTERTHREE
Asher
Travis breaks every speed limit in existence as we head toward campus. This might be the only time I’m thankful for his intrusive, spying ways. We have her location, thanks to the tracking on the Porsche and her call with Travis, so we don’t need to waste time trying to find her.
After the line went dead from her phone, I’m pretty sure my heart stopped, and all it’s done since then is race in full panic mode.
We didn’t get much from her, other than someone might be dead. We have no idea if she’s hurt, who might be dead, how anything happened.
All I know is she was crying and it broke something inside of me.
The tires on the Range screech as they try to grip the road, despite the weather, as we pull onto the campus by the library.
Travis slams the car to a stop, and without another thought, we all pile out, flashlights on our phones slicing through the darkness, yelling through the storm as we try to find her.
It’s so fucking dark out here, and the rain is so heavy it’s impossible to make out anything past the reach of my arm.
I stumble across the empty space toward the tree line and pause when I notice what looks like a giant lump lying on the ground.
Oh, God, please don’t let her be dead.
"Briar!" I yell as I start running toward the black shadow, my dress shoes slipping in the wet mud.
The others notice my direction and start running toward me.
"Shit," Cole grunts as he slams into the back of Sawyer and they both tumble to the ground.
