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My eyes flutter closed as he continues rattling off the horrible things he’ll do to me all the while pulling at me, touching my chest, and sliding his fingers down my stomach. I remain still, feeling numb, no longer giving him the power to control my emotions.
I think about Mason. He’s already had to find one girlfriend dead, and I know how it ruined him. It destroys me to know what this will do to him, and I can only hope he’ll be okay and can move on one day. Maddie and Lennon come to mind and Allie Cat. I’ll miss my niece growing up, miss Lennon getting married and holding Hunter’s and her baby. The realization that I won’t be around is almost too much to handle, but the quicker I come to terms with it, the quicker I will be at peace before he ends it all for good.
Dalton won’t make it easy for me. He wants revenge for his brother’s death and sending Mason pictures is just the start. He won’t let me out of here alive, that much is obvious.
Chapter Four
Mason
“Driving around isn’t doing us any good,” Hunter says from the back seat of the truck. “They could literally be anywhere.”
Liam agrees, and I stay busy scrolling through the text messages Dalton has sent over the past hour. Learning Sophie wasn’t at Weston’s nearly ripped my heart from my chest. I hoped he’d be there and make it easy for us to save her, but obviously, I underestimated him. I’m not sure what the hell to do now or where to even start. I feel so fucking hopeless, but I refuse to give up. Knowing what he’s done and what he’s doing now, I can’t risk calling my dad or the cops. He’s smarter than any of us thought, and I think about how he must’ve orchestrated attending the grief meetings with the intention of befriending Sophie. My thoughts wander to how he found her, and then I remember she went to Weston’s funeral, but Sophie didn’t even know he had a brother. But if Weston told Dalton, he could’ve sent him pictures or details of their relationship, for all she knows. He probably started stalking her that same weekend.
Being sweet and compassionate, she allowed him into her life without a second thought. I grit my teeth, growing angrier with every passing second, and swallow down the lump lodged in my throat.
“We should go to the house and try to figure out what the fuck to do next,” Liam suggests, but I’m so lost in my head that I don’t reply. I’m angry and in shock that this is really happening. I keep hoping I’ll wake up from this fucking nightmare. I’d do anything to switch places with her right now, anything to take away the pain I know she’s enduring.
When we pull into the driveway of the house, Hunter’s phone rings. “It’s Lennon,” he says, forcing a smile as he answers.
“Hey, baby. What’s going on?” he greets, putting her on speakerphone.
I hear Lennon on the other line, not suspecting a thing, not knowing how much danger her sister is in, until she asks about Sophie. Hunter grows quiet, and Lennon immediately calls him on it. Next thing I know, Hunter’s telling her not to come over while explaining what’s going on. Lennon is as hysterical as I feel.
“I’m calling the cops.” Her words ring out.
“No!” Hunter grows more serious. “If you call the cops, you’re only putting her in more danger. We’re looking for her now. We’re going to find her, and if we don’t soon, then we’ll get the authorities involved.”
Liam gets out of the truck, and I follow him inside as Hunter lingers outside, trying to calm her down.
“You need to call Jerad,” Liam tells me as he paces around the living room, brushing a frustrated hand through his hair. “See if he has any other information or what can be done. We’re losing time.”
I nod and do what he says. Jerad instantly answers the phone.
“Did you find her?” he asks.
“No,” I say, deflated. “Not yet. Do you have any more information?”
“Nothing other than the cell phone location,” he tells me, but I can hear him typing away on his computer.
“He keeps sending me pictures of her bruised and beaten, and it’s destroying me. We went to Weston’s house since it was close to that tower, but all I found was her cell and a note from him. Dalton cloned her phone so I’d get texts from her number, but the location took us to where the original phone was.”
The line is silent.
“Jerad?”
“I don’t think you’re dealing with an amateur psycho here. He’s smarter than we think if he’s cloning phones and shit. That’s high-level kidnapping shit. This isn’t a game. You need to get the cops involved before something bad happens, Mason.”
