AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Who do I call, anyway? Anton? I bite my lip, wavering. He has resources, connections. He would move heaven and earth to find me.
If he’s even alive.
Every time that thought swirls, it sucks the air from my lungs. I don’t want him to be dead.
Please don’t let him be dead!
But I have to remember why I got into this mess. This has gone beyond Cartwright. In fact, Cartwright is probably a teddy bear compared to what I’m up against. Anton’s past has come back to haunt us. Whoever took me clearly has an agenda. And Anton was the target, not me. But they’ll happily use me to get to him.
Bastard!
I’d been beating myself up over bringing my shit into his world when he’s the one who’s dragged me into his nightmare.
Me and the baby I’m carrying.
No.
I can’t call Anton.
I don’t even know who might answer the phone. Him? Or one of the goons sent to kill him? Someone who might know how to find me.
My thumb hovers over the call button, instinct warring with reason. Then I make up my mind, scrolling past Anton’s name to find the one person I know will come through for me.
The phone rings twice before a gruff voice answers. “Scarlett? Scarlett, is that really you?”
Relief washes over me in a tidal wave. “Carl,” I breathe. “I need your help.”
“What’s going on? Where have you been?” Carl demands. “It’s been weeks, for fuck’s sake! We’ve been worried sick, and—”
I cut him off, “Carl, I’ll give you answers when I see you. But right now I’m in trouble.” I give him the abbreviated version, leaving out any mention of Anton or the baby. “I’ve been taken captive. I managed to escape but I’m injured and stranded. I need extraction.”
“Holy fuck, Scarlett,” Carl mutters. “Are you safe now?”
“For the moment. But I have no idea if they’re coming after me. I need to get out of here…fast!”
“Where are you?” he asks the billion-dollar question.
I cast an eye around. “Um…in a snow drift?”
“That’s not gonna help, hon’. Can you send me your location from your phone?”
Thank God he’s thinking clearly because I hadn’t even thought about that. “Yeah. Give me a sec.” My fingers are trembling with cold as I scroll to the map app and fumble to send a location pin to his number. “You still there?” I ask when I return to the call.
“Of course. Don’t panic. We’re coming for you. You’re gonna be fine. We’ve got you, okay?”
“Okay.” I wish my voice didn’t sound so damn faint, but fuck it’s cold.
“Right, listen. We’re on our way – we’ve been on a gig in Fort Davis. I’ve got you on the navigation system and it’s giving our ETA as one hour 45 minutes. You could freeze to death in that time, do you understand?”
“Fort Davis? What the hell have you been doing in Fort Davis, Carl?”
“That’s not important right now. What matters is that we’re near. You’ll be okay if you can stay calm and try to find a way to keep warm..”
My mind is racing as I try to figure out all that’s been happening in my absence. I guess I couldn’t expect them to sit around twiddling their thumbs while I tried to stay off the thug radars. They have to eat, after all.
“Scarlett?”
“Yeah. I’m here.” I nod, though I know he can’t see me.
