AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I don’t want this.
I need to turn back—forget my father. Whatever he has to say, he can screw himself. He’s the one that got me in this situation, not Erick, not anyone else.
I’m about to start shouting and kicking when the car slows and comes to a stop. The radio turns off and the engine dies, and I’m sitting there like, what the hell is going on?
There’s no way we’re at a grocery store yet. We’ve only been driving for ten minutes max, and the whole time it’s been bumpy as hell. Marina never even reached a paved road.
Why are we stopping and why is the engine off?
My heart starts racing. An ugly feeling enters my guts. I’m on the edge of freaking out when a voice speaks.
“I’m going to open the trunk now.”
I freeze. I can’t move. I can’t think.
The trunk pops and light floods my eyes. I groan, covering them, cowering away from the blinding sun.
A shadow looks over me. It resolves into the outline of a person, then their expression coheres.
Ren frowns at me, shaking his head slowly, disappointment clear in every inch of his body.
Chapter31
Hellie
This can’t be happening.
Ren? Here? Now? I don’t understand—I never heard him, not earlier when Marina and Erick were talking, and I was paying attention to every little thing.
“Where did you come from?” I ask, too bewildered to say anything else.
His lips twist in disgust. “Get out.”
I hesitate, and he reaches in and drags me free of the trunk. His grip on my arm hurts, and I stumble, nearly fall, as I get my legs under me and look around, blinking against the sudden brightness.
There’s only desert.
We’re in a small clearing surrounded by ridges. Rocky pathways wind into the mountainous terrain. Cacti, scrub brush, brown grasses, not much else.
Marina’s leaning against the hood of the car, smoking a cigarette. I can’t read her expression, but if she’s upset with me, she doesn’t show it. If anything, she seems bored, like this happens all the time.
“What’s going on?” I ask, confused and still trying to get my bearings. Why is Marina just looking at me? Why are we in the middle of nowhere?
Then my brain starts to break out of my panic.
Ren knew. Somehow, he knew, and he caught me.
Now he’s going to kill me.
That’s why we’re out here in the middle of nowhere.
“I really hoped you were smarter than this,” Ren says. “I really, really hoped, but I couldn’t be sure. There was always the possibility, and here you are. Like a mouse to some cheese.”
“Please,” I say, backing away. “This was a mistake. I knew it was a mistake, I just—”
“Don’t start pleading. I really fucking hate when they plead.” He rubs his forehead, teeth clenched together. “Erick’s going to be upset. Really goddamn upset.”
“I wasn’t trying to run. I swear, I wasn’t, I was just—”
