AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Shite. We don’t know he left voluntarily,” Ben said. “Valentine, are there any other footprints?”
“Possibly. Hard to say with how fast the snow is pitching.”
Ice slid through my veins.
“Ben, are there signs of a struggle? Was his car broken into?” Raphael asked.
“Negative,” Ben returned. “At least I can’t be sure for the same reason as Valentine. It’s an open clearing here, so the snow has covered everything. I had to sweep it to even find his phone.”
Gordain joined in. “That car has a tracker and a voice recorder. Ben, access it now. Tell us if we’re commencing a hunt.”
Raphael went pale. “What if he arranged to be picked up because he had somewhere else to be?”
“What do you mean?” I demanded.
My brother shot his gaze to mine. “In the message he left me, he revealed that his mother had tried to call him. Her stepson’s hearing had been brought forward to today. She wanted him to be a character witness, but what if he went to do the opposite? To give reasons why that fucker should never get parole?”
“He didn’t mention that to me,” Ben said.
He hadn’t told me about it either, though I knew he wished he’d given evidence against the man originally.
I walked away a few steps, feeling sick.
Then there was what I’d done. Told him it was okay to be obsessed when he’d warned me of how he never wanted to be. How inconsiderate of me. How could I have said that to his face after what he’d been through?
I was still holding my phone, and I shoved it into my pocket.
There was a piece of paper inside.
I drew it out, puzzling at it. I unfolded my list.
Weird. I definitely hadn’t grabbed that when we’d fled the tower.
Then I noted a new line, scrawled across the bottom.
Fall in love with him, it read.
Jackson had added this. He’d written it and hidden it there for me to find.
My poor heart throbbed. I knew without doubt that he hadn’t left me of his own volition.
“He’s been taken,” I said, turning back.
My brother held my gaze.
“He wouldn’t leave any of us. We’re his family, and he’d never walk away, not for any reason. He’s been taken, and we’re going to find him.”
Chapter 34
Jackson
A slap hit my face, jolting my head to the left. I groaned, opening my eyes, my whole body aching and every muscle strained.
A man stood over me.
Larson.
I reared up, trying to stand, but my hands were locked behind me in handcuffs and zip tied to my seat. Likewise, my ankles were tied to the chair.
