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CHAPTER14
All the way to Sunny’s,my mind raced with scenarios. Who was this killer? Why had he picked Sunny? She wasn’t even a therianthrope. Fuck. A tourist wouldn’t know that about her. We’d been passing her off as a shifter since the Jubilee had started. Would he be torturing her now to try and get her to shift? And what about baby Jude? Fuck. I’d been so caught up in my worry for Sunny that I’d forgotten my nephew in the process.
Her driveway was just ahead. What if I couldn’t save her on my own? What if the killers decided on a two for one special and just murdered both of us? I’d been scared when I got the text, and I’d acted rashly. I drove past her drive without stopping. I parked about half a mile up and around a sharp curve. Taking deep breaths, I prayed for some guidance.
You should tell your mate.
That’s not helpful, I told Brother Wolf.If you want to be a real help, go see if Sunny and Jude are okay.
I cannot see your friend. She is not of my blood.
Awesome. I might as well have had Casper the Ghost at my side.
You are strong, little wolf, but you are stronger with your mate.
My phone beeped with another text. This time, there was a picture attached. Sunny was tied to a chair in her kitchen, her right eye was swollen, and her lip was smeared with blood.
1 sacrifice is as good as another, the message said.U better hurry if U want to save ur friend.
I looked at Sunny’s picture again, the rage curling inside me, filling me until it spilled over my skin. There was no time to plan. Sunny and Jude needed me now. I ran through the woods, stretching my legs in long strides, amazed at my agility. I sent a silent thank you to Brother Wolf. He might not like me trying to rescue my friend alone, but he hadn’t deserted me. I’d never moved this fast in human form. It took me seconds, not minutes, to get to the backside of the cabin. I stalked quietly around the perimeter of the house, careful to keep low. In the photograph, Sunny had been tied up in the kitchen. Would she still be there? I snuck a look through the side window. Sunny’s African violets she kept on the ledge over the sink helped hide me from view. Her backside was to me, and her head slumped.
My pulse skittered. Was she dead? Her hands were tied behind her back. I saw her fingers flex. Dead people didn’t flex. Relief staggered me. A large being, reminding me so much of Brother Wolf’s shadow man form, walked into the room. I suppressed the urge to retch. He wore the skins of his previous victims, even over his face. I could imagine Sunny’s fears. It should have been me in his grasp, not her. I could survive more physical trauma than her, take more abuse. Sunny was human. Frail.
He doesn’t know that,I thought.He thinks she’s one of us.
Oh, Sunny. In our efforts to protect her, we’d turned her into a target. No, I thought. Being my best friend had made her a target. I could go around to the back door off the kitchen and burst through.The element of surprise might be all I need, I thought, trying to delude myself into action.
The fur-wearing lunatic bent over, and I watched as he retrieved something from behind him. My stomach lurched and my brain went numb at the sight in his arms. Jude. In his arms, my sweet nephew reached out for his mom.
Sunny screamed, “I’ll kill you!” as she struggled to break the bindings around her wrists.
“You have a sweet child, Mrs. Trimmel.” He stroked a finger down the side of Jude’s face. “I’d hate for anything to happen to him because your friend decides to play hero.” He turned to the window where I watched. “Are you planning on being a hero, Chavvah?”
My gut twisted. He knew I was there. This man, no, this monster had me by the short hairs. Even if Jude hadn’t been involved, I would have gladly traded myself for Sunny, but now with the baby in the mix, it was the only option.
My phone vibrated in my pocket.Not now. I pulled it out. Incoming from Billy Bob. I hit the ignore button. He called again. Damn it. I couldn’t think. I just needed a minute to think.
A message beeped on my phone:Found Jo Jo and Michele. Tied up in the woods, but safe. Where are you?
Thank God they’re safe,was my first thought. My second thought was, had their kidnapping been a distraction so the killers could grab Sunny while everyone was focused on Jo Jo? How could I have been so naïve? The bad guys had been a step ahead of me and everyone else at every turn. This mad man held my precious nephew in his arms, he’d accosted my best friend, tied her up and battered her, and I had done exactly what he wanted. I delivered myself like an early Christmas present.
Where are you?Another text from Billy Bob.
So much anger and raged welled inside me. I finally knew what it was to be loved. Would he mourn me like Brady had mourned Rose Ann? I should have told him. I should have trusted him.
“Come out, come out, Chavvah. Time is ticking,” the monster taunted.
I glanced down at my phone again, quickly I swiped in:He has Sunny and Jude. Going in. Forgive me. I love you.
I set the phone on the ground, cringing as it blew up with text after text as I walked around the side of the house. “If you want me, you can have me, but only if you let Sunny and the baby go first.” I had no real room for negotiation, but I had to try.
“I can kill her now,” the man said. “If that’s what you want.”
I gripped the door handle. “Don’t,” I said loud enough for him to hear me. “I’m coming in.”
He laughed. The cadence sounded familiar to me as if I heard that laugh before, but the mask distorted the sound.
“Oh, Chav,” Sunny said when I walked into the house.
