AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“However, if you do decide to enter this race to rescue your beloved, there is one rule,” he said.
It wasn’t hard to guess what it was. “I have to come alone.”
“Very good,” he praised, making me grind my teeth. “If you break the rule, I’ll kill Colt myself.”
I didn’t know how I was going to slip away from the guys, but I’d figure it out. “Fine. Where are you?”
“Desert Stone Fitness.” As soon as he said it, he hung up.
“Who were you talking to?” a voice asked.
I spun on my heels. Creed was right behind me and Knox and Keelan were walking over.
“Logan,” I lied as a plan formed in my head. “He wants us to meet him back at your house.”
All three of them frowned and I could see the doubt in their eyes.
I need to lie better. Colt’s life depends on it.
“He’s back?” Knox asked.
“Yes,” I said as I pulled my keys from my pocket and stepped in the direction of my 4Runner. “We should go.”
Keelan reached to take my keys. “Why don’t I drive?”
I snapped my hand out of his reach and internally winced. “I—I need something to focus on.”
Understanding, Keelan dropped his hand and nodded.
“Your hands are covered in blood,” Knox said as he stared at me with an intense look that felt like he could see every lie that spilled from my lips.
I didn’t want to hand over my keys, but I didn’t have time to waste arguing. “Right.” I gave the keys to Keelan before taking off toward my car. They thankfully followed.
“What about Colt?” Creed asked as we all climbed into my 4Runner.
I climbed into the backseat with him while Knox and Keelan sat up front. “Logan will help us find him.” I hated lying—giving them false hope. And if I failed to save Colt...I didn’t think I’d ever be able to forgive myself.
I couldn’t afford to think like that right now. I needed to stay focused because I was undoubtedly walking into a trap. Maybe Sheriff McAllister wanted to hand me over to Mr. X, or follow through on his threat to kill me and make it look like a suicide. I had a gut feeling the former was what I was going to face. One twisted assurance I had was that Mr. X wouldn’t allow the sheriff to kill me. In Mr. X’s eyes, I belonged to him. Only he had the right to inflict my torture—my agony—and Jacob, Amber, and Gabe had made themselves a threat to that right. I was also sure Mr. X had twisted the situation in his head such that getting rid of them was his way of protecting me. It was why he’d left Jacob’s body on my couch like a gift or like proof, as if to say,This is what I’d do for you. I wouldn’t be surprised if the sheriff and Cassy found themselves missing next. Honestly, I was surprised the sheriff wasn’t gone already. He posed the biggest threat to me.
Whatever the reason that kept the sheriff and Cassy out of Mr. X’s reach, he had deemed the board cleared of enough obstacles to come after me. He felt like a shark circling me and the connections I had made. I had no idea how long he’d been circling, but he clearly had decided to get to me by going through those I cared about. He’d started with Isabelle. He probably planned to go after Ethan next. Who would be after that? Logan? He would save my guys for last. I knew that with every fiber of my being. It was what he had done with Shayla. I’d loved my parents dearly, but Shayla had been my other half. He’d purposely saved her death for last, and he’d made sure I’d been there to witness it.
It felt like Keelan took forever to get the car started and drive away from Ethan’s house. My knee bounced with barely contained anxiety. Every minute that passed as we made our way back home felt like it was ticking by way too quickly.
When we were almost there, a warm hand smoothed over my bouncing thigh. I stilled and glanced at Creed next to me. He was staring intently at me with a frown. I could see his questions before he thought to speak them. To prevent him from asking, I looked to Knox in the front seat. “Can you hand me my purse?”
Knox picked it up from the floor on the passenger’s side and passed it back to me. I pulled out my gun that I’d had tucked into the back of my shorts under my shirt. I had hidden it there before the police and EMS had arrived to help Isabelle. I kept myself busy by flicking the safety on my pistol and putting it back inside my purse.
To my relief, the rest of the ride home was quiet. No one really said anything until we got to the guys’ house to “wait for Logan.” I was pretty certain it was due to their worry for Colt and the shock of what had happened to Isabelle.
As soon as we got inside, Keelan and Knox announced that they were going to search the house just in case. Creed stayed with me in the living room and took a seat on the couch. I purposely stood by the little table by the front door where the guys kept their keys in a bowl.
I had hoped Keelan would drop my keys there when he came inside. He hadn’t. Instead, he’d pocketed them. After a quick freak-out, I realized that was actually a good thing. They would need my car. Very quietly, I plucked Keelan’s Jeep keys out of the bowl and hid them in my fist behind my back.
Keelan and Knox returned to the living room at the same time. Keelan took a seat next to Creed on the couch, but Knox came to me. He looked me up and down in an assessing way. I felt like he was searching for lies, but he was probably just trying to see if I was all right.
I could see his intent to touch me and say something. Before he could do either, I moved around him and walked toward the twins’ side of the house. “Logan should be here any minute. I’m going to wash my hands.”
They didn’t stop me, but I felt the weight of their eyes on me until I disappeared down the hall. I passed the bathroom and went right into Creed’s room. I shut the door quietly and rushed to the window near the foot of Creed’s bed. After pushing back the curtains, I tried to be quiet as I unlocked the window and pulled it open. Popping out the screen was going to make some noise, so I took a moment to pull out my personal cell and type out a text. Then I stood on Creed’s bed to get level with the window before I knocked the screen off with one strong kick. I climbed out quickly.
