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I nodded and stooped to grab the blanket from the bag. Piper returned a couple of minutes later, hauling three large boxes on a trolley. “Get in,” she said, voice tinged with urgency. “I’ll cover you with the blanket.”
I climbed into the trunk, heart hammering so hard it felt like it would explode right out of my ribcage. Piper threw the blanket over me, and everything went dark. “Just a few more minutes,” she said softly. “Then you’ll see Jensen again.”
I heard her stacking the boxes in front of me. The trunk finally slammed shut, and her heels clicked on the concrete as she headed back to the driver’s seat. The car started a moment later and slowly pulled out of the warehouse, tires crunching on the gravel.
“Piper!”
A familiar voice called out from somewhere on my left, and I inwardly groaned. Shit. It was Zara.
The car stopped. “What’s up?” Piper said, voice filtering through to the back.
“I didn’t sign off on your EC hours yet,” Zara said. Her voice sounded even clearer now, so I figured she was probably standing right at the driver’s side window. “Don’t you need that for school?”
“Oh. I forgot the paperwork,” Piper replied. “You can just sign it when you get home, right?”
“Of course.” There was a brief pause. “Why are you leaving now? I thought you and Amerie were getting something to eat from the kitchen.”
“We were going to, but Amerie said she felt sick again, so she went back to her room.”
“Poor thing. She’s really been suffering with that morning sickness,” Zara said. “Seems to be all day, every day for her.”
“I know. She complained about it nonstop when we were in the file room,” Piper replied. “It was so annoying.”
“She can’t help it. Did you get the jam for the teachers?”
“Uh-huh. I took three boxes. That should be enough.”
“Definitely. Anyway, I’ll be home for dinner. I’ll see you then, honey.”
“Okay. Bye, Mom!”
The car started moving again. A couple of minutes later, Piper’s voice filtered through to the back again. “That was a close call,” she said. “But we’re almost at the gate now.”
I didn’t respond. My throat had closed up from a mix of fear and apprehension.
“We probably have around thirty minutes before Mom realizes you aren’t in your room. But for all we know, she might’ve gone up there as soon as she went back inside,” Piper went on. “So I hope you don’t mind if I speed.”
I remained mute, sucking down ragged breaths as my heart raced. Part of me was still expecting all of this to be a cruel hoax orchestrated by the Rosmerta Society in order to destroy the last remaining sliver of hope in my heart.
The car picked up speed, and Piper called out to me again. “We’re out now,” she said. “We’ll reach the meeting point in five minutes.”
I meticulously tracked the passing seconds in my mind until the five-minute mark. The car abruptly halted. In the ensuing moments, an eerie silence settled over the trunk, and I held my breath with apprehension.
As the trunk finally creaked open, a burst of brilliant afternoon sunlight illuminated the cramped space. The boxes were pushed aside, and the blanket covering me was unceremoniously yanked off, making my eyes water in response to the sudden flood of light. Blinded by the stinging tears, I squinted and rubbed at my eyelids, wincing with discomfort.
Large hands firmly gripped my shoulders. At the same time, a gruff masculine voice muttered my name. Fear instantly flooded my mind, and I was hit with a wave of dizziness that caused black spots to dance before my eyes.
It wasn’t Jensen’s voice.
Amerie
A scream tore from my lungs, and a hand instantly clamped over my mouth to muffle it. “You have to be quiet,” Piper hissed.
I knew I shouldn’t trust her sudden change of heart on the Rosmerta issue. She was just fucking with me, and now she’d betrayed me.
I tried to struggle but large masculine hands were still holding me down. “Amerie,” a soft voice murmured. “Calm down. It’s okay. It’s me.”
My vision was still swimming. I blinked the last of the tears away and looked up to see… Jensen. “You’re here?” I choked out. “I thought… you didn’t sound like…”
