AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh my god…” She threw her arms around me again. “I’m so sorry, Amerie,” she murmured, stroking the back of my head. “I wish we got here sooner. We could’ve stopped it.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, voice cracking. “Where is he?”
“Maybe he’s alive. Maybe they took him with them when they left.” Addy pulled back and looked at me. “I mean, that has to be what happened, right? They wouldn’t waste their time dragging a dead body away with them.”
“But there was a gunshot. And you saw a pool of blood.”
“That doesn’t mean they killed him.” Addy reassuringly squeezed my hand again. “Like I said, it wasn’t a ton of blood. I honestly thought one of you accidentally cut yourself on something. I didn’t think any of you were dead.”
Hope sparked in my heart. Addy was right. Jensen was definitely hurt, as evidenced by the blood, but that didn’t mean he was gone forever.
“I think he’s still out there somewhere,” Addy went on, giving me a ghost of a smile. “And we’re going to find him. Okay?”
“Yeah.” I took a deep breath and looked down at my abdomen, one hand fluttering over it. “We’ll find him.”
Jensen
One hour earlier
Zara raised the gun and fired it directly into the ceiling above me. A small shower of plaster instantly rained down, leaving a dusty layer on top of my head.
“That’s just a warning shot,” Zara hissed. “Start doing exactly what we say, or the next one is going in your kneecap.”
“Lift your hands,” Ali cut in, snapping a finger. “High in the air.”
I did as he said, slowly raising my palms above my head.
“Good.” Zara waved the gun. “Start walking.”
“Where?”
“Outside. We’re going for a drive.”
I knew I should be scared in a moment like this, but I was elated instead. Zara and Ali wanted to leave the farm, which meant the girls would remain undiscovered in the root cellar. Amerie was probably terrified after hearing the gunshot, but she was still safely hidden away. That was all that mattered.
I followed Ali out to his car in slow, measured steps. Zara took the rear, gun barrel pressing against my lower back. “Get in,” she said, jabbing me as Ali opened the back left passenger door.
Once again, I quietly did as I was told, picturing Amerie cocooned in her hiding spot under the blanket. Just wait, I thought, wishing I could transmit the message right into her brain. I’ll find a way out of this. I’ll see you again.
I already made that promise to her in person, and I damn well intended to keep it.
The car started, and I sucked in a deep breath, holding it until we reached the end of the driveway. We finally turned onto the main road and picked up speed, and my shoulders slumped with relief. I did it. The girls were officially safe.
Now I just had to figure out a way to stall Zara and Ali until I could come up with an escape plan.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked, leaning forward.
“Back to town,” Ali said, glancing in the rearview mirror.
My brows shot up. “You’re taking me to Vanderwild Bay?” I said incredulously. “You know half the town is probably out looking for you by now.”
“I think we’ll be fine for a while longer,” Zara said, turning around to look at me through narrowed eyes.
“But why risk it?” I said, tilting my head. “I mean, I know you’re planning to kill me. So why don’t you just shoot me and leave me in one of these fields right now?”
She let out a dismissive sniff and turned back to face the front. “That would be the easy option,” she said. “A nice quick death for you.”
“Ah.” I leaned back, lacing my fingers behind my head. “So you want me to suffer.”
