AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There’s a click as the passenger door swings open and I feel the fresh breeze before the hand clamping down on my shoulder.
But I don’t try to run. I don’t try to fight.
I go with them because I have to.
I’m the preacher’s daughter, after all.
Chapter 31
Rex
My hope is gone, but my fingers press the buttons, anyway. It rings once and I hold my breath. Then it immediately switches to voicemail. I hang up with a frown and shake my head.
“Goddammit,” Zeke curses.
We’ve been everywhere. We’ve searched all over town. The coffee shop, the mall, anywhere women like to hang out. There aren’t many to choose from in our small Southern town.
“She never should have gone alone,” Gunner growls. He’s gritting his teeth, but I just roll my eyes.
“What were we supposed to do, Gunner? Keep Goldie prisoner, like Reverend Bennett?”
Gunner doesn’t answer, but I can see his jaw clenching. I think I struck a nerve, but I didn’t really mean to snap at him.
We’re all frustrated. Goldie never called or texted. She’s not answering us. The burner phone we gave Goldie is switched off.
“I just don’t believe that Goldie would leave on her own,” Zeke protests. “Something must have happened.”
I scoff. IwishI could believe that. I’m older and wiser. Or, some might say, jaded.
“Well, what do you want to do, Zeke?” I ask. “Storm her father’s church? Or maybe his house first?”
Zeke’s blue eyes light up for a moment, but then he registers my smirk.
“Do youreallythink that Goldie would just leave us?” Zeke’s eyes narrow and he cocks his head.
I sigh. I don’tthinkso, but I’m not so sure. Goldie was perfect for us and when something seems too good to be true, it usually is.
“Well, Rex is fucking right,” Gunner grumbles. “We can’t just rush in there, guns blazing.”
Zeke shakes his head, incredulous. “I don’t see why the fuck not!”
Gunner and I exchange a glance and just then, my cell phone chirps and buzzes in my hand.
I know it’s a text, just by the tone, and my eyes sweep over Zeke and Gunner before I look down at my cell phone. They’re both staring, slack-jawed, and I think that they’re both holding their breath.
My stomach churns when I see the number.
“It’s Goldie,” I say.
It reads:
It was fun while it lasted.
But I can’t bring myself to read the text message aloud. I pass the phone over to Gunner, snarling in disgust. He reads, his eyebrows furrowing. Silently, Gunner passes the phone to Zeke without looking up.
“I don’t believe it,” Zeke says immediately. “That’s not from her. It doesn’t evensoundlike her.” Then Zeke roars, releasing his frustration in a primal scream. He stares up at the sky, now darkened, and rages wildly at the moon.
“Come on, man,” Gunner says quietly. “Let’s ride. We’ll figure out what to do.”
